Alex Bowman raced to his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory on Sunday, leading a terrific performance for Hendrick Motorsports at Chicagoland Speedway.
Bowman had one of the fastest cars during practice, and the strength of his No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet showed after the race was delayed by a summer storm. The 26-year-old Bowman had just six top-five finishes in 133 starts on NASCAR’s top series before his banner day on the bumpy 1.5 mile oval.
Kyle Larson put together another memorable run a year after he lost an epic last-lap duel with Kyle Busch on the same track. Larson passed Bowman with about seven laps left, but Bowman quickly regained the lead and smartly navigated his way to the finish.
Joey Logano finished third, followed by Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski.
It was Hendrick’s second victory of the season. It placed four drivers in the top 11.
