CONCORD, N.C. — A little less than five years ago, Alex Bowman was a fresh-faced 22-year-old who found out he had lost his NASCAR Cup Series ride with Tommy Baldwin Racing via Twitter.
As of this week, Bowman has not only found a long-term place in the premier division of American stock car racing, but he’ll be succeeding one of the most successful drivers in the history of the sport.
Bowman will be the new pilot of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Hendrick Motorsports next season, stepping out of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy his driven the past three seasons. Bowman will replace seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who is ending his tenure as a full-time NASCAR driver and heading to the NTT IndyCar Series with Chip Ganassi Racing.
It’s the culmination of a journey to the top that looked at times to be impossible for the Tucson, Ariz., native, but one Bowman is relishing as he looks ahead to the biggest step in his career.
“For starters, I’m excited. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Bowman noted in a Wednesday teleconference with reporters. “My initial reaction was just being excited and honored to drive the No. 48 car. Jimmie (Johnson) has meant a lot to me throughout my entire career and everything he’s done for me, whether it’s being a friend off the race track or just being somebody to get advice from or a great teammate. It’s been awesome to get to work with him and to get to know him.
“To get to drive that car is an honor and I want to go get it in victory lane and have a lot of fun doing it.”
Bowman had his first taste of taking over for a NASCAR star in 2016, when he subbed for injured Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the Hendrick No. 88. When Earnhardt retired at the end of 2017, Bowman got the ride for the following season.
He’ll replicate that move by filling Johnson’s shoes next season. However, Bowman pointed out that having the experience of replacing Earnhardt three seasons ago will aid him in doing the same for Johnson.
“I think, for sure the experience of the first one helps for the second one. The biggest thing is (that) I just want to be myself,” Bowman noted. “I didn’t try to be Dale (Earnhardt Jr.); I didn’t want to be Dale. And the same with Jimmie (Johnson), I don’t want to be Jimmie. I mean, I want to win seven championships and do all the great things that he did, but I’m my own person. So, I’m just going to approach it like another race car. I’m really excited to work with Ally. The biggest thing for me is I want to go win races and win championships.
“I’m kind of quiet and reserved and I want the on-track stuff to speak for me the most and I want that to be wins and championships. So, I’m excited about that. I’m excited about the opportunity to go and do that,” Bowman continued. “To work with Ally, getting to know everybody over the last week-and-a-half or so has been really neat. The way they do things is really cool and how they disrupt and do things differently is really special.
“Having the same partner on the car for the whole year, to get to grow with them and make it my own with them is going to be a lot of fun. Hopefully, there’s a lot of wins along the way.”