NASCAR Cup Series veteran issues verdict on Hendrick Motorsports driver swap

NASCAR Cup Series veteran Kyle Petty has issued a decisive verdict on Alex Bowman's Hendrick Motorsports future.

Unfortunately for Bowman, he was one of four Cup Series drivers eliminated from the playoffs at Bristol on Saturday night, making him the only Hendrick Motorsports driver not to feature in the Round of 12.

Bowman's failure comes after he also failed to win a race in 2025 and had to rely on getting into the postseason via points in the first place.

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Petty on Bowman's HMS future

The driver of the No. 48's future has long been a point of discussion among the NASCAR community, given his underperformance next to some of his bigger-name teammates.

However, Petty believes that Bowman deserves another season, and insists he trusts the judgment of Hendrick Motorsports owner, Rick Hendrick, when it comes to the 32-year-old's future.

"Should they get rid of him?" Petty asked himself via NASCAR.com.

"In the perfect world, if you owned that team, you could get rid of him. You could change everything, we could complain about it all we want to, but it's Rick's [Hendrick's] decision, not our decision.

"We have a voice, we have an opinion, but it's not our decision. The sponsor likes him, Rick likes him, the team likes him, he adds something to the combination and he helps the whole group move forward.

"So let's give him another shot. Let's give him another shot next year and then come back and talk to me. But for right now, I defer to my man Rick Hendrick."

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Bowman better than Elliott 'a lot of weeks'

Before making the above judgment, Petty argued that Bowman had been stronger than one of his teammates a lot this season, which would further justify the team's decision to keep him.

“He [Bowman] has not performed this year, not to the level that the other teams have," Petty admitted.

"But he has outperformed Chase Elliott a lot of weeks," Petty said earlier.

Bowman must now sit out the remainder of the playoffs, but with three teammates still involved, he can demonstrate his worth even more to Hendrick Motorsports by playing a supporting role in the coming weeks.

Playoff action continues at New Hampshire on Sunday, with a start time of 2pm ET.

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