Tucson’s Alex Bowman will miss Charlotte race after suffering concussion

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tucson’s Alex Bowman and fellow racer Cody Shane Ware will miss this weekend’s NASCAR race because of injuries suffered driving the new Next Gen car.

Bowman will miss a second consecutive race with a concussion. Ware said he’s skipping Sunday’s race on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway because his broken right foot can’t handle the demands of a road course  race. Kurt Busch has missed 11 consecutive races with a concussion.

“I am continuing to make strides in my recovery to make sure I can return to competition at 100%” Bowman, an Ironwood Ridge High School graduate, posted on social media.

Noah Gragson will again drive the No. 48 Chevrolet. Bowman will almost certainly be eliminated from the playoffs. The field is cut from 12 to eight in Sunday’s race.

Bowman crashed on the 98th lap at Texas, radioed his team to say it was the hardest hit of his life, appeared unwell on his in-car camera and yet continued to drive another 231 laps. He was diagnosed with his concussion four days later.

“After the race, he said he didn’t feel good. But it was Monday morning, I didn’t know anything because he stayed in the car,” team owner Rick Hendrick said. “Then Monday morning he didn’t feel well. They started working with him Tuesday. Wednesday was good. He felt much better. Then Thursday he backed up, he didn’t feel good, so he went to see the doctor.”

Hendrick had expected Bowman to be back in the car at Charlotte this weekend.