By Luis Torres, Staff Writer/Photographer
For the first time since the Daytona 500, a NASCAR Cup Series race was halted after a multi-car crash collected Alex Bowman in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
Following a brief caution for a two-car incident, the race resumed on Lap 66 where everyone were jockeying for position without giving an inch.
A lap later, the field entered into Turn 1 where carnage ensued. Bowman was mired back in 28th when Daniel Suarez tapped into the back of Riley Herbst, resulting an accordion effect where Austin Cindric went low and made it four-wide on Suarez, Herbst, and Cole Custer.
From there, Cindric’s slight tap snapped the battle which ultimately darted Bowman violently headfirst into the SAFER Barriers while collecting Custer and Suarez. Pole sitter Chase Briscoe, an innocent bystander, was clipped by the careening Custer, capping off the four-car incident.
As the other cars involved left the scene, Bowman’s wounded No. 48 Ally Chevrolet was left alone with a line of oil blocking the track which resulted in the race being halted for over 11 minutes. It’s the fifth red flag of the season and the 17th at the two-mile oval since 2000.
Fortunately, Bowman was able to get out his car under his own power but once again, the rotten luck continues for the Hendrick Motorsports driver.
The red flag is out at @MISpeedway after this incident involving multiple cars.@Alex_Bowman exited the No. 48 under his own power. pic.twitter.com/hP4HV8rbKN
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 8, 2025
After his fourth DNF of the year, Bowman explained the Lap 67 crash hurt a lot and has probably taken the top spot of the hardest crashes he’s had in his driving career. He noted that he’s had a share of those hard hits over the years, with his crash at Texas in Fall 2022 being the most notable where he sustained a concussion that sidelined him for five out of the last six races that year.
“I hate that for the Ally 48 team, (Ally Financial) is from here. Looks like the 41 (Custer) got loose or the 2 (Cindric) got into him or something and by that point, you’re just along for the ride,” said Bowman.
“I couldn’t do anything except think about, ‘Oh, shit! This is about to hurt pretty bad.’”
“I hate that for our team. It’s been a rough two months, so I have to keep digging.”
The aftermath. #NASCARonPrime pic.twitter.com/YaCZuNaNkw
— Sports on Prime (@SportsonPrime) June 8, 2025
With his Michigan retirement, it marks the seventh time in the last nine races where Bowman has finished 25th or worse, lowlighted with a 37th at Bristol, 35th at Texas and a pair of 36th place finishes in the last two straight races.
Before that spiraling downfall, Bowman was third in the regular season standings after the sixth race of the year at Homestead in March.
Fast forward to early June, Bowman now sees himself outside the top-10 and in a situation where a win will save his frustrating season.
Bowman explained after qualifying 16th, the No. 48 machine faded away during the long runs. Therefore, massive changes had to be made to improve the car. Ultimately, all of that effort was for not as his day was cut short and will have to shift gears into Mexico City next Sunday (3 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime).
“Honestly, we were pretty decent yesterday. We fell off too much on the long run and I was optimistic about today. We completely missed it to start the race,” said Bowman. “Then obviously, we got super loose and had long pit stops, making adjustments trying to make it better. But I never really got a chance to race again after that.
“I was confident that my guys would’ve gotten the car better and get back through there. Unfortunately, when you get in the back like that, shit gets pretty crazy and stuff like that happens.”
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