NASCAR: Another big announcement coming from Hendrick Motorsports
By Asher Fair
Another big announcement is on the way from Hendrick Motorsports following Tuesday’s confirmation of Alex Bowman’s car switch for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.
On Tuesday, Hendrick Motorsports made the decision that had long been speculated and moved Alex Bowman from the #88 Chevrolet to the #48 Chevrolet for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.
So roughly 10 and a half months after seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson announced that he will not be back behind the wheel of the #48 Chevrolet for what would have been a 20th season next year, we finally know his replacement.
Sort of.
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Bowman is slated to carry on the legacy of the #48 car behind the wheel of the Ally Financial-sponsored Chevrolet.
But in terms of who is set to actually replace Johnson in the team’s four-car lineup alongside Bowman, Chase Elliott and William Byron, the NASCAR world still waits patiently to find out, as Bowman has already been competing for the team full-time since 2018. In fact, he replaced Dale Earnhardt Jr. behind the wheel of the #88 Chevrolet. Now he is slated to have replaced both Earnhardt and Johnson.
So who is really going to be Johnson’s replacement — not who is going to drive the #48 Chevrolet (Bowman), but who is going to be the fourth driver in their lineup?
Those plans are slated to be announced at a later date, which is something that team owner Rick Hendrick said would be the case a few weeks ago.
It could be days, weeks or even months, given the fact that it is still early October.
Hendrick noted last month that he did not want to cause a distraction for the team during the playoffs with multiple drivers in championship contention, and naming a successor to one of the sport’s three seven-time champions, especially considering who that successor might be, would absolutely be a distraction.
While Bowman moving to the #48 Chevrolet is big news, it’s still the same end result: Bowman back with the team for a fourth season as a full-time driver, which was confirmed back in mid-May when he signed a one-year contract extension anyway.
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The bigger news, however, is on the horizon.