Alex Bowman on Early Symptoms of Vertigo: ‘It’s Probably It’ for a NASCAR Career

Bristol Motor Speedway (Bristol, Va.) — Alex Bowman admits that when he was feeling dizzy and vomiting in his car during last month’s race at Circuit of the Americas, he wasn’t sure he’d ever race again. “When I came out to COTA, I was like, ‘That’s probably it.’ That’s what was going through my mind,” Bowman said at a news conference Saturday. “It sucked. And I’m grateful to have another chance.” Bowman missed the next four races as he met with several doctors to treat his vertigo. He was cleared to race this week after driving a touring car on a road course and being in the driving simulator, which mimics the feeling of driving a race car and is often a tool used to see if a driver is experiencing a return of neurological symptoms. The 33-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver said the main thing he needs to do is get through these sessions without feeling dizzy, something he hasn’t been able to do in the few weeks since COTA. “There was definitely, for me, worry, but at the same time, I was just trying to feel well enough to be able to live,” Bowman said. He did not provide details on what doctors believe is the cause. “It’s like anything. There’s probably more than one, just a multitude of different things that we’ve had to work on to make me feel good,” Bowman said. “Honestly, we’ve been working on so many different things. It’s hard to pinpoint one exact thing. But the good news is that now I feel really good and ready to go.” Obviously, it was difficult to get out of the car at COTA, Bowman said, in his first comments since that race. “COTA wasn’t much fun for me. “It was all good until it wasn’t,” Bowman said. “Obviously in the car [with] dizziness, vomiting all over myself, dizziness, a bit of all that. So it wasn’t fun. I’m not excited about having to go out. “Obviously I’ve had a lot of injuries, but this was an injury where I was going to end up hitting something or someone, and the smart thing to do in that case was to get out.” Bowman was replaced by Anthony Alfredo for Phoenix then Justin Allgaier for the last three races. HMS President Jeff Andrews said there will be no backup driver for Bowman this weekend. With Allgaier already here for today’s O’Reilly Series race, he would be available if needed. “I spent a lot of time with a lot of different doctors and got a lot of help in doing the best rehab process possible, and best practices going forward and everything to get back to where I needed to be to get back in the car,” Bowman said. Back at Bristol, a steeply-banked, 0.533-mile concrete oval will certainly test Bowman, who has won the pole in the last two spring races at the track. He returned from a concussion in 2022 for the final race of the year after being shut out and this time gave a similar answer as to why he is returning at what might not seem like the best time given the track and schedule. “I’m a race car driver, so tell me I’m clear, I’ll do it,” Bowman said. “It’s probably the worst place to come back to – not only is it physical, but it’s an extremely difficult track.” Bowman has had a rough start in his first three races and sits 144 points out of 16th place in the standings. So it’s unlikely – but not impossible – that he can rally over the next 19 races to qualify for the Chase. He would need a waiver to be eligible for the title due to the rule requiring a driver to compete in all races. He should get one. Bowman, who has eight career victories during his eight-plus seasons with Hendrick Motorsports, is in a contract year. He is used to dealing with injuries. He missed five races in 2022 because of a concussion and three races in 2023 because of a broken back suffered in a sprint car accident. “I’ve put HMS in a difficult situation several times now…since 2022, 2023 and now. They’ve probably given me more grace than I deserve at times,” Bowman said. “I’m very grateful for that and I’m just ready to do it again.”