Alex Bowman raced with a heavy heart on Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway after losing his beloved dog, Finn, who passed away on Friday.
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He didn't want to even get on the plane to head to Madison, Illinois, for the race, but he pushed through and delivered a season-best runner-up finish behind teammate Kyle Larson. He also scored the third-most points (38) on the day.
"Was a really hard weekend just to get on the plane and be here," an emotional Bowman said after the race. "So yeah, ready to go home. But proud of everybody on this Ally 48 team for helping me through the weekend.
"Yeah, life is hard sometimes (tearing up). Yeah, I lost my best friend, so just ready to go home."
This one is for Finn. ❤️
A standout second-place performance from @Alex_Bowman and the No. 48 team. pic.twitter.com/o6reesA3JA
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 13, 2026
Finn had been a prominent part of Bowman's life for several years, even more so after his beloved dog Roscoe passed away in August 2023.
Finn accompanied Bowman all over the country over the years. The pup also became an older sibling to the new additions to the family — Huck and Merle.
However, Bowman revealed earlier this year that Finn had a terminal illness. He knew that he only had a short amount of time to be with his longtime companion.
"2026 has been tough go of it," Bowman wrote on social media in May. "Finn has cancer that has spread very quickly. He doesn't have much longer with us, but we're trying to make the most out of the time we have left."
Bowman announced this news to the public, and then he continued with a season that featured some difficult moments on the track. The No. 48 team didn't have as much speed, and crashes prematurely ended races at Nashville Superspeedway and Iowa Speedway.
The team made strides as the season continued, however, as Bowman began more regularly contending for top-10 finishes. He posted these marks at Sonoma, Chicagoland, Richmond, and Daytona before delivering his best overall performance at WWT Raceway.
"Yeah, you just never want to see your best friend suffer," Bowman added. "Unfortunately the end was pretty bad.
"Yeah, that was really difficult. But, man, I'm just proud of this Ally 48 team and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. Really proud of Kyle for winning. I know it's been a while for him. It's great for this team and the Chase and everything."
Larson knew about his teammate's heartbreaking loss, and he made a point to show support after the race at WWT Raceway.
"Alex Bowman, can't ask for a better teammate than him," Larson said. "Gave me the pushes I needed to get clear. Want to dedicate this win to him, and his dog just passed away a couple days ago."
