RELATED: Bowman named to No. 88
Many names surfaced as possible replacements in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet when Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced he would retire from full-time driving following the 2017 season.
There was but one name, though, that team owner Rick Hendrick kept coming back to.
“We had Alex (Bowman) in the back of our mind for whatever opportunity we had. It wasn’t much of a decision at all,” Hendrick said Sunday morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Bowman, 24, was one of two drivers who filled in for Earnhardt Jr. last fall while the popular NASCAR competitor was recovering from a concussion that kept him out of the final 18 races of the season. Earnhardt has since returned, but announced earlier this year that he will no longer compete in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series after the 2017 season.
“We didn’t know what was going to happen,” team owner Rick Hendrick said of going forward after Earnhardt was sidelined in 2016. “We were very, very careful not to guarantee (Bowman) anything other than if opportunities arose then he would have a shot.
“I can’t make all the decisions; the sponsors have to be involved. But in my mind Alex was going to get the next (ride).”
MORE: Get to know Alex Bowman
Since his time last year on the track, Bowman has stuck with Hendrick Motorsports. He gets in the simulator nearly daily and reports on his findings, and he also is at Wheel Force testing in a Chevrolet.
“I think about Alex like a Jimmie Johnson or a Jeff Gordon,” Hendrick said, referring to two Hall of Fame-caliber drivers he signed at the beginning of their careers. “The thing that really impressed me was how committed he was to the team. He deserves the opportunity.”
— Kenny Bruce contributed to this story