During Saturday’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway, Alex Bowman was caught off guard when his spotter, Kevin Hamlin, played a prank convincing him they had been penalized and would have to start at the back of the field. The incident unfolded just before the race, while NBC mistakenly reported the fake penalty as real, adding confusion to the event.
Bowman had originally qualified ninth for the 400-lap race, but a temporary delay occurred after NASCAR officials requested an inspection of his No. 48 Chevy to repair a passenger side window. This hold-up briefly kept Bowman off the starting grid.
NASCAR reporter Colin Ward described the situation on his social media account, noting how Bowman’s car was pushed back to the garage during the delay.
“Bowman’s car was pushed back into the garage with a few officials around it. Mostly every car is on the grid now, and one of Bowman’s crew members just went sprinting back to the hauler,”
Ward wrote.
Seizing this moment, Hamlin jokingly told Bowman over the radio that they had been penalized for delaying the start. In a later post, The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck shared their exchange:
“Bowman spotter Kevin Hamlin: ‘We’ve got to go to the back for delaying the start.’”
Bowman’s surprised reply was, “Are you kidding me?” to which Hamlin responded,
“Yeah, I’m f*cking with you. All good.”
While Bowman soon realized the prank, NBC broadcast commentators unknowingly accepted the fake penalty as fact, telling viewers that Bowman had to start from the rear. However, Bowman’s actual starting position remained as qualified, taking his place on the fifth row among the top 10 starters.
This race represented Bowman’s second straight top-10 qualifying effort and was especially important given his tight battle for playoff survival. As a Hendrick Motorsports driver, Bowman is currently positioned 60 points above the playoff cutline, with competitor Chris Buescher trailing just 26 points behind.
Reflecting on a Tough Year Behind the Wheel
In an interview with Jeff Gluck, Bowman opened up about the most challenging moments he has faced this season, pinpointing a particularly difficult race in Mexico City. The 32-year-old driver described the physical pain he endured from a previous crash when asked about his worst experience behind the wheel.
“Mexico was super painful. My back was killing me (from the Michigan wreck a week earlier). If we weren’t running well, I probably don’t finish that race. So that was a rough one. We’ve had our share of bad days where we’ve just not run how we wanted, but just from a pain perspective, that one was rough to get through,” he said.
—Alex Bowman, NASCAR driver
Bowman’s injury stemmed from a hard impact into the outside SAFER barriers at Michigan International Speedway the prior weekend, which caused his third DNF of the season. Despite this setback, he showed resilience by securing a top-5 finish in Mexico, climbing from a starting position of 29th to finish fourth.
Although Bowman has yet to secure a win this year and trails his Hendrick Motorsports teammates in the rankings, currently sitting ninth, he continues to compete vigorously, fighting to maintain his playoff hopes.