Bowman ready to race at Charlotte ahead of 2018 Hendrick Motorsports launch

RELATED: Bowman joins GarageCam at Charlotte Alex Bowman says he isn't exactly rusty when it comes to racing but the 24-year-old is looking forward to climbing back behind the wheel this weekend when he competes for Chip Ganassi Racing in the organization's No. 42 Chevrolet in the NASCAR XFINITY Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway. "Honestly, some of it is I just wanted to go race; I've been sitting and not doing much on weekends," Bowman admitted Thursday night during the unveiling of next season's four Hendrick Motorsports Daytona 500 paint schemes. Bowman will be in the No. 88 for HMS next year, stepping in for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who wraps up his full-time racing career at the close of the '17 season. He'll be teammates with seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott and newcomer William Byron. But in Saturday's Drive for the Cure 300 at Charlotte (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM) and next month at Phoenix Raceway, Bowman will be looking to keep Ganassi's No. 42 entry atop the owner standings. RELATED: XFINITY race entry list | Full weekend schedule It's a ride that has produced four victories this season -- three with Cup standout Kyle Larson and a fourth with 21-year-old Tyler Reddick. Mike Shiplett is the team's crew chief. Ganassi has an alliance with HMS, hence the opportunity for Bowman to log some laps. "I think it helps me a little bit just getting back in the car," Bowman said. "Kind of like a refresher course a little bit. At the same time, I've been in the car quite a bit this season." Bowman has handled the bulk of the driver simulation for HMS this year, as well as all of the wheel force testing for Chevrolet. But he's not been in a competitive situation on the track since a single start in the Camping World Truck Series earlier this season. A 10-race stint in the No. 88 last year, while Earnhardt was recovering from a concussion, paved the way for Bowman to get the 2018 opportunity. Three finishes were inside the top 10, and he won the pole at Phoenix. "I think if that hadn't happened, my career path probably wouldn't have gone the way that it went," Bowman said. "I'm very thankful. Obviously I hate the circumstances. You never want that to happen to somebody in Dale's position. But to have the opportunity to get in the car and show that I can compete and I can win races and I do deserve to be here, it completely changed my life." RELATED: Alex Bowman through the years Bowman's first start in a points race will come in the season-opening Daytona 500, NASCAR's biggest single event. It's also a race Earnhardt Jr. won twice – in 2004 with his family-owned Dale Earnhardt Inc., and again with Hendrick in 2014. Earnhardt has 26 career wins heading into Sunday's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte (1 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR). Bowman has 81 career starts in the Monster Energy Series and 50 on the XFINITY circuit. He said he has no qualms about following Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR's most popular driver for 14 consecutive years. "I'm my own person; I'm not trying to be Dale Earnhardt Jr, I'm trying to be myself," he said. "The thing I'm focused on most is going and winning races; the rest of it will come and I'm just really thankful to have the opportunity to do that. Hopefully the Jr. Nation will be still be rooting for the 88 on Sundays."