Alex Bowman unhurt after massive hit that red flags Michigan Cup race

Bowman called his head-on crash at Michigan one of the worst hits of his career

In the second stage of the NASCAR Cup race at Michigan, drivers were scrambling on a restart as they battled three and four-wide for position on track. Alex Bowman was deep in the pack, running 29th when his race came to sudden and violent end.

Bowman was in the middle of a tense battle with a four-wide situation directly in front of him. Cole Custer got loose after contact from Austin Cindric and shot up the track, spinning Daniel Suarez. At the same time, he hit Bowman as well. Bowman's No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports shot to the right, slamming the outside wall head-on in an impact that managed to left the rear tires off the ground.

Bowman was going about 150mph when the car slammed the wall. Pole-sitter Chase Briscoe was also collected, spinning at the exit of Turn 2.

"That one was really f****** big," radioed Bowman as he put the window net down and climbed the car. It was a relief to see, as Bowman has been sidelined due to both a back injury and concussion in recent year.

"Yeah, that hurt a lot," said Bowman after being released from the infield care center. "That was probably top of the board on hits I've taken and unfortunately, I've taken a lot of hits. I hate that for the #48 team. Obviously, (sponsor) Ally is from here. Looks like the #41 [Custer] got loose or the #2 [Cindric] got into him or something. At that point, just along for the ride. Couldn't really do anything except think about oh shit this is about to hurt really bad. Hate that. Hate that for our team. It's been a rough two months.

Suarez and Briscoe were able to continue, while both Custer and Bowman fell out of the race. This continues an unfortunate run of races for the No. 48 HMS Chevrolet, finishing 27th or worse in seven of the last nine races.

The race was red-flagged on Lap 68 of 200 as Bowman's car came to rest in the middle of the track. The stoppage lasted about 13 minutes.