Rick Hendrick’s pit crew tactic backfires after Carson Hocevar’s mechanics outperform Alex Bowman on pit road 

Rick Hendrick’s decision to reshuffle pit crews between Alex Bowman and Carson Hocevar is now in the limelight. A post compared the average pit stop times of both teams and shows how the change backfired instead of yielding desired results.

The post was uploaded by Bozi Tatarevic on X. He wrote,

“The No. 48 pit crew has an average pit stop time of 11.1 seconds so far. The No. 77 pit crew has an average pit stop time of 10.9 seconds so far.”

Tatarevic shared that the No. 48 pit crew, now aligned with Bowman, was averaging pit stops of 11.1 seconds. In contrast, the No. 77 crew, which continued to service Hocevar, was averaging 10.9 seconds.

Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports had swapped several pit crew members between the two cars heading into the Bristol night race. This was done after Bowman’s playoff run was repeatedly hurt by mistakes on pit road.

At Darlington, the team lost nearly 40 seconds when pit-gun hoses came loose, leading to a 31st-place finish. At Gateway, a dropped jack cost Bowman track positions before a speeding penalty was added onto his poor result.

By moving four members from Hocevar’s No. 77 team to Bowman’s No. 48, Hendrick hoped to stabilize Bowman’s performance in the playoffs. NASCAR.com reported that the goal was to provide a boost at a critical point, as Bowman was already deep in a points deficit.

The shuffle included Daniel Bach as front changer, Rod Cox as rear changer, Jarius Morehead as tire carrier, and Cody French as jackman. The only role not changed was the fueler.

Meanwhile, Hocevar’s new pit crew lineup was Donnie Tasser, Andrew Bridgeforth, Brandon Grier, Allen Holman, and Zico Pasut. Despite receiving new personnel, the No. 77 performed better, keeping its stop times among the quickest.

This was not an isolated incident of such a crew swap. Trackhouse Racing had recently shifted Daniel Suarez’s jackman to Ross Chastain’s crew. For Rick Hendrick, however, the timing of the swap did not deliver the immediate payoff he needed.

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Rick Hendrick’s Alex Bowman falls short of playoff survival despite pit crew switch

Alex Bowman entered Bristol knowing it was his last chance to stay alive in the playoffs. He was 35 points below the cutline and needed a strong performance or a win to advance. Although his Hendrick Motorsports team had reshuffled its pit crew before the race, Alex Bowman could not extend his playoff run.

Starting on the 15th, Alex Bowman worked his way forward and looked competitive. He led five laps during the event and finished Stage 2 in third, showing speed that suggested he could challenge for the win. Despite the improvements, his race ended with an eighth-place finish, which left him 10 points short of advancing into the Round of 12. Alex Bowman reflected on the result with mixed emotions. Speaking to Bob Pockrass, he said,

“I think, I’m proud of the effort today. Certainly, we’ve never gone out in a first round. So that’s frustrating, but after the last two weeks, just top-10 and kind of being pointed in the right direction feels good. I mean, it’s easy to be frustrated but I feel like we did all we could today, and looking back on it, that’s kind of all you can ask for.”

This elimination was the first time Alex Bowman had failed to move forward after the opening round of the postseason. What made it more frustrating was that he had entered the playoffs without a win, moving forward on consistent finishes to get his place among the 16 drivers. His showing at Bristol was not strong enough to erase the deficit built up from earlier.

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Edited by Anisha Chatterjee