 A native of Tucson, Arizona, Bowman started his racing career on short tracks in Arizona and California in 2000 at the age of seven, driving quarter midget cars in United States Auto Club (USAC) competition.By 2006, he had won nine national championships and 165 feature wins.In 2008, he won the USAC National Focus Midget championship with 11 wins, as well as the California Dirt Focus Midget championship.