Rumor Mill: Is Alex Bowman Out at Hendrick For 2027?

What’s Happening?

NASCAR Silly Season is finally heating up, as NASCAR fans are now discussing a recent podcast episode that mentioned the possibility of Hendrick Motorsports promoting top prospect Corey Day to replace Alex Bowman for the 2027 season.

The saga of Alex Bowman’s time at Hendrick Motorsports has been a hit-or-miss affair for the team and driver.

While he had a strong start taking over for Dale Earnhardt Jr., the introduction of NASCAR’s Next Gen car has not been kind to him.

Even though he has somewhat kept pace with his prior stats at HMS, Bowman has just two wins in the Gen Seven car and has unfortunately missed 13 races across three seasons due to injury.

In late 2024, rumors swelled from podcast Door, Bumper, Clear, that Bowman could be out of his car by year’s end.

Of course, this move never came to be, but this year, mired by a 64-race losing streak during a contract year, Bowman now faces the hot seat once again.

During the latest episode of Door, Bumper, Clear, talks of Bowman’s potential ousting resurfaced, with co-host and spotter Freddie Kraft suggesting that HMS prospect Corey Day, who currently sits fourth in NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series standings, could be in the No. 48 by 2027.

“I would have thought Corey Day was a year away from getting in the 48 car, or at least getting a chance to get in the 48 car. I think that there’s some serious conversations of whether he might get in that car next year now.” — Freddie Kraft

Now, this is far from a guarantee that the 20-year-old will be promoted next year, and could just be garage area talk. Still, given Bowman’s slow start to the season (aside from his time missed due to a vertigo diagnosis), it’s easy to see why these comments took the online NASCAR community by storm.

Is Day Ready?

While Corey Day has the endorsement of names like Kyle Larson and Jeff Gordon, a lot of the fan discussions surrounding his future are not if he will race at the next level for HMS, but when.

Corey Day is a very talented driver and has been doing a really good job this year but I don't think he is completely ready yet to take over The 48. I think Bowman does deserve another year #NASCAR

— Daniel Kriete (@DanielKriete4) May 12, 2026

So far this year, he has shown a drastic improvement from his mixed bag starts in the ARCA Menards, Craftsman Truck, and OAP Series in 2025.

Still, Day is just a couple of years removed from his first-ever race on asphalt, and with his strides of improvement in year two of (mostly) full-time action, fans are asking if another year would serve him well.

Another year in OAP could work out for Hendrick as well, as Bowman is a consistent yet quiet option that could score a Chase spot for the team next season.

Even then, during this same episode of Door, Bumper, Clear, NASCAR Hall of Famer Kurt Busch seemed to think promoting him for 2027 was worth a look, as the Next Gen car will be a steep learning curve for Day.

“With the Gen Seven car, you want to get him [Day] in as quick as you can,” Busch said.

Of course, HMS still has time to make a decision on both Bowman and Day’s future, as with the early re-signing of Kyle Larson, it’s the only real Silly Season decision facing the team ahead of 2026.

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