MARTINSVILLE, Va. (Reuters) - Alex Bowman’s shot to win the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championship died when he was eliminated from playoffs on Oct. 10 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. But on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, Bowman got some redemption when he won the Xfinity 500 NASCAR Cup Series in Virginia in overtime.
He captured the win when he whacked Denny Hamlin out of the lead with six laps to go.
“I just got loose,” said Bowman, who has four wins this year and six on his career. “I got in too deep, knocked him out of the way and literally let him have the lead back. So, for anybody that wants to think that I was trying to crash him, it obviously wasn’t the case considering I literally gave up the lead here at Martinsville to give it back to him.
“He’s been on the other side of that. He’s crashed guys here for wins. I hate doing it. I just (went) loose under him and spun him out.”
Hamlin finished 24th and in doing so still grabbed a berth in the championship-deciding race at Phoenix next weekend based on points. Not that it soothed his anger at Bowman.
After the end of the race, Hamlin tracked Bowman down on the cool-down laps and rammed the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s Chevrolet.