Alex Bowman battles severe back pain to race in Mexico City after Michigan crash

MEXICO CITY (AP) - Alex Bowman wasn’t sure he was going to make the trip to Mexico City because of lower back pain suffered in "the hardest hit of my career" at Michigan last week.

As late as Wednesday - the day before he was scheduled to leave for NASCAR’s first points-paying Cup Series race of the modern era outside the United States - the Hendrick Motorsports driver was so sore he didn’t know if he’d be able to get in the car.

He was still sore after two days of practice at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, but it was after he got out of his No. 48 Chevrolet and not while he was driving. Bowman said his hit registered 50 G-force.

"I don’t know if on paper that’s the biggest (hit) I’ve ever taken, but it’s the most painful one I’ve ever taken, for sure," Bowman said Saturday. "Even compared to when I broke my back, it’s way more pain than that was."

Bowman last Sunday slammed hard into the wall at Michigan in a head-on impact at approximately 150 mph. The hit was so fierce that it lifted the rear wheels in the air. Although nothing was broken, he has severe lower back pain on his right side that shoots into his leg.

The 32-year-old kidded he’s been a bit of a "crash dummy" of late: Bowman missed five races in 2022 with a concussion suffered at Texas, and he broke his back in a 2023 sprint car crash that led Rick Hendrick to ban him from further extracurricular racing.

Although he’s ranked 13th in the Cup Series standings, he didn’t want to miss a race considering the recent slump Bowman is going through. He has finished 27th or worse in seven of the last nine races and has five finishes of 35th or worse.

Even though Bowman made it to Mexico City and says he feels fit enough inside the car, Anthony Alfredo is on standby in case Bowman can’t complete Sunday’s race on the 15-turn, 2.42-mile layout.

Alfredo, a full-time driver in the Xfinity Series, does simulator work for Hendrick Motorsports. He has 42 starts in the Cup Series, including one start earlier this year at Talladega Superspeedway.

Bowman, who qualified 29th, hopes to be able to complete the race.

"The goal is to get all the laps in and go from there," Bowman said. "It hasn’t been a fun week at all. Wednesday was probably the worst day, but we’re here and ready to go. It’s all in the right side of my lower back and then through my lower right leg. Everything is really tight. It’s all muscular. Definitely a lot of pain."

Shane Van Gisbergen won the pole for Sunday’s race in Mexico City in a rain-shortened qualifying session.

The New Zealander got in three qualifying laps and took the top spot with a lap of 93.904 mph to put his No. 88 Chevrolet from Trackhouse Racing out front.

Van Gisbergen proved to be a master of racing on a wet road course in his NASCAR debut when he won on the rain-drenched street course in Chicago in 2023. That victory led to a career change for Van Gisbergen, who was an Australian V8 Supercars champion but made the move to NASCAR after shocking the Cup Series with his Chicago win.

With rain expected Sunday in Mexico City, many believe Van Gisbergen is the favorite to pick up his second career Cup victory. He didn’t want to claim that title, even though BetMGM Sportsbook has him listed as the +225 favorite.

"I don't know, that's your guys' jobs, but I do know that we will be competitive if we get everything right," he said. “It's so hard to know what the car's going to be like - it's a different track, how it's going to be affected by the altitude and the surface. We should be up front. These are the types of tracks I'm good at, so we'll see."

But, he added he actually despises racing in the rain despite his superior skills at maneuvering slick surfaces.

"I absolutely hate racing in the rain, but I'm good at it,” he said. “I'd rather it didn't rain, but if it happens, we put the wets on and go. I just don't enjoy it. It's just never fun. You're always sliding around, and it just turns stuff into chaos. It's fun to watch, but I don't really enjoy driving."

Ryan Preece in a Ford for RFK Racing qualified second and was followed by Ross Chastain, Van Gisbergen’s teammate at Trackhouse. Ty Gibbs in fourth was the highest qualifying Toyota driver.

Daniel Suarez has been feted as a hero since arriving home in Mexico for this weekend’s race, but the joy was spoiled when he demolished his car during qualifying for the Xfinity Series race.

The Saturday crash caused JR Motorsports to unload a backup for Suarez to race later in the day. The native of Monterrey is doing double duty this weekend, racing in both the Xfinity Series race and the Cup Series race for Trackhouse.

He qualified 10th for the Cup race.

But because of his crash, he had to start at the back of the Xfinity field.

Suarez said his Chevrolet had some brake issues in practice that led to a debate over skipping qualifying. He ultimately went out on the track but his brakes failed in Turn 11 and the car did not stop or turn.

Instead, it slid across the track and slammed nose-first into the barrier. The crash buried the No. 9 into the firewall, and Suarez climbed out of his mangled car unscathed.