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NASCAR: 2018 Hendrick Motorsports outlook

By Tyler Callaway

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 11: Team owner, Rick Hendrick, Alex Bowman, driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet, Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's for Pros Chevrolet, and Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, stand on the grid during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 11, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 11: Team owner, Rick Hendrick, Alex Bowman, driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet, Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's for Pros Chevrolet, and Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, stand on the grid during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 11, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images) /
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DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 16: Alex Bowman, driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 16: Alex Bowman, driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images) /

Alex Bowman

Alex Bowman essentially garnered one of the more prestigious rides in racing, as he took over for Dale Earnhardt Jr., which came as a surprise to many.

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The term stop-gap is used when describing Bowman, a guy who has never done anything too impressive in NASCAR but seems like a nice guy, so let’s give him the ride until we find someone better.

That is not the fairest statement, but it is also not a false one.

Bowman has raced in 81 career Cup Series races and has only been able to find the top 10 in three races when he took over for the injured Earnhardt Jr. in 2016. To be fair, he was racing for lesser competitors in BK Racing and Tommy Baldwin Racing before he found his way to Hendrick Motorsports.

It wasn’t until he was able to race for Hendrick Motorsports in the Cup Series that he could get a top 10 finish. In the Xfinity Series, he was able to run consistently when racing for JR Motorsports and Chip Ganassi Racing, where he even won a race.

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I think Bowman, when given the opportunity, has been able to produce positive results, but I don’t know if he’ll be on the same level as his young competitors this season. While he may not be the next great thing, I do think he’ll compete and become a reliable Cup Series driver. In 2018, look for some top 10 finishes and nice runs out of him, which maybe even result in him being in the hunt for the playoffs, but I don’t think we’ll see anything major from him this season.

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