NASCAR broadcast misinterprets Alex Bowman joke, baffles fans with Cook Out 400 starting position

A pre-race radio discussion between Alex Bowman and his spotter Kevin Hamlin created confusion for the NBC Sports broadcast team. Bowman qualified ninth for Saturday’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway but was told by Hamlin he had to drop to the back for “delaying the start.”

“Are you kidding me?” Bowman said, via Jeff Gluck of The Athletic.

“Yeah, I’m fucking with you. All good,” Hamlin responded.

TV either didn’t hear Hamlin’s response or didn’t realize it was a joke. They reported Bowman was dropping to the back, creating some confusion before the race. NBC play-by-play man Leigh Diffey eventually made the correction, and things got started under the lights at Richmond.

This story is developing…