March 6, 2023 | By Lee Spencer

Alex Bowman, sponsor Ally step up support for man's Best Friends

LAS VEGAS—Nice guys may not always finish first, but Alex Bowman is proving that good deeds on and off the track pay off.

When the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the Tucson’s native home track—Phoenix Raceway—this weekend, Bowman will be sporting a new Best Friends Animal Society livery on the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet to promote the advocacy of rescuing dogs and cats.

Bowman, who started his eighth full season on the Cup tour with three-consecutive top 10s for the first time in his career, is hoping to continue the streak in Arizona.

“Just excited with the way the year has started, and hopefully we keep the momentum rolling next week at Phoenix,” Bowman said.

“I feel like I’ve ran poorly at that track quite a bit, so I would like just a good, solid day, honestly. If we went and just ran top-10 all day, I’d be pretty happy with how the last five years have gone there.”

Bowman has nothing to complain about the 2023—short of posting his first win of the season. After announcing he extended his contract with Hendrick last month, Bowman scored his first top-five result in the Daytona 500 then backed up his run with an eighth-place finish at Auto Club Speedway.

On Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports raced to a 1-2-3 finish with William Byron scoring the victory and Kyle Larson and Bowman completing the podium.

“I think I got us too tight in Stage 3 and just tried to be really aggressive and make for it there on that last restart,” Bowman said. “Yeah, had a shot at it, just a couple rows too far back to start.

“But really proud of Hendrick Motorsports. To be one, two, three is really awesome. Our Allied Camaro was really good, especially Stage 2. Just asked for the wrong adjustments probably.”

While Bowman has upped the ante on the racetrack, both he and Ally have also increased their philanthropic support to the Best Friends program. After initial donations of $1,000 each in 2021, Bowman and Ally have contributed a combined $362,000 following last weekend’s activities at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.