NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon predicts deep playoff run for shock driver

NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon is backing a surprise driver for a deep run in the 2025 Cup Series playoffs.

The postseason got underway at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, with Chase Briscoe taking the win in the Cook Out Southern 500 to lock himself into the Round of 12.

On the flip side, Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman is in a precarious position with just two races to go until four drivers are eliminated. The No. 48 driver was the last driver to make it into the playoffs on regular-season points, and heading to Gateway, sits 15th and 19 points below the cut line.

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Jeff Gordon tips Alex Bowman for deep playoff run

However, Gordon, who is the vice chairman at Hendrick Motorsports, believes that Bowman could shock people by not only making it through this round, but also a deep playoff run.

Speaking to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio ahead of the race at Darlington, Gordon said on Bowman and the No. 48 team: "The team is solid. Blake [Harris] is doing a great job. Alex [Bowman], I mean, you just look at their performance, where they’ve been running.

“OK, the win column, that didn’t come yet, and in this format, that’s an important piece of getting locked in.

“But if you just look at the points they’ve been scoring, where they’ve been running in the field, man, don’t be surprised if they go deeper than anybody anticipates in the playoffs.”

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Bowman team has work to do, but can advance

Despite the above backing, however, Gordon did stress that Bowman and the No. 48 crew have a lot of work to do given the lack of playoff points that they entered the postseason with (2).

Gordon, though, believes Bowman can handle the pressure that brings.

“Hey, they’ve got work to do, right?. You get behind as far as going into this first round without those added bonus and playoff points, you’ve got a bit of an uphill climb," the Hendrick Motorsports VP continued.

“I think there’s three or four teams, not just the ones kind of the outside looking in as you go about it that way, what people post of, ‘OK we’re going into this round and these four are already knocked out’, which I don’t necessarily agree with.

“But there’s definitely more pressure on those teams, and I think there’s pressure on the 48 team, but I also have a lot of confidence.

“Alex handles pressure well. I was joking with him the other day, like, ‘man listen, I think you do as good a job as anybody or better’ and he’s like ‘well, I’ve probably had more experience’.

“They’re going to utilize that experience over those next three weeks, and I just think the cars they’re bringing, the performance they’ve shown, I think they can definitely advance.”

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