Alex Bowman secured his second season win at the 2021 Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway.
Bowman was able to take the lead when his pit crew got him off pit road first on lap 304. He then led the final 96 laps of the race as teammate Kyle Larson was unable to pass him. Bowman earned his racing team Hendrick Motorsports their 267th race win. That is one win shy of the team record held by Petty Enterprises.
To make the win better for the racing team, Bowman’s fellow teammates finished second, third and fourth. Larson finished second, Chase Elliott third, and William Byron fourth. Larson led for a race-high 263 laps and then Bowman led for 98 laps.
It’s the first time in team history that Hendrick cars have finished in the top four spots. The last time the team held the top spots was in the 1997 Daytona 500. In that race, Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte and Ricky Craven finished first, second, and third.
After the race was over, Bowman was excited. The self-described “race car driver slash weirdo” quoted a movie line from the film Talladega Nights. “Help me, Tom Cruise, I’m on fire,” Bowman said.
“I want to be the guy that gets those wins for Mr. H,” Bowman said. “Not so fast,” said Larson in response to Bowman. “I hope I’m the driver to do it.”
The next season race will be held at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas on Sunday.
