NASCAR: Could Rick Hendrick turn to a dark horse veteran for 2021?

Hendrick Motorsports still haven’t announced Jimmie Johnson’s replacement for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. Could they turn to a dark horse veteran in Clint Bowyer?

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson announced just after the 2019 season ended that the 2020 season would be his 19th and final season behind the wheel of the #48 Chevrolet.

Many months later, Hendrick Motorsports still have not yet announced who his replacement will be, whether that be behind the wheel of the #48 Chevrolet or behind the wheel of another car, should Alex Bowman make the move from the #88 team to the #48 team for sponsorship purposes.

If it seems as though every driver under the sun has been linked to Rick Hendrick’s team as Johnson’s replacement for next year, that is because this is exactly what has happened since Wednesday, November 20, 2019, when the 44-year-old El Cajon, California native made his plans clear.

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While the names of quite a few young drivers, most notably and recently Erik Jones, have been thrown around in regard to becoming Johnson’s replacement, it has always been believed that Hendrick Motorsports would prefer to replace Johnson with another veteran.

Team Penske re-signing Brad Keselowski took what appeared to be the most likely option off the table, and the whole Denny Hamlin boat rumor didn’t amount to anything whatsoever. The belief that a veteran would replace Johnson is due to the fact that Hendrick Motorsports currently lack that kind of an experienced presence in their 2021 driver lineup.

Their current lineup for next year consists of nobody above the age of 27, with the 24-year-old Chase Elliott leading the way in terms of experience at five seasons competing for the team.

Alex Bowman is 27 years old while William Byron is 22. Regardless of who they sign, their lineup for next season is set to feature four completely different drivers than it did just a few years ago in 2015.

According to multiple sources, Hendrick Motorsports have already picked out Johnson’s replacement but don’t want to announce it yet.

So is it a youngster or a veteran?

The timetable regarding when that announcement will be made is still unknown, but given the fact that Bowman, Elliott and Byron are in the four-round, 10-race playoffs, it would make sense to focus on this year before getting into next year’s plans at this point, especially if that other driver also happens to be in this year’s playoffs competing for a championship of his own.

If it is a veteran, why not Clint Bowyer?

Bowyer hasn’t missed a race since beginning his full-time Cup Series career in 2006, and he is in a contract year with Stewart-Haas Racing. The 41-year-old Emporia, Kansas native would be a perfect for a veteran leadership role in that organization.

Bowyer currently drives the #14 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing, and Stewart-Haas Racing haven’t maintained the same driver lineup from one year to the next since between the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

He is now the only one of their four drivers who does not have a deal to compete in the 2020 season, with Aric Almirola having just re-signed with the team on another one-year extension. While competition director Greg Zipadelli has stated that keeping all four of their drivers for next year is probable, nothing is shored up for Bowyer.

Stewart-Haas Racing have a plethora of options from which to choose to put behind the wheel of the #14 Ford, most notably including Xfinity Series driver Chase Briscoe as well as Kyle Larson, who was fired by Chip Ganassi Racing after using a racial slur back in April.

Tony Stewart has always spoken highly of Larson — and even tried to sign him a few years ago — and he is justifiably high on the talented Briscoe, given what he has produced for the organization’s Xfinity Series program with a series-high six wins so far this year.

While the four-car Ford team have said that retaining all four of their drivers is a possibility, which at this point is simply down to bringing back Bowyer for a fifth season, Bowyer is still seeking his first win since June of 2018, and he secured just seven top 10 finishes in this year’s 26-race regular season. It’s not too hard to envision them cutting ties with him after four year.

But then would Hendrick Motorsports signing him make any sense?

Absolutely, and here’s why.

A one-year deal for Bowyer to drive whatever number Chevrolet they decide to put him in would help out three parties: Bowyer, Hendrick Motorsports and Noah Gragson.

It would give Bowyer a change of scenery and another year to run with a competitive team, something that was not initially believed to be an option in the event that Stewart-Haas Racing cut ties with him, it would give Hendrick Motorsports a veteran presence amid a lineup full of young talent, and it would give Gragson a legitimate shot at a promotion for 2022 — or even 2023, if Bowyer ends up extending his one-year deal.

Gragson, who is in his second season competing for the Hendrick co-owned JR Motorsports Xfinity Series team, was seen as a candidate to replace Johnson after 2020, but he ended up signing a one-year extension to spend another year at NASCAR’s second highest level of competition behind the wheel of the #9 Chevrolet.

It’s no secret that Hendrick loves turning to the driver of the #9 Chevrolet when it comes to Cup Series promotions; two of the three drivers in his 2021 lineup drove that car to championships.

Elliott won the 2014 Xfinity Series championship driving this car and was promoted ahead of the 2016 season before Byron won the 2017 title and was promoted ahead of the 2018 season.

Now Gragson, who has secured two victories so far in 2020 and is well in the championship mix, has at least another year to develop his skillset before potentially being given the same promotion.

But on the other hand, if Hendrick were to turn to another young driver as Johnson’s replacement, even somebody such as Larson, this would all but close the door on Gragson joining the team at any point in the near future, as there simply wouldn’t be room.

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Let’s not lose sight of the fact that Clint Bowyer could very well be back with Stewart-Haas Racing for a fifth year in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, despite how rare it is for the team to not make any lineup changes from one year to the next, and even if he doesn’t, that doesn’t guarantee him a ride at Hendrick Motorsports. But if he does end up getting cut, Hendrick Motorsports should take a very close look.

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