Hendrick Motorsports will put 2024 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series champion Justin Allgaier behind the wheel of the #48 Chevrolet for this weekend's race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Alex Bowman was forced out of the car mid-race at COTA with Myatt Snider finishing the event for him, and later in the week, he was diagnosed with vertigo. HMS sim driver Anthony Alfredo drove the car at Phoenix, finishing 33rd after being collected in a restart crash.
The team has also confirmed that bowman began experiencing symptoms of vertigo during the race at COTA, with team general manager Jeff Andrews saying: “Alex continues to work closely with doctors toward being medically cleared, but he’s still experiencing some lingering symptoms. He’s put a lot into the recovery process, and we will continue to support him every step of the way. Our priority remains making sure Alex is fully ready before returning to the race car.”
Allgaier competes full-time for JR Motorsports in the O'Reilly Series, and just earned his 29th career victory last weekend. He has over 500 starts at the secondary level of NASCAR, but Allgaier also has some Cup experience as well.
He has made 84 Cup starts between 2013 and 2026, most recently making an appearance in the Daytona 500 with JR Motorsports, where he crashed out of the lead of the race. Allgaier has two top tens in his brief Cup career with a best finish of eighth. He last filled-in at Hendrick in 2024, finishing 13th in the Coca-Cola 600 while Kyle Larson competed in the Indianapolis 500.
Allgaier hasn't raced a Cup car at the 1.5-mile Vegas track since 2015, but he won last year's O'Reilly race at the intermediate track.
