Alex Bowman frustrated with SVG, Jesse Love for 'no favors' at Richmond

Bowman wasn't pleased with the traffic in front of him as he tried to run down Dillon for the race win on Saturday night

Alex Bowman will enter the regular season finale at Daytona in a very uncomfortable position: holding the 16th and final playoff spot. Any new winner at Daytona that comes from below the cut-line will automatically knock him out of championship contention.

At Richmond, he came just one position shy of a season-altering victory for himself. Despite the fact that he was gaining ground on eventual race winner Austin Dillon in the closing laps, he never got a chance to truly challenge him as his charge was slowed by a group of lapped cars. The driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet believes that it was the difference in the end.

"They're not gonna help us," radioed Bowman as he struggled to lap Shane van Gisbergen, who was running 14th. "They hate us."

"He's not racing anybody either, which is awesome," the No. 48 team replied.

Another Chevrolet got in Bowman's way as well, and this time it was Dillon's teammate, Jesse Love. "His teammate is f****** blocking me now," radioed Bowman. "It's just race manipulation, but whatever," the radio chatter continued.

Some more radio from the No. 48 team members as they lamented the lack of help from their manufacturer allies: "Why is it so hard with Team Chevrolet? Never ask for a single f***** thing."

As his frustration mounted, Bowman also bounced off the door of Erik Jones. After the race, he appeared to weave in front of SVG and brake-check the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.

Bowman needed "a couple favors"

Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Chris Graythen - Getty Images

When asked what more he needed in post-race interviews, Bowman quickly said, "A couple favors. I sure complained about it on the radio, but that's just part of what we do, so...vented a little bit, but had a really good Ally 48 in the last run. Just broke the tires off too much in lap traffic. Didn't get any breaks. That made me kind of work the rears harder than I need to. Just need to be a little better through there to get to him. I certainly think we had the better car. Unfortunately didn't get there."

Bowman later added: "Yeah, the team, clearly we're not very popular through the garage with that last run (smiling). Still doing a really good job and executing at a high level. Just proud of all the guys to continue to work hard and try to overcome the situation we're in, and we'll keep digging."

As for the perilous playoff position he now finds himself in, Bowman admitted that it will be "really stressful on a lot of fronts. I mean, I think with the way that race normally goes, it's about a must-win at that point because I think you're most likely going to have a new winner."