Beyond the Flag
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NASCAR: Best substitute drivers of the 2010s

By Bryce Turner

DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA - AUGUST 31: David Ragan, driver of the #38 Shriners Hospital for Children Ford, climbs into his car during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on August 31, 2019 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA - AUGUST 31: David Ragan, driver of the #38 Shriners Hospital for Children Ford, climbs into his car during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on August 31, 2019 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images) /

Jeff Gordon & Alex Bowman

I’m grouping Jeff Gordon and Alex Bowman together due to the similarities and differences of their substitute role in the same car.

While Gordon was a series veteran answering the call to replace the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was sidelined with a concussion in 2016, after stepping away from the driver’s seat, Bowman was a youngster trying to build his career.

The similarity? They both posted some of the best substitute driver numbers of the last decade.

Gordon retired from full-time competition after the 2015 season with 93 wins and four championships behind the wheel of the #24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, where he spent his entire career, but he came out of retirement the following year to drive the #88 Chevrolet for the team as one of Earnhardt’s two replacements.

Making his return at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he won the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994, Gordon finished in 13th place. His best results came at the end of his eight races in the car, as he finished in 10th at Dover International Speedway and sixth at Martinsville Speedway.

His average finish of 13.9 was the best of 25 substitute drivers I documented from the last decade, while his two top 10 finishes was tied for second best.

The driver atop that category is Gordon’s fellow relief driver of the #88 Chevrolet, Bowman, who logged three top 10 finishes behind the wheel of the car.

Bowman’s Cup Series career started with an average finish of 32.6 at BK Racing in 2014 and 31.6 at Tommy Baldwin Racing in 2015. He started 2016 without a Cup Series ride, but his part-time schedule with JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series helped him get the opportunity to test his skills in a top-tier car at the top level of NASCAR.

He started the first race that Earnhardt missed at New Hampshire Motor Speedway before finishing in 10th place in his third race with the team at Chicagoland Speedway. He later finished in seventh at Kansas Speedway and took the pole position at Phoenix Raceway, where he finished in sixth after dominating the race. His average finish was 19.7 in 10 races.

Bowman impressed as a substitute driver and remained with Hendrick Motorsports as a test driver before he was named the full-time replacement for a retiring Earnhardt ahead of the 2018 season.

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