Srigley Stats: How Alex Bowman Got His Groove Back

This week, #SrigleyStats covers Alex Bowman’s string of good runs, SVG’s recurring role as race-leader, Allgaier’s super-sub success, and Memorial Day Weekend double-dippers.

NASCAR

by Joseph Srigley on May 29, 2024

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Since Alex Bowman first returned to the cockpit after a back injury sustained in a sprint car accident, the Earth has completed an entire revolution around the Sun, and just now, the Hendrick Motorsports driver is beginning to get his pre-injury groove back, once again.

With a ninth-place finish in Sunday's rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Bowman continued an incredible stretch of finishes for the No. 48 Chevrolet, collecting his fifth consecutive top-10 result - dating back to Talladega in April.

It's the longest consecutive streak of top-10 finishes for the Tucson, Arizona native in the NASCAR Cup Series, surpassing a previous best streak of four consecutive top-10s, which Bowman accomplished in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2023.

The start of the regular season has been a steady improvement for the 31-year-old driver, who has recorded a series-high nine top-10 finishes through the first 14 races -- as opposed to four top-10s in the 23 starts before that.

With more than 60% of the season left on the docket, Bowman is on track to have the best season of his NASCAR Cup Series career, needing to record eight top-10s in the remaining events to surpass a career-high.

As the NASCAR Cup Series travels to World Wide Technology Raceway, Bowman sits eighth in NASCAR Cup Series point standings with an average finish of 12.4 -- which, should it stand, would be the best of his career to date.

The next goal for Alex Bowman? Ensure that Hendrick Motorsports has all four entries locked into the NASCAR Playoffs, via a trip to Victory Lane, snapping a 75-race winless streak.

Photo Credit: Craig White, TobyChristie.com

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VAN GISBERGEN REPRISES RECURRING P1 ROLE

There's no doubt that Shane Van Gisbergen, a three-time Australian Supercars champion, marched onto the NASCAR Cup Series scene in a history-making way, winning on debut at the Chicago Street Course.

So, it only makes sense that following Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, nearly a full year after his shock victory, the Auckland, New Zealand-native is still making history in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Leading two laps in Sunday's rain-shortened event, Van Gisbergen has become the first driver in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series to inherit the lead of a race in four of their first five starts.

But, despite having led in four different races, Van Gisbergen has only accumulated 15 laps led -- nine at Chicago (2023), one at Indy's Road Course (2023), three at Talladega (2024), and two at Charlotte (2024).

Photo Credit: Craig White, TobyChristie.com

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ALLGAIER PLAYS 'SUPER SUB' TO PERFECTION

For Kyle Larson and Hendrick Motorsports, Sunday's attempt at running 'The Double' (the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600) was anything but perfect, with Mother Nature heavily delaying the start of the Indy 500.

The decision was made for Larson to stay in Indianapolis, allowing NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Justin Allgaier the chance to start the Coca-Cola 600 in the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet.

For Allgaier, the main goal was to remain on the lead lap, so that when Larson returned returned to Charlotte Motor Speedway, they could make the driver swap, and the 2021 Cup Series champion could get to work.

The Riverton, Illinois-native easily accomplished that goal, and as the laps continued to click off, and Allgaier became more acclimated with the seventh-generation racecar, the outlook continued to get better.

After 249 of 400 laps, Allgaier had muscled the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro from his early-race running position outside the top 25 - and barely on the lead lap - to inside the top-15, running 13th at the time of the race's final caution.

But, as Kyle Larson arrived in Charlotte, so did Mother Nature, with a lightning strike and eventual monsoon forcing NASCAR to eventually cancel the remaining portion of the Coca-Cola 600.

Since he started the event, Allgaier would be credited with the finish no matter how many laps Larson completed in the No. 5. But, with the 31-year-old driver not making a single circuit, it eliminates any potential asterisks stemming from the race.

Finishing 13th, Sunday's result is the fourth-best of Allgaier's 82-race NASCAR Cup Series career, and his best on a mile-and-a-half, beating his previous best of 15th at Homestead and Charlotte in 2014, when he was driving for HScott Motorsports.

An uneventful finish in the NASCAR Cup Series is exactly what Allgaier was looking for, considering his sporadic starts in the series -- planned or not -- have been plagued with issues since leaving the series full-time after 2015.

Before Sunday, Allgaier had only driven in six NASCAR Cup Series events after leaving HScott Motorsports, four of which resulted in DNFs, and only one of which resulted in a top-25.

So, should Justin Allgaier be leaning into the role of 'super sub' just like his former JR Motorsports teammate Regan Smith? Between his performance Sunday, and his not-too-shabby Xfinity Series stats, I would say probably.

Photo Credit: Craig White, TobyChristie.com

'THOMPSON TRIPLE' HEADLINES MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND DOUBLE-DIPPERS

Memorial Day Weekend has long been renowned as one of the best weekends to be a fan of motorsports, with three incredible prestigious events taking place on Sunday: Monaco Grand Prix, Indianapolis 500, and Coca-Cola 600.

As expected, those races garnered the majority of the mainstream attention during the weekend, but that doesn't necessarily mean everybody else will stop racing. Multiple different series, including the Xfinity Series, Truck Series, ARCA, CARS Tour, ASA STARS National Tour, and TransAm all held events during Memorial Day Weekend.

Kyle Larson had the most prestigious instance of double-dipping over the weekend, as the NASCAR Cup Series champion attempted to run both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday. However, the driver's 'Double' turned into a downer, when inclement weather pushed the start of the Indy 500 back, forcing him to miss the entirety of the shortened Coca-Cola 600.

Of the 18 drivers attempting double-duty in some form (with at least one event contested at Charlotte), Chase Elliott completed the most laps (578) and miles (722.91), after running the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series events at Charlotte, and the ASA STARS event at Hickory.

Josh Berry joined Elliott in the ASA STARS National Tour event at Hickory Motor Speedway, while also scoring a top-10 in the shortened Coca-Cola 600, making his double dip slightly less strenuous at 499 laps (469.25 miles).

Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch, Noah Gragson, Shane Van Gisbergen, and JJ Yeley all joined Elliott in running both the Cup and Xfinity Series events at Charlotte, with what was originally scheduled to be 600 laps (900 miles) turning into 449 laps (673.50 miles). But, with early exits from the Coke 600, Gragson and Yeley only managed to run 370 laps (555 miles) and 313 laps (469.50 miles), respectively.

Ty Dillon was the only driver who competed in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events at Charlotte this weekend, completing 381 laps (571.50 miles). Meanwhile, Taylor Gray chose to take on the Xfinity and Truck Series at Charlotte, completing 334 laps (500 miles).

Now, this is where things get slightly more complicated:

Lawless Alan, Tanner Gray, Connor Mosack, and Dean Thompson were all tasked with running Friday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series events, both of which happened within a couple of hours of each other.

Mosack wasn't done for the weekend, having to fly to Lime Rock Park to compete in the TransAm TA2 event on Saturday, but as far as Friday's on-track schedule, things were looking pretty calm and collected for the Alan, Gray, and the Charlotte, North Carolina native.

But, there is nothing this weekend (or on most weekends) that can compare with the nightmare that awaited Dean Thompson on Friday, with practice and qualifying for the ARCA Menards Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and NASCAR Xfinity Series running back-to-back-to-back, then having to run two races. Then, on Saturday, with solid performances in ARCA and Trucks under his belt, Thompson went on track at Charlotte Motor Speedway to make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut for Sam Hunt Racing.

Kaden Honeycutt, Carson Kvapil, and Conner Jones all competed in a single event at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday, but come Saturday, found themselves at Tri-County Speedway to compete in either the CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car or Pro Late Model Divisions. Whereas Andres Perez went a bit further, traveling from Charlotte, North Carolina to Monterrey, Mexico to compete in the NASCAR Mexico Series event.