RPW Column: Time To Prove Late ’19 Success Was No Fluke; Addison Bowman To Start New Season Friday

RPW Column By: DYLAN FRIEBEL / RPW – MEXICO, NY – Addison Bowman, one of the up-and-coming youngsters in the Sportsman division from Mexico, NY will be starting his 2020 racing season on Friday, a little far from home, at the Penn Can Speedway in Susquehanna, PA.

“With all the restrictions in New York, we decided to go down to Pennsylvania to get our season going,” Bowman said.  “We can’t really race here and I’m pretty anxious get going.  I really want to race so we’re heading down there to knock the ice off.”

Bowman shocked the racing world last October during Super DIRT Week when the high school student locked himself into a third place starting spot for the Sportsman Championship 75-lap event.  That did a lot for his confidence behind the wheel.

“Absolutely, it helped a lot,” he said.  “A couple of my friends said i got lucky but I think I ran that track differently then a lot of the guys there.  Yea, maybe i I got lucky a little bit, but my crew gave me a great car to time third.”

Friday will be the first race since October and will be at a track he’s never been to.

“A win would be awesome, but honestly, that’s not realistic,” he said.  “I’ve never raced at at Penn Can in my life.  I can’t even find much on YouTube either. If I got a top 10 or even a top 5, that would be awesome for my first time there and first race of 2020.  I know my crew puts a good car under me every time we go out, so that’s no worry.”

The Bowman team is a family team, and something Addison’s very proud of.

“To have my dad there every race is awesome,” he said.  “His nickname is ‘Turtle’ and I love turtles so I couldn’t do this without him.  I love my mom, my dad and my sister, who does a lot for me on social media with her boyfriend. Mom is there to support me as well.”

He was also quick to thank his crew for their help and support.

“I also can’t thank Joey Domicolo enough for being on the crew,” he said.  “He’s a big part of the team as is Davie O’Connor.  Davie’s help is big as he is always setting up the car for me.”

As Bowman gets more seat time, his experience continues to mount.  This will be his third year behind the wheel of a crate-engined car and second full-time year in the Sportsman division.  He gets better every time he hits the speedway.

“I always want to get the best finish I can every race,” he said.  “We switched to coils this year, so that’ll be different.  My crew and I are always learning, but they give me a good car every week.”

Is there something Bowman sees as a place to improve this year?

“We have to work on not making so many big changes,” he said.  “Wee need to just keep them small.  We got dialed in at the end of the year last year which is why I was able to qualify as well as we did at DIRT Week.”

For Addison Bowman and his crew, it’s time to show everyone in the Sportsman division that his name at the top of the leaderboard on the biggest stage was no fluke.  That all starts this Friday at the Penn Can Speedway.