What’s Happening?

NASCAR Cup Series veteran Alex Bowman will not make his scheduled NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series start this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway, with Kyle Larson set to take over driving duties of JR Motorsport’s No. 88.

Throughout the 2026 season, JR Motorsports has split driving duties of its No. 88 between five drivers, with the four Hendrick Motorsports Cup Series drivers and Rajah Caruth all driving the car.

As part of this deal, veteran Alex Bowman was set to drive the car in two races. After missing his first planned start at Darlington Raceway after a vertigo diagnosis, Bowman will also miss his second race this weekend.

Per NASCAR’s official entry list for Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race, Kyle Larson will instead drive the No. 88.

While Bowman does have an injury history, there is no cause for worry as the veteran driver is still featured on the entry list for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, indicating that, at least as of right now, this could have been his decision as opposed to withdrawing for an unforeseen reason.

For one, some fans online have suggested that Bowman is turning his attention solely to the Cup Series.

Entering Nashville, he is facing an uphill climb after a tough start to his season, and his four missed races due to vertigo have left him deep in the Cup Series standings. The Arizona native currently sits 33rd in points, 156 points outside the current cutoff spot for the 2026 Chase for the Cup.

As of press time, Larson is two for four in NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts this season, winning in two of his three planned starts and finishing fourth when substituting for Bowman at Darlington.

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