Alex Bowman and his Hendrick Motorsports has been on a roll as of late.<\/p>\n
Going back to a strong ending to last season and a stellar beginning to this one, the powerhouse NASCAR team is looking to get back to the elite ranks.<\/p>\n
The ranks that Jimmie Johnson <\/strong>had the team at during the prime of his career \u2013 winning 7 NASCAR Cup Series championships in the short span of 11 seasons.<\/p>\n It\u2019s almost crazy to look at.<\/p>\n And while the break is an unprecedented task, HMS\u2019 start to the season included three of its drivers \u2013 including Johnson \u2013 in the top five of the points standings.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a small sample size, but certainly an encouraging number.<\/p>\n \u201cI know our team, much like many other teams, is spending a lot of time on the phone trying to strategize on where to work or what to look at, but we physically can\u2019t go anywhere or do anything right now,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, NASCAR teams are in a frozen period where the amount of progress that can be made is slim.<\/p>\n That was the agreement that all of the teams had reached.<\/p>\n “There\u2019s really very little we can do,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWe can work on our computers, but Hendrick has been shut down for a while now. There has been an agreement reached where teams aren\u2019t sending employees into work and not only from the NASCAR point, but obviously what the governor has said on the amount of people that can gather at a given place.\u201d<\/p>\n Although, don\u2019t think a team like HMS is going to sit back and get lazy.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no reason to think that anyone is using this as a vacation period.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why iRacing has taken off in the rapid way that it has. Drivers like William Byron<\/strong>, Chase Elliott, <\/strong>and of course Alex Bowman <\/strong>are taking it as serious as they can.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a quality that Johnson has seen in Bowman over the years, and more as of late.<\/p>\n “He\u2019s really dug in deep and has asked himself all the tough questions about how he can get better,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt\u2019s been really amazing to see him grow and learn. I would say the thing that\u2019s talked about most is the confidence that\u2019s come with all of that. I\u2019ve been really impressed.\u201d<\/p>\n Bowman started out as a SIM racer for the team, building on his experience throughout his career and taking opportunities where he could.<\/p>\n Fast-forward a few years later and Bowman is a two-time Cup Series winner \u2013 including this year\u2019s race at Fontana.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve watched him evolve quite a bit over the years; especially since his responsibilities were just running the SIM for us, to now having a full-time seat in the car,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cHe\u2019s done a lot of growing and maturing and he\u2019s done an amazing job.”<\/p>\nJimmie Johnson on Alex Bowman, HMS keeping success through COVID-19 Break<\/strong><\/h2>\n