Big changes for Alex Bowman’s pit crew ahead of Bristol playoff race

Alex Bowman has a mostly new pit crew as his Hendrick Motorsports team prepares for the final race in the opening round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Bowman's crew will feature two new tire changers, a new tire carrier and a new jackman for Saturday night's Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bowman enters the event in 15th place, 35 points below the playoff cutoff line (top 12 advance).

The new additions are front tire changer Daniel Bach, rear tire changer Rod Cox, tire carrier Jarius Morehead and jackman Cody French. All four crew members had been part of Carson Hocevar's pit crew, which Hendrick Motorsports provides for Hocevar's Spire Motorsports team. The only member that remains from Bowman's previous crew is fueler Jacob Conley.

Bowman opened the playoffs in 16th place, just five points off the cut line. Then came a few gaffes in the first two playoff races, which included a 40-second pit stop two weeks ago at Darlington in which an air hose got disconnected and the crew couldn't fix the issue right away. The delay caused Bowman to fall two laps down and, though he later got back on the lead lap, he finished 31st.

In Sunday's race just outside St. Louis, Bowman was cruising in the top 10 when his car had to be jacked up again because the left rear tire was not placed correctly before the jack was dropped. That elongated stop lasted 23.9 seconds and contributed to Bowman's eventual 26th-place finish.

Saturday's race in Bristol, Tenn., will get underway at 7:30 p.m. ET.

--Field Level Media