Back in 2018, Alex Bowman stepped into the shoes of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s ride in the NASCAR Cup Series under full-time obligation. This was a surprising move, given Hendrick Motorsports decided to replace Earnhardt Jr., one of NASCAR's most renowned drivers, with someone who had considerably less fame or guarantee of race results.Bowman burst into the Cup Series scene in 2014 when he participated in the Daytona 500 for BK Racing. He moved to Tommy Baldwin Racing the very next year and joined HMS as a substitute driver in 2016. Bowman joined Rick Hendrick's team as an interim driver for Earnhardt Jr., who was set to miss the remainder of that season due to concussion issues.Bowman and Jeff Gordon drove the #88 Chevrolet entry for the 2016 season, and the former remained in the same role in 2017. However, after Earnhardt Jr. retired from full-time racing in NASCAR, HMS put Bowman in Earnhardt's car."People will talk if we struggle," Bowman said, speaking about his Hendrick Motorsports drive. "What have I done before? I won one Xfinity race and we dominated a Cup race. That's just the honest truth of it.""Hendrick Motorsports hired me to win races and that's what I plan on doing. I'm not really worried about what happens if I don't perform because I'm going to do whatever it takes to perform," the driver from Tucson, Arizona, further added (via ESPN).Bowman has remained with Hendrick Motorsports ever since, and is currently driving the #48 entry alongside William Byron, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott. The 32-year-old registered 336 races in over 11 years, where he racked up eight wins, seven pole positions, and 103 Top 10s.Alex Bowman pulled off a stunning display in Mexico amid medical concernsAlex Bowman suffered from a minor injury in his right lower back and leg during a head-on collision in Michigan last week. As a result, the HMS driver was in pain and missed the simulation of the track and meetings.Alex Bowman (48) spins down the track after hitting the wall in turn two just after a restart in stage two of the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway - Source: ImagnDespite this, the #48 driver was able to pull off a stunning performance to finish the Viva Mexico 250 race in fourth after starting from 29th. Speaking about this in the post-race interview, Bowman told Prime Video:"Running well probably made it easier than it could have been. Just proud of the whole team. I put us behind this week. In full transparency, I couldn’t walk on Wednesday, so I missed all my sim stuff, all my meetings. Just trying to get back going."After starting from 29th, Alex Bowman improved to 25th by Stage 1, and then improved to third by Stage 2. However, in the final stage, he lost a position to his teammate, Elliott, and came home in fourth place.