I met Alex Bowman and his father, Sean, in 2012, together for lunch at the Depot restaurant on East Fort Lowell. I had no idea what to expect.
Alex, then 18, a recent graduate from Ironwood Ridge High School, told me he was going to create a career as a NASCAR driver. He had been racing since he was 7 and nothing was going to stop him. "I'm a kid chasing my dream,'' he said. It wasn't just bluster.
Now 33, Bowman has raced in more than 375 NASCAR events, winning eight. He has earned an estimated $25 million and, at times, was ranked in the top five of all NASCAR racers.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Alex Bowman (48) climbs out of his car July 25, 2026, during qualifying for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
But after a quarter-century of auto racing at every level, Bowman has announced he will retire after the 2027 season. He told reporters he is ready to chase another dream (he is engaged to be married).
Bowman has a chronic back injury. He is dealing with vertigo. He has suffered a concussion, punctured a lung, broken his collarbone and suffered an eye injury in car crashes. From age 7 to 17, he won more than 140 races at various formative stages of the racing industry. Bowman will go down in racing history alongside Tucson Indy 500 legends Roger McCluskey and Bill Cheesbourg. That's quite a threesome.
Former Arizona Wildcat wins his first USA shot put title | Greg Hansen
