NASCAR broadcast misinterprets Alex Bowman joke, baffles fans with Cook Out 400 starting position

A pre-race radio discussion between Alex Bowman and his spotter Kevin Hamlin created confusion for the NBC Sports broadcast team. Bowman qualified ninth for Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway but was told by Hamlin he had to drop to the back for “delaying the start.”

“Are you kidding me?” Bowman said, via Jeff Gluck of The Athletic.

“Yeah, I’m f*cking with you. All good,” Hamlin responded.

TV either didn’t hear Hamlin’s response or didn’t realize it was a joke. They reported Bowman was dropping to the back, creating some confusion before the race. NBC play-by-play man Leigh Diffey eventually made the correction, and things got started under the lights at Richmond.

Alex Bowman and the playoffs

Bowman had to be relieved to hear it was a joke. You know track position is going to be important over the course of 300 miles at Richmond, and Bowman is someone who needs to have a solid night. He entered Saturday 60 points clear of the playoff cutline, currently occupying the 15th playoff spot. Bowman is winless this season, meaning there’s still work to do at Richmond and the following Saturday at Daytona.

Bowman has done a good job of picking up points, keeping him relatively safe throughout the season. But prior to last Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen, Bowman acknowledged that Richmond isn’t a place where he’s consistently had his best.

“You have to expect [a new winner] in the situation that we’re in,” Bowman said. “It’s three not-great racetracks for us. We’ve won at Richmond before, but we’ve been extremely hit-or-miss there over the years. We’re either really good or really bad every time that we’re there, so hopefully, we’re on the really good side of that. And Daytona, just got to put yourself in position to be there at the end.”