Justin Allgaier to Substitute for Alex Bowman at Las Vegas NASCAR Cup Race

Las Vegas, NV – Justin Allgaier, the 2024 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion, will replace Alex Bowman in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for this weekend’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Bowman is continuing to recover from symptoms of vertigo.

Bowman was initially forced out of the Cup Series race at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) mid-race, with Myatt Snider completing the event. He was subsequently diagnosed with vertigo, and Anthony Alfredo drove the No. 48 Chevrolet at Phoenix Raceway, finishing 33rd after a restart crash.

“Alex continues to perform closely with doctors toward being medically cleared, but he’s still experiencing some lingering symptoms,” said Jeff Andrews, Hendrick Motorsports general manager. “He’s set a lot into the recovery process, and we will continue to support him every step of the way. Our priority remains making sure Alex is fully ready before returning to the race car.”

Allgaier currently competes full-time for JR Motorsports in the O’Reilly Series, having recently secured his 29th career victory. While primarily a competitor in the secondary NASCAR series, Allgaier has 84 Cup Series starts between 2013 and 2026, including a recent appearance in the Daytona 500 with JR Motorsports where he crashed while leading. His best Cup Series finish is eighth place.

This isn’t Allgaier’s first time filling in for Hendrick Motorsports. He previously substituted for Kyle Larson in the 2024 Coca-Cola 600 while Larson competed in the Indianapolis 500, finishing 13th.

Although Allgaier hasn’t raced a Cup car at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas track since 2015, he won the O’Reilly Series race at the track last year.