NASCAR driver Alex Bowman recently experienced an unexpected and unusual series of events following his disqualification from the Bank of America ROVAL 400.
Bowman, who had initially secured an 18th-place finish, saw his standings take a drastic hit after his car failed to meet the post-race weight requirements, disqualifying him from advancing in the playoffs.
The news of Bowman’s disqualification unraveled in a rather unconventional manner after the playoff race at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s ROVAL. Fox Sports journalist Bob Pockrass revealed the information through a tweet, which was how Bowman first learned of the disqualification.
Bowman, overwhelmed by the information, reacted by tossing his phone into a pool to avoid the onslaught of expected messages. According to The Athletic reporter Jeff Gluck, Bowman explained the series of mishaps:
Meg Oliphant/Getty Images
“Alex Bowman learned the DQ news from Twitter and then he threw his phone in the pool bc he knew it was about to blow up with texts. When it hit the bottom of the pool, his phone called 911 because it thought he had been in a car crash. (Fortunately the cops didn’t show up because there was no service under the water, he said.). His phone still works (iPhones are waterproof.) Also his car window cracked when it got cold outside and the roof on his house leaked. ‘It’s been a week, man.'”
Alex Bowman learned the DQ news from Twitter and then he threw his phone in the pool bc he knew it was about to blow up with texts. When it hit the bottom of the pool, his phone called 911 because it thought he had been in a car crash. (Fortunately the cops didn’t show up because…
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) October 19, 2024
The decision not to appeal the disqualification came from Hendrick Motorsports. Bowman accepted the team’s judgment. He explained to the media:
“We win or lose as a team.
“We worked really hard and done a lot of things right. Unfortunately, in that situation, we did something wrong. There’s really no way around that.”
Hendrick Motorsports released the following statement earlier in the week to confirm its decision.
“Hendrick Motorsports will not appeal the disqualification of the No. 48 car following Sunday’s race at the Charlotte ROVAL,” the team stated.
“NASCAR allows a clear margin to account for the difference in pre- and post-race weight. After a thorough review by our team and the sanctioning body, we simply did not give ourselves enough margin to meet the post-race requirement. Although unintentional, the infraction was avoidable. We are extremely disappointed to lose a Playoff spot under these circumstances and apologize to our fans and partners.”
Bowman’s disqualification had immediate consequences in the playoff standings. Joey Logano, who had been hovering near elimination in the playoff rounds, found himself reinstated due to Bowman’s removal.
