Alex Bowman has been scratched from a schedule entrance in the NASCAR O'Reilly Series this weekend.
The Hendrick Motorsports star was slated to run the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet this weekend at Nashville, but his name has been quietly removed from the entry list which was released this week.
The car will instead be driven by his Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Kyle Larson, who also stepped in for the 33-year-old earlier in the season at Darlington.
That previous replacement was due to Bowman being absent from racing for a month with vertigo symptoms, but his absence from the Nashville entry list doesn't seem to be cause for alarm, as he's still listed for the Cup Series on Sunday.
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Why is Alex Bowman missing a Nashville race?
In short? It's not yet clear. The good news is that, as mentioned above, this doesn't seem to be a health issue, as he's still slated to run Sunday's Cup race.
It could very well be as simple as he and Hendrick deciding to put his focus solely on the Cup Series after a rough start to the year which has left him far from the Chase cutline at the halfway point of the regular season.
The gap to Ryan Preece in 16th sits at 156 points, which is actually more than Bowman's managed to collect in the first half of the season (147) thanks to his vertigo-induced absence and some unfortunate wrecks.
NASCAR O'Reilly Series entry list for Nashville
| Entry | Car No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | #0 | Garrett Smithley | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | #00 | Sheldon Creed | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet |
| 3 | #1 | Carson Kvapil | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 4 | #02 | Ryan Ellis | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 5 | #2 | Jesse Love | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 6 | #07 | Josh Bilicki | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet |
| 7 | #7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 8 | #8 | Sammy Smith | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 9 | #17 | Corey Day | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | #18 | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 11 | #19 | Brent Crews | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 12 | #20 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 13 | #21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 14 | #24 | Harrison Burton | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota |
| 15 | #26 | Dean Thompson | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota |
| 16 | #27 | Jeb Burton | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet |
| 17 | #28 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Chevrolet |
| 18 | #31 | Blaine Perkins | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet |
| 19 | #32 | Rajah Caruth | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet |
| 20 | #33 | Cleetus McFarland | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 21 | #35 | Dawson Cram | Joey Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 22 | #38 | JJ Yeley | RSS Racing | Chevrolet |
| 23 | #39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Chevrolet |
| 24 | #41 | Sam Mayer | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet |
| 25 | #42 | Logan Bearden | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 26 | #44 | Brennan Poole | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet |
| 27 | #45 | Lavar Scott | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet |
| 28 | #48 | Patrick Staropoli | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet |
| 29 | #51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet |
| 30 | #54 | Taylor Gray | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 31 | #55 | Joey Gase | Joey Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 32 | #87 | Austin Green | Peterson Racing Group | Chevrolet |
| 33 | #88 | Kyle Larson (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 34 | #91 | Mason Maggio | DGM Racing x JIM | Chevrolet |
| 35 | #92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing x JIM | Chevrolet |
| 36 | #96 | Anthony Alfredo | Viking Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 37 | #99 | Parker Retzlaff | Viking Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 38 | #153 | David Starr | Joey Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet |
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