February 26, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

Alex Bowman seeks to overcome unknowns in return to Fontana

Alex Bowman would like to pick up where he left off at Auto Club Speedway—atop the leader board. 

But much has changed since NASCAR’s last visit in 2020 to the two-mile track in the foothills of San Bernardino County. NASCAR has developed a new car for the Cup Series. The No. 88 on the side of Bowman’s car has been replaced by the No. 48 following the departure of Jimmie Johnson. And the 28-year-old driver is no longer a one-hit wonder. 

Bowman has proven he can win at a variety of venues, from a half-mile such as Martinsville to the 2.5-mile Tricky Triangle of Pocono Raceway. Yet with just 15 minutes of practice per group on Saturday, the teams will likely have just two runs to dial in the generation-seven cars.

“The biggest thing is we really can’t make changes in that amount of time; we might have time make one change,” Bowman said. “So, kind of just getting a handle on what you have, and you can’t go through a normal practice agenda like that. It’s definitely an interesting schedule, really compact when it comes to on-track race time, but the guys are there all weekend anyway so it’s kind of interesting how that played out. 

“Just trying to figure out what we can learn. The racetrack is going to change a lot as it rubbers up, the resin comes in, so kind of seeing the progression of that and seeing how the car drives.”

Just days after Bowman won at the 2020 Auto Club 400, his teammate William Byron tested the Next Gen car during its earliest stages. During the pandemic, the track sat idle much of the time. And the car went through a dramatic transformation. 

“It has changed a lot since then, so just trying to get a handle on it at a place it hasn’t been to and a place that is super rough, super slick, got seams all over the place,” Bowman said. “There’s so many aspects that are really going to test the car and test how the set-up is. 

“Trying to be on the right side of it is going to be key, and hopefully we’re guessing at it better than the rest of them.”

NASCAR hasn’t offered teams a lot of time to take the guesswork out of the process with the condensed schedule and a new qualifying system. After the first group practices on Saturday, they’ll have 20 minutes to prepare for time trials while the second group practices. Then qualifying immediately begins for Group 1, followed by Group 2. The top-five cars from each group advance to the second round of qualifying. 

As abrasive as Auto Club Speedway has become over the years, track position has played a more prominent row in the strategy. The last four victors have won from the first two rows, two of them from the pole (Kyle Larson in 2017 and Martin Truex Jr. in 2018).

“It’s a big challenge for sure,” Bowman said. “Just we’ve never been there with this car. We haven’t been there with a high-horsepower, lower-downforce package in a couple of years, so just trying to know what I need to do to start practice. Lift points, basic stuff is a big question mark right now. 

“Hopefully I adapt to it as quick as anybody, and I think it’s difficult from the team side too, right? Like you have your simulation and all that, but until you go do it, who really knows? Hopefully, our stuff is accurate, and we are good when we get there.”