Bowman wraps up a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with a win on a rainy Chicago street course

CHICAGO (AP) — At long last, Alex Bowman got a win. And a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

So yeah, he was ready to party.

“We’re going to drink so much damn bourbon tonight, it’s going to be a bad deal,” a jubilant Bowman said. “I’m probably going to wake up naked on the bathroom floor again. That’s just part of this deal sometimes.”

Bowman held off Tyler Reddick on a rainy street course in downtown Chicago on Sunday, stopping an 80-race winless drought.

It was his first victory since Las Vegas in March 2022 and No. 8 for his career. He is the 12th Cup Series driver to win this year, leaving four remaining spots in the playoffs with six races left in the regular season.

After his Vegas victory two years ago, Bowman, 31, was sidelined by a concussion. He injured his back in a short-track accident in April 2023.

“You start to second-guess if you’re ever going to get a chance to win a race again,” he said.

Not anymore.

The Cup Series' second street race in Chicago was stopped for more than 100 minutes because of rain, and NASCAR set a cutoff time of 8:20 p.m. CDT because of the fading sunlight. When Bowman crossed the start-finish line after that time, the white flag came out, followed by the checkered.

Reddick made a late charge, but he got into a wall while trying to run down Bowman. Ty Gibbs was third, followed by Joey Hand and Michael McDowell.

“I got the opportunity to run him down,” Reddick said. "Just obviously couldn’t get the job done. A clean lap was all I had to do and couldn’t even do that.”

Bowman closed it out on wet weather tires in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet after pole-sitter Kyle Larson and Shane van Gisbergen were knocked out.

During the cool-down lap, Bowman was bumped into the wall by Bubba Wallace. Bowman spun out Wallace early in the race.

“I have to apologize again to the 23 guys,” Bowman said. “Just messed up, trying to get my windshield wiper on, missed a corner and ruined their day. I hate that. I’m still embarrassed about it.”

Larson slammed into the tire barrier in Turn 6 on Lap 34, bringing out a caution. He was trying for his fourth win of the season in his 350th career Cup Series start.

“As soon as I hit the brakes, I knew I was in trouble,” said Larson, who has an 11-point lead over Chase Elliott in the driver standings.

Van Gisbergen was clipped by Chase Briscoe going into Turn 6 on Lap 25. Briscoe slid into a tire barrier, but van Gisbergen crashed into the temporary wall — causing heavy damage to the right side of his Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.

“I just sort of turned in. It looked pretty good and then just got smacked by someone,” van Gisbergen said. “It’s gutting.”

Shortly after the wreck, the race was stopped to give NASCAR time to clear standing water from the makeshift track. The drivers returned to their cars about an hour later, but the delay continued when another cell passed over the course.

Gibbs was in front when the race resumed, followed by Christopher Bell and Larson.

“It’s really fun. I feel like it’s kind of like a dirt track, honestly,” Gibbs said about the wet conditions. “Pick and choose your lines, see what lane is drying up and is faster. You have to look around, which makes it fun as we don’t get to do that a lot.”

Van Gisbergen raced to a career-altering victory last year in Chicago when he became the first driver to win his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race at Daytona in 1963. The 35-year-old New Zealand native also won Saturday's Xfinity Series race on the tricky 12-turn, 2.2-mile course.

Van Gisbergen won the first stage Sunday shortly before he was knocked out.

“We were able to lead and I felt like I was driving well with it,” he said, "so yeah, it’s a shame to be out so early. It’s a shame we couldn’t have a proper crack at it at the end.”

Bowman's victory finished NASCAR’s second year on the street course in Chicago. It is expected to return next season, but the future of the weekend — a combination of racing and music that is designed more for NASCAR newcomers than its traditional fans — is unclear beyond 2025.

Unlike last year, when persistent showers wreaked havoc on the schedule — leading to shortened versions of the Xfinity and Cup Series races — there was no issue with the weather until the Cup drivers got into their cars and got the command to start their engines. Then the rain started to fall, and the teams had to make a quick decision on whether to switch to wet tires.

After slowing to a drizzle, the showers increased in intensity about 17 laps in — eventually leading to the stoppage.

The Cup Series is at Pocono next Sunday.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Alex Bowman hugs teammates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Alex Bowman stands with his team and his trophy after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Alex Bowman is sprayed by teammates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Fans try to stay dry as rain pours down during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

One of Austin Dillon's pit crew members blows rainwater off the ground during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

A red flag signals race stoppage as rain pours down during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Shane van Gisbergen, right, and other drivers are forced to go at a slower pace as rain falls during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

An official signals for drivers to slow down during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Martin Truex Jr. rounds Turn 6 during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Cars are lined up along Pit Row before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Tyler Reddick's pit crew rolls out new tires as rain falls during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Denny Hamlin, left, and Chris Buescher round Turn 6 during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Rainwater is blown off the track during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Brad Keselowski and other drivers are forced to go at a slower pace as rain falls during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli strike on a mosque in the Gaza Strip early Sunday killed at least 19 people, Palestinian officials said, as Israel intensified its bombardment of northern Gaza and southern Beirut in a widening war with Iran-allied militant groups across the region.

Displaced people were sheltering at the mosque that was struck near the main hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah. A further four people were killed in a strike on a school sheltering displaced people near the town.

The Israeli military said both strikes targeted militants, without providing evidence.

An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital morgue. Hospital records showed that the dead from the strike on the mosque were all men.

Israel is still battling Hamas in Gaza a year after the group's attack on Israel, and has opened a new front in Lebanon against Hezbollah, which has been trading fire with Israel along the border since the war in Gaza began. Israel has also vowed to strike Iran itself after Tehran launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel last week.

The widening conflict risks drawing in the United States, which has provided crucial military and diplomatic support to Israel, as well as U.S.-allied Arab countries that host American forces. Iran-allied militant groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen have already joined in with long-distance strikes on Israel.

The Israeli military, meanwhile, announced a new air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, home to a densely populated refugee camp dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation. It circulated photos and video footage showing a column of tanks heading toward the area.

Israeli forces encircled Jabaliya as warplanes struck militant sites inside, the military said. Over the course of the war, Israel has carried out several large operations there, only to see militants regroup.

Israel reiterated its call, from the opening weeks of the war, for the complete evacuation of northern Gaza. Up to 300,000 people are estimated to have remained in the heavily destroyed north after earlier Israeli warnings that sent around a million fleeing to the south.

“We are in a new phase of the war,” the military said in leaflets dropped over the area. “These areas are considered dangerous combat zones.”

Palestinian residents reported heavy Israeli strikes across northern Gaza. The Civil Defense — first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government — said several homes and buildings had been hit and they were not able to reach them because of the bombardment.

Residents posted about the airstrikes and mourned their relatives on social media. Imad Alarabid said in a Facebook post that an airstrike on his home in Jabaliya killed a dozen family members, including his parents. Saeed Abu Elaish, a Health Ministry medic, said he was wounded and bleeding.

“Pray for us,” he wrote on Facebook.

Local journalists said one of their colleagues, Hassan Hamd, was killed in artillery shelling on his home in Jabaliya. He had worked as a freelance TV reporter and his footage had aired on Al Jazeera and other networks. Anas al-Sharif, an Al Jazeera reporter in northern Gaza, confirmed his death.

Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said it has expanded the so-called humanitarian zone in southern Gaza, urging people to head there. Hundreds of thousands of people have already sought refuge in sprawling tent camps there with little in the way of food, water or toilets. Israel has carried out strikes in the humanitarian zone against what it says are militants hiding among civilians.

The latest strikes add to the mounting Palestinian death toll in Gaza, which is nearing 42,000, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths, but many of the dead were women and children.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in the Oct. 7 attack and took another 250 hostage. They are still holding around 100 captives, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

In Beirut, airstrikes lit up the skyline and loud explosions echoed across the southern suburbs, known as the Dahiyeh, throughout the night, as Israel struck what it said were Hezbollah militants sites. The strikes reportedly targeted a building near a road leading to Lebanon’s only international airport and another formerly used by the Hezbollah-run broadcaster Al-Manar.

Israel’s military confirmed it was striking targets near Beirut and said about 30 projectiles had crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory, with some intercepted.

Hezbollah said it successfully targeted a group of Israeli soldiers in northern Israel “with a large rocket salvo, hitting them accurately.” It was not possible to confirm the claim.

At least 1,400 Lebanese, including civilians, medics and Hezbollah fighters, have been killed and 1.2 million driven from their homes in less than two weeks. Israel says it aims to drive the militant group away from its border so that tens of thousands of Israeli citizens can return to their homes.

Iranian-backed Hezbollah, the strongest armed force in Lebanon, began firing rockets into Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, calling it a show of support for the Palestinians. Hezbollah and Israel’s military have traded fire almost daily.

Last week, Israel launched what it said was a limited ground operation into southern Lebanon after a series of attacks killed longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of his top commanders. The fighting is the worst since Israel and Hezbollah fought a monthlong war in 2006. Nine Israeli soldiers have been killed in ground clashes that Israel says have killed 440 Hezbollah fighters.

It is not possible to verify battlefield reports from either side.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday reiterated his call for a partial arms embargo on Israel — a demand that prompted an angry response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a written statement, Macron’s office said he favors a halt to arms exports for use in Gaza because a cease-fire is needed “to stop the mounting violence, free the hostages, protect civilians and clear the way to the political solutions needed for the security of Israel and the whole Middle East.”

Macron's earlier similar remarks led Netanyahu to release a video statement in which he called out the French president by name and referred to such calls as a “disgrace.”

Macron's office insisted that “France is Israel’s unfailing friend” and called Netanyahu's remarks “excessive and irrelevant to the friendship between France and Israel.”

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Palestinians carry the body of a person who was found under the rubble of a destroyed mosque following an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians examine a destroyed mosque following an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians examine a destroyed mosque following an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians examine a destroyed mosque following an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

People check the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Firefighters extinguish a fire at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A man checks the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Charred cars at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Palestinians examine a destroyed mosque following an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians examine a destroyed mosque following an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians search for survivors and bodies in the rubble of a mosque destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians search for survivors and bodies in the rubble of a mosque destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians carry an injured man from a destroyed mosque following an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israeli soldiers pray at a staging area in northern Israel, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

An Israeli soldier prays at a staging area in northern Israel, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Emergency workers inspect a building that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Mourners gather around the bodies of Palestinian men who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians search for survivors and bodies in the rubble of a mosque destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A man rides his scooter as he drives on the debris of destroyed buildings that were hit by Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A man looks as smoke rise from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, early Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Smoke rise from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, early Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A man leaves a street after he saw the building where he was living and destroyed by Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A man checks a destroyed building where he was living and which was hit by Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A man rides his scooter as he drives on the debris of destroyed buildings that were hit by Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

People run from a warplane sound on the debris of destroyed buildings hit by Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A man takes pictures of a destroyed building hit by Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A man pushes his scooter in front of destroyed buildings hit by Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A man rides his scooter through debris of destroyed buildings hit by Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

People pass in front of destroyed buildings that were hit by Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)