NASCAR: Alex Bowman to miss next 3 races with concussion

Hendrick Motorsports announced Wednesday that Alex Bowman will miss the next three NASCAR Cup Series races as part of his ongoing recovery from a concussion.

Bowman will be sidelined again in Sunday’s South Point 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and plans to miss events the following weekends at Homestead-Miami Speedway (Oct. 23) and Martinsville Speedway (Oct. 30). He scored his lone Cup Series victory this season for the No. 48 Chevrolet team at the 1.5-mile Nevada track on March 6.

Xfinity Series regular Noah Gragson again will substitute for Bowman in the No. 48 Chevy. He filled in for Bowman the last two weekends, posting finishes of 19th (Talladega Superspeedway) and 23rd (Charlotte Roval).

Bowman has missed the last two Cup Series events with concussion symptoms after a crash in the Sept. 25 event at Texas Motor Speedway. He sat out events at Talladega Superspeedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course, knocking him from playoff contention after the Round of 12.

Hendrick Motorsports indicated that Bowman was evaluated Wednesday morning by Dr. Michael “Micky” Collins, the clinical director at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program.

“We have a tremendous amount of respect for the entire staff at UPMC,” said Jeff Andrews, president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports. “Our priority continues to be Alex’s recovery and long-term health, and we will follow the plan that Dr. Collins and his team recommend. We’re not looking past the next three races and will evaluate plans for the season finale (Nov. 6 at Phoenix Raceway) as the event approaches.”

Bowman released his own statement on social media, saying he is focused on his recovery with hopes of returning to competition “as soon as possible.”

“I know that Noah will continue to do a great job representing the No. 48, and I’ll be cheering for him and the entire Ally Racing team on every lap,” Bowman said in his post. “Thank you again to everyone for the support I’ve received. It means so much to me.”