Tucson's Alex Bowman rides confidence and momentum into NASCAR's 2022 unknowns

From start to finish, 2021 was an excellent year for Alex Bowman. The Tucson native put together a career-best campaign in his fourth full-time season with Hendrick Motorsports and further integrated himself into NASCAR’s limelight with some controversy along the way.

Aptly nicknamed “The Showman,” Bowman put the sport on notice by racking up four Cup Series victories, including one in the semifinal race which concluded with three-time Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin calling him a hack.

In that race at Martinsville, Bowman knocked Hamlin out of the running in the final laps. Hamlin still qualified for the final four at Phoenix Raceway, but that didn't stop him from unleashing his "hack" tirade, or from impeding Bowman's post-race burnout celebration.

Unfazed, Bowman's team shot back by creating and selling "Hack" t-shirts on his official website.

With six wins and four consecutive playoff appearances in 225 starts, it’s a bit ignorant to refer to Bowman as a “hack,” but it’s also an exaggerated example of the pressures he’s had to overcome throughout his career.

Much like navigating through high school as an adolescent, it’s hard finding yourself as a younger athlete in professional sports, especially when being dealt the double-edged sword of opportunity with expectations.

After competing for underfunded teams during his freshman and sophomore seasons in the Cup Series, Bowman’s determination earned him a spot at one of NASCAR’s most prestigious organizations, while also filling the voids left by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson’s departures from racing.

Bowman, 28, has shown sporadic flashes of brilliance amidst the insurmountable pressures of living up to his Hall of Fame predecessors. Looking ahead to this season, which begins Sunday at the Daytona 500, the driver of the No. 48 is hoping to replicate success from last year, while applying lessons learned over time.

“I feel like we either won or finished last, but taking four trophies home was really special,” Bowman told the Arizona Republic. “We want to match that with the consistency that we had at the end of 2020. Just trying to merge the two together, I think life would be pretty good.”

Bowman won the pole at Daytona last year, posted career marks in wins and top-10s (16), but was left wanting more after placing 14th in the standings, versus sixth in the year prior.

Although Bowman captured the checkered-flag on a more frequent basis last season, he failed to translate the speed into consistency when it mattered — in the playoffs. His one win, three top-10s, 10 laps led and a 27.6 average finish was a weaker showing contrasted to his seven top-10s, 52 laps led and 8.8 average during the 2020 postseason.

While previous mentalities and routines are applicable heading into 2022, blending those with competitive knowledge amassed over time essentially will be impossible. NASCAR is introducing a brand new car to the Cup Series with promises of the most aggressive changes in decades.

“I don’t think anybody really has an idea of what to expect,” Bowman said. “It’s changed every time we’ve gone to the race track with these cars and it’s going to continue to change pretty rapidly for the first couple months. I think all the changes are going to be really interesting, and the development and growth of this new car is going to be cool to see.”

As with most younger drivers racing at the Cup level, the Gen-6 car is all Bowman has ever known. With so many new variables heading into this season, the expectation is that mastering the new car will be a cold war of sorts among teams — those who adapt and figure out advantages the quickest will emerge victorious.

Typically known for his cool and collected demeanor, Bowman is taking the initiative to be more attentive and vocal in order to help take his crew to the promised land.

“I’m trying to do whatever I can to be successful with (the new car) and help the team figure it out as quickly as possible,” Bowman said. “It’s definitely going to be a learning process and it’s going to change week-to-week. I’m looking forward to seeing what it looks like.”

Defending champ: Glendale's McDowell has sights set on Daytona 500 title defense

This will be crucial to the No. 48 crew’s success in 2022, because as displayed last season, it's developed a reputation as one of the most opportunistic teams in the sport.

Of Bowman’s four victories, three came with less than a combined 20 laps led in the race. These were courtesy of near-perfect execution on pit road, which Bowman cited as his team’s biggest strength and area of growth last year.

He believes the continued chemistry and rapport the team is building off of will serve as a springboard entering this season.

“I think we learned that we can work really well together as a team,” Bowman said. “We had some issues on pit road early in the season that might have cost us some races, but I think the next week we went to Dover (International Speedway) and won off a pit stop. Seeing the guys overcome some of those things and use it as motivation to be better was really cool.”

Coming off his best season to date, Bowman is carrying momentum and maturity into his seventh full-time Cup campaign with the obvious goal of winning a championship in his home state. He plans to make this a reality by matching wins with consistency and says fans should expect “more wins and maybe some more extremely sarcastic t-shirts,” this season.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tucson's Alex Bowman rides confidence, momentum into new NASCAR season