Through the years: Drivers of the No. 88

The No. 88 has seen its share of action in the NASCAR Cup Series. Plenty of notable drivers have filled its seat along the way. View the list here. 

Pepper Cunningham: Had the first-ever start in the No. 88 in 1949.

Tim Flock: The NASCAR Hall of Famer made one start in the car -- 1954 on Daytona Beach.

Buck Baker: Another NASCAR Hall of Fame, Baker's first start in the No. 88 also came in 1954.

Ralph Earnhardt: Junior isn't the only Earnhardt to drive this number. His grandfather, Ralph, did in 1957 at Martinsville.

Fireball Roberts: Fireball had two career starts in the No. 88, both in 1959.

Buddy Baker: Baker had more than 100 starts in the No. 88 from 1959-1991.

Tiny Lund: Lund, left, drove the No. 88 three times at two historic locations: Daytona Beach and Darlington.

Joe Weatherly: The NASCAR Hall of Famer logged one start in the No. 88.

Benny Parsons: Parsons drove the car four times in two years at Daytona Beach.

Donnie Allison: Allison never won in the car, but he did precede one of the most famous drivers in 88 history.

Darrell Waltrip: Another driver with more than 100 starts, 'Jaws' drove to victory in 1975 at Richmond. He drove it through the 1980 season.

Ricky Rudd: Rudd picked up where Waltrip left off in 1981, and he got back in the car in 2007.

Bobby Allison: Another NASCAR Hall of Famer, Allison won five times during a 10-race stretch in 1982.

Geoffrey Bodine: Bodine drove the No. 88 for most of the 1983 season.

Rusty Wallace: Remember, Wallace was in this car before catching on at Team Penske.

Dale Jarrett: DJ ran the No. 88 from 1996-2006.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2008, Junior drove the No. 88 through the 2017 season after years of being in the No. 8.

Jeff Gordon: Gordon, who drove 797 races in the No. 24, came out of retirement to drive in eight as substitute driver for Dale Jr.

Alex Bowman: Filled in for Dale Jr. for 10 races in 2016 and earned Earnhardt's endorsement for the ride after Dale Jr. announced he would end his full-time racing career after the 2017 season. Currently, Bowman is in his second full-time season with Hendrick Motorsports in the No. 88.

Shane van Gisbergen: The New Zealand native drove the No. 88 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing in 2025, winning five times to break the record for most wins as a rookie. He'll move into the No. 97 in 2026, donning his number from Supercars.

Connor Zilisch: The 19-year-old phenom will pilot the No. 88 for Trackhouse Racing in 2026, the team announced Nov. 7. Trackhouse originally announced Zilisch's promotion to the Cup Series on Aug. 23 but did not announce a car number. Zilisch will have the same number as he did during his historic 2025 Xfinity Series campaign, winning 10 times for JR Motorsports.