NASCAR takeaways: Alex Bowman fourth Hendrick driver into playoffs with Chicago win

CHICAGO — Alex Bowman suffered a concussion following an accident in a NASCAR Cup Series race in 2022 and broke his back in a sprint-car accident in 2023.

He has been healthy in 2024, except for maybe being sick to his stomach without a victory.

Bowman snapped an 80-race winless streak by capturing a rain-filled, darkness-shortened Cup race on the streets of Chicago as he outlasted Tyler Reddick (who was on slick tires while Bowman was on slower rain tires) over the final circuits of the 2.2-mile course through the city streets around Grant Park.

"I broke my back, had a brain injury, and we've kind of sucked ever since, and ... you start to second-guess if you're ever going to get a chance to win a race again," Bowman said.

The only Hendrick Motorsports driver not to win this year until Sunday, Bowman's victory in the race — shortened from 75 laps to 58 laps as rain interrupted the event and then darkness arrived — was a boost of confidence for Bowman as well as possibly will quell rumors of him being on the hot seat despite a contract that runs through 2026.

"It's important that you gel and the chemistry comes and the effort is there, but you've got to win at some point," said Hendrick vice chairman Jeff Gordon. "You've got to win not just because you're at Hendrick Motorsports but because it's really hard to get the team where they need to be to compete at the highest level on a regular basis ... without victories."

The thing is, Bowman didn't totally suck. His 11 top-10s this season are tied for second-most in the series. But winning and making the playoffs are the expectation for the team (crew chief Blake Harris earned his first career Cup victory in that role) and Bowman had led six laps all season.

"I just kind of