Alex Bowman was racing with a heavy heart this weekend at Gateway after the passing of his dog, Finn.
Bowman shared the difficult news on social media ahead of Sunday's race, and included many happy pictures of him and Finn together.
"I don’t know how to say this out loud, but last night I lost my best friend," Bowman wrote in the caption. "You only get a dog like Finn once in a lifetime. He was just the best."
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But despite how hard it must have been to get into the driver's seat on Sunday, Bowman ran what was maybe his best race of the year, finishing in second behind teammate Kyle Larson. It was his first top-five finish since July, and his highest finish of the year, besting third-place runs at Talladega and Texas he had in the spring.
Still, after the race, it was clear that the loss of Finn was still the focus of his mind.
"Super happy for Kyle, just a really hard weekend just to get on the plane and be here," Bowman began, holding back tears. "Life is hard sometimes. I lost my best friend. I'm ready to go home."
Asked if he was racing for Finn today, Bowman did his best to smile, but it was clear that Finn's passing had really crushed him.
"I mean, I suck here, so clearly I had some help," he said, before reflecting once again. "You just never want to see your best friend suffer. Unfortunately the end was pretty bad. That was really difficult."
Bowman then praised his car and his team, saying it was a "good day" for Hendrick, but a good day at work can only take a person so far when going through something this difficult.
Hug your pets close.
