As NASCAR silly season continues, one of the biggest questions remains. Who will replace the retiring Jimmie Johnson in the Hendrick Motorsports 48 car? Hendrick announced on Tuesday that Alex Bowman will be Johnson’s replacement.
In November, Johnson announced his retirement after the 2020 season. Bowman joined Hendrick full-time in 2018 replacing Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 88 car. Greg Ives, Bowman’s crew chief who won five championships with Johnson as an engineer, will move to the 48 car with Bowman.
“We just got done with the ‘what’s it like to take over Dale Jr.’s racecar’ question, so now we’re following it up with Johnson’s race car questions. To me, it’s really special, for sure,” Bowman told NASCAR.com. “Both of them have had so much to do with my career. Obviously, I wouldn’t be driving for Hendrick Motorsports at all without Dale’s help, and since then, Jimmie’s been a huge part of it.“
Bowman added, “It’s tough to take over from the most popular of all time, and then three years later to follow that up with arguably the greatest of all time. But it means a lot to me that everybody at Hendrick Motorsports has faith in me, and Ally has faith in me to do a good job and make the 48 car proud.”
In March, Bowman signed a one-year contract extension with the team. Ever since Hendrick hired Bowman full-time in 2018, he has two wins and made the playoffs each season.
Ally, Johnson’s sponsor, has extended its contract with Hendrick through 2023 and will sponsor Bowman next year. Bowman was at the top of the list team owner Rick Hendrick gave Ally when Johnson announced that he was retiring, according to the Associated Press.
Johnson has won seven NASCAR Cup Series championships and 83 races. He will run a partial IndyCar schedule next year. Hendrick Motorsports will announce its plans for the 88 car in the next couple of weeks. Kyle Larson is reportedly the leading candidate for the 88 car. Larson is coming off a suspension by NASCAR in April for using a racial slur.
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