CONCORD, N.C. — Alex Bowman’s victory from last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover (Del.) Int’l Speedway offered more than a trophy and playoff points toward a championship run.
It allowed his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team a chance to reflect and honor one of their own.
Bowman credited his win in the May 16 Drydene 400 at the one-mile, high-banked concrete oval to his pit crew, which got the Tucson, Ariz., native off pit road first in the late stages of the race and gave him track position he held to the checkered flag.
That pit crew mourned the loss of tire carrier William “Rowdy” Harrell, a former champion linebacker for the University of Alabama football team, last November after Harrell and his wife Blakeley were killed in a highway crash while on their honeymoon in the Florida Keys.
In short, Bowman’s triumph wasn’t just for himself. It was “a win for Rowdy” as well.
“I’m so proud of this pit crew,” Bowman said Sunday in victory lane. “It was obviously a rough offseason for us and a big void to fill, not that we’re ever going to fill the void that Rowdy left. With that said … the whole pit crew is doing a really good job this year and we’ve been able to capitalize on that.
“I wouldn’t have won this race without them and this win is for Rowdy. We definitely miss him.”
Harrell was a mainstay with Hendrick Motorsports’ pit crews for nearly a decade, working with the team for eight seasons and crewing for Bowman prior to his passing following the 2020 Cup Series season.
His slot with Bowman’s pit crew was filled by Allen Stallings, who previously worked with Jimmie Johnson prior to Johnson’s departure from Cup Series competition at the end of last year.
Both Bowman and his crew chief, Greg Ives, felt Harrell’s position with their team could only be filled by someone who epitomized his work ethic and character — something Ives spoke to after Bowman’s Dover victory.
“When you’re going through what we went through last year, one of the biggest things you have to do is find a connection … not only with the team, but a connection with the person that Rowdy was,” explained Ives. “Allen and Rowdy had a friendship and a relationship prior [to Harrell’s passing]. He was somebody that understood Rowdy and his attitude toward everyday work. He understood Rowdy’s personality from a team aspect, how valuable he was to us and what he did to keep us motivated every day and every week. That’s where I found comfort with the guys around us.
“The pit crew had a big say in how they replaced one of their fallen guys. How was he going to mesh with the team? I would take meshing with the team over talent,” Ives continued. “Alan and Rowdy came in [to Hendrick Motorsports] close together, they stayed friends. They had a similar work ethic. Ultimately, it felt like the right choice for him to step into a position that was very difficult to endure and go through.
“He helped us find a little bit of peace in it all.”
While Bowman was quick to point out that “no one will ever replace Rowdy at this team,” he said Stallings has brought a similar feel to the team as was there during Harrell’s tenure.
“I think Rowdy had a really big, outgoing personality in the sea of awkwardness that is the (No.) 48 team,” Bowman said with a smile. “I think Alan brings a really similar personality, that outgoing nature. He’s just a big personality, a lot of fun to be around and a lot of fun to talk to. I feel like he can talk to anybody. He’s always having a good time, always upbeat and always positive.
“Rowdy was that guy. We have a lot of really awkward people on this team, between Greg and I, some of the other pit crew guys and some of the team itself,” Bowman added. “We’re kind of a bunch of weirdos, but it gets the job done. I feel like Alan brings us all together a little bit.”
That united front was on full display at the Monster Mile, leading to Bowman’s fourth Cup Series triumph and an opportunity to both honor and remember a fallen member of his team.
“It was cool to win a race that I could really point back to them [the pit crew] and say they’re who got it done. It was cool to be able to do that,” Bowman said. “This win was just special in a lot of ways, for a lot of reasons.”