Alex Bowman will stay sidelined from NASCAR Cup Series action this weekend. The Hendrick Motorsports driver continues to experience symptoms of vertigo after being diagnosed with the illness following the Cup race at COTA.
Justin Allgaier is set to pilot the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet in place of Bowman this weekend. Allgaier is currently O’Reilly Auto Parts Series winner and will be making his second Cup start of 2026.
For Bowman, he’ll be missing out on his second straight NASCAR Cup Series race.
Alex Bowman continues to experience ‘lingering’ vertigo symptoms
The news of Bowman’s absence was confirmed by Hendrick Motorsports on Wednesday morning.
In a statement released by the team, HMS President and General Manager Jeff Andrews said Bowman has worked extensively in an effort to return to action.
Unfortunately, it won’t be in time for this Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas as he continues to battle vertigo symptoms.
“Alex continues to work closely with doctors toward being medically cleared, but he’s still experiencing some lingering symptoms. He’s put a lot into the recovery process, and we will continue to support him every step of the way. Our priority remains making sure Alex is fully ready before returning to the race car,” Andrews said.
Bowman has not been behind the wheel of a Cup car since the 7oth lap of the March 1 race at Circuit of The Americas. The Arizona native began experiencing vertigo symptoms midway through the 95-lap event, forcing him to exit the race prematurely.
Myatt Snider subbed in for the remaining circuits, bringing the Bowman entry home six laps behind in 36th.
Bowman remained out of action in last Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Phoenix. Anthony Alfredo was the fill-in driver for the No. 48 car and wounded up 33rd after getting collected in a crash with Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric.
After four races, Bowman currently sits 36th in the points standings, which is last among full-time drivers. He has only scored 23 points this season, and will certainly take another blow in the standings after missing this Sunday’s race at Las Vegas.
Justin Allgaier will replace Alex Bowman in the No. 48 car
HMS announced that O’Reilly Auto Parts Series points leader Justin Allgaier will field the No. 48 entry on Sunday at Las Vegas. It’ll be Allgaier’s second Cup start of 2026 after running the No. 40 JR Motorsports entry in this year’s Daytona 500.
Allgaier led three laps in “The Great American Race” and was pacing the field at lap 124 until contact with Denny Hamlin triggered a multi-car pileup and ended his race. The crash left Allgaier with a 38th-place finish.
It won’t be the first time Allgaier has competed as a relief driver for HMS. The 39-year-old wheeled the No. 48 for Jimmie Johnson in the 2020 Brickyard 400 after the former tested positive for COVID-19.
Allgaier also filled in for Kyle Larson in the 2024 Coca-Cola 600. Attempting to do the Indy 500/Coca-Cola 600 “double,” Larson was late in arriving at the 600-mile Cup race in Charlotte.
Because of this, Allgaier started and ended up finishing the rain-shortened race in the No. 5 machine. It was the latest relief role Allgaier has filled at HMS.
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