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DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Jamie McMurray knows from experience the challenges young Alex Bowman faces as he fills in for sidelined Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 Chevrolet.
Fourteen years ago, a 26-year-old McMurray was faced with a similar scenario as team owner Chip Ganassi called upon him to step in the No. 40 Dodge for injured Sterling Marlin.
"I can't speak for Alex because I don't know what is going through his mind," McMurray said via NASCAR teleconference Friday. "I can only tell you that for me it is as nervous as you can get. I had raced my whole Truck and Busch (now XFINITY) Series at the time, in cars that I think my Busch car had won like one or two races in seven or eight years. It wasn't necessarily a winning car, and then all of a sudden I got in Sterling's car that had I think won a couple of races earlier that year and it had led the points (through Darlington), it was a really good car.
"So, there is a lot of pressure on you to run well because you know that you are in a car that is capable of winning."
Winning didn't take long. After a 26th-place run at Talladega Super Speedway, McMurray found his way to Victory Lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Oct. 13, 2002, the second start of his Sprint Cup career. McMurray ran six races in the No. 40 for Marlin that season.
"Once we won in Charlotte it was like super relieving because not only is that a confidence builder for you, but I think in all the people that are around you," McMurray reflected.
Having impressed team owner Ganassi, McMurray was afforded a full-time ride the next season in the No. 42 Dodge. He earned his first pole at Homestead that year and won Rookie of the Year honors at season's close, finishing 13th in the final point standings.
Having started with a simple opportunity, that six-race 2002 span ended up solidifying the foundation for McMurray's now 15-year Sprint Cup career.
"If you are a driver that is trying to make it in the sport, there is no better position to be put in than to get in a car like that because you know that you have an opportunity -- maybe not to win, but you are in a car that is capable of winning and running up front and showing guys what you can do if you are in the right equipment," McMurray said.
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Bowman's runs in the No. 88 this season have been sporadic, as he shares seat time with veteran driver Jeff Gordon. In his two starts at New Hampshire and Michigan, the 23-year-old has finished 26th and 30th, respectively, with the car experiencing mechanical problems at Michigan. He'll make eight more runs in the No. 88 car this season at Chicagoland, New Hampshire, Charlotte, Kansas, Talladega, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead.
Despite finishes outside the top 25, McMurray applauds Bowman's efforts behind the No. 88 wheel thus far – and believes it bodes well for the young driver's future.
"I think that Alex has, even though he hasn't pulled off a win, he has had really good speed and I think to me what sticks out the most is he is not even really in a car every week," McMurray said. "If you were in a truck every week or an XFINITY car ... and then you were filling in, that would be one thing. But he hasn't really been racing that much this year. To jump in and do what he has done at a track like Loudon, which is one style of racing, and then to go to a place like Michigan that is completely different -- he has just done an awesome job.
"I know that probably for him the phone is not ringing as much as he wants it to, but he is going to get an opportunity because to me he has really shown that he is capable of it."