Not many predicted Alex Bowman would advance out of the first round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. The Hendrick Motorsports driver had just six top 10 finishes in the last 22 races of the regular season. Furthermore, he had one top five result over the final 22 races too.

But, once he got into the postseason, his No. 88 Chevrolet team has turned things around for a second straight year. He heads to the Talladega Superspeedway on the heels of five top 10 finishes in his last six starts on the season.

Bowman, was sixth in Darlington, ninth in Richmond and 16th in Bristol in Round 1. To kick off the Round of 12, he came home fifth in Vegas.

Now, it’s to Talladega to where he has three top eight finishes in his last five starts including a seventh place run back in June. Following that is the Charlotte ROVAL to where he came home second in 2019 too.

Bowman could be sitting pretty now.