MARTINSVILLE, Va: Alex Bowman said Sunday afternoon at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway that he is feeling 100 percent after being sidelined for five weeks following a crash during the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway last month.
Earlier this week, the driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports was medically cleared by his doctors to return to competition next weekend for the NASCAR Cup Series season-finale at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway.
Bowman admitted that it took a few days before he knew he was experiencing concussion-like symptoms.
After feeling not so great on Monday, the day after the accident, Bowman said he was feeling “great” on Tuesday afternoon even after turning a few laps in a sprint car during an Ally function with seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson.
By the end of the day Wednesday, however, after participating in several scheduled media availabilities and team meetings, Bowman began to experience intense pressure behind his eyes that was affecting his vision which prompted the driver to seek further medical attention.
After meeting with his doctors, Bowman said it was quickly determined that he was concussed and was not going to be cleared to compete in the Oct. 2 race at Talladega Superspeedway.
“It’s been a long process, for sure,” Bowman said. “Monday (after the race) I didn’t feel great. It was hard for me to identify what was really going on. Typically, when you have a race when it was that hot you kind of feel bad or dehydrated or whatever.
“Tuesday, I felt great. I ran three laps in my sprint car for an Ally deal. I felt great through all that – totally normal. On Wednesday, I had like a crazy busy day and by the middle of the day I felt pretty bad. That’s when I kind of identified what was going on and went to see the doctors.”
Noah Gragson has filled in for Bowman since his absence delivering a best finish of 11th at Las Vegas entering Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
Bowman said watching someone drive his race was the most difficult parts of his recovery.
“Watching someone else driving the No. 48 car on Sundays,” sounded Bowman when talking about one of the toughest parts on his recovery. “That’s not fun by any means. It’s just weird not going to the race track. All I’ve ever known is racing and when you’re not going and having to do different things on a weekend is just weird.
“I’m at the grocery story and I’m thinking, ‘None of these people know there’s a race going on right now.’ That part of it was weird.
It’s not an easy thing to be here and not be in a race car. It’s cool to be back around my team and see the support from the race fans. Having a goal to get back to was important as far as how hard I had to work to get to this point. It was pretty difficult. It was 6 am workouts every day followed by a 9 am workout every day.
“I’ve worked really hard. If I didn’t have the possibility to get back this year, I probably would have pushed things off and not worked as hard. On top of that, the doctors have said I am 100 percent. I think if there was any hesitation there it would be different.”
Over the past month, Bowman has diligently worked with his doctors and concussion specialists to take the necessary steps to fully recover that will allow him to compete at his hometown race on Sunday, November 6.
“The recovery was definitely different than what I would have assumed for concussions,” explained Bowman. “I got back into my regular routine fairly quickly. It was a long process and there were a couple flights back and forth to Pittsburgh to see the guys up there.
“Everybody was super-helpful. I feel 100-percent. I’ve been training harder than ever the last couple of weeks honestly so I’m in a better spot than I was before.”
Bowman was the second NASCAR Cup Series Playoff driver to be sidelined because of a concussion. In July, 23XI Racing’s Kurt Busch suffered a concussion in a qualifying accident at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.
Busch announced at Las Vegas earlier this month that he will not compete full-time in the Cup Series next season and is still struggling with the full recovery process.
Bowman, 29, has talked to Busch, as well as concussion advocate Dale Earnhardt Jr., whom he replaced at Hendrick Motorsports initially when Earnhardt retired at the end of the 2017 Cup Series season. NBC Sports analyst Jeff Burton and Stewart Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick also reached out to showcase support for Bowman.
Ultimately the concussion eliminated Bowman and the No. 48 team from advancing from the Round of 12 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Road Course on Oct. 9, 2022.
“I feel like all the concussion symptoms I would have heard of throughout my career, things like nausea and things like that, I didn’t have any of,” he explained. “I just had a lot of pressure in my eyes, almost like when your sinuses are really plugged up and you have a really bad sinus headache and pressure behind your eyes. It would come after workouts or the other activities I was busy doing.
That was the biggest thing. From what the doctors say a concussion hurts the weakest part of your body. I had some vision stuff going – my vision’s not weak – but it was a weak point for me. It just messed with my ocular system and that was the thing that took the longest to recover from. “
The seven-time Cup winner said it was important for him to return to his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro seat this season, especially since crew chief Greg Ives is retiring from crew chief duties following Phoenix.
Bowman expressed that he did not want his final race with Ives to be Texas knowing what developed in the days since the crash.
“There was a lot of motivation to get back for the Phoenix race. It’s my last race with Greg (Ives) as a crew chief,” Bowman mentioned. “I didn’t want to go out with the way Texas went with Greg, you know. I didn’t want sit the whole offseason questioning it.
“I wanted to get back in the race car. “
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
