Could Alex Bowman Replace Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 Car at Hendrick Motorsports?

One of the major talking points this season in NASCAR has been the seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson calling it quits as a full-time racer towards the end of the season.

Johnson announced last Fall that he would hang up his boots after the 2020 season. This leaves his team Hendrick Motorsports with the task of replacing their star racer in the No. 48 Chevrolet, come 2021.

While speculation was rife with various names in the running as potential replacements, Hendrick could do something different altogether. Bowman is currently part of the No. 88 team at Hendrick.

In the rumored scenario, Bowman would drive Johnson’s No.48, leading to the No. 88 team shutting down, and Hendrick would come down to three cars from four.

Internal replacement for Hendrick Motorsports?

247 Sports reports, according to veteran NASCAR reporter Lee Spencer, Hendrick could very well go ahead with an internal replacement in the form of Alex Bowman.

“As far as the No. 48 situation, I think that they’re really gonna have to look at the economics just like everybody else and see whether or not it’s cost-effective to continue to run four organizations,” said Spencer during a recent podcast.

“I think we’re still in maybe that ‘Stay tuned’ (mode). There’s so many moving balls going on with the pandemic right now. Once things kind of get shook out a little bit, we’ll have a better idea of what’s gonna go on there,” Spencer further added.

Possible replacements for Jimmie Johnson

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Before Spencer’s comments, names such as William Byron, Chase Briscoe, Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, and Brad Keselowski were being considered as the most probable replacements for Jimmie Johnson.

Spencer also brought up drivers such as Kyle Larson and the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Noah Gragson, along with Reddick and Keselowski, as options to replace Jimmie Johnson.

While Hendrick has been one of just three teams to field four cars consistently in the last 20 years, scaling down might just be a good option for them with regard to sponsorship. The No. 48 team has Ally as a full-time sponsor.

Bowman’s No.88 has not had corporate backing off late but had a manufacturer sponsorship.

Will Alex Bowman be the new go-to man for Hendrick?

Bowman’s performances and experience thus far in NASCAR support Spencer’s comments on the internal transfer of Bowman being a more realistic move for Hendrick.

Bowman has been in the scheme of things for Hendrick for four years now and has two wins as well. One of those wins came earlier this season at Fontana.

This season, he has already registered six top-10 finishes and is 11th in the Cup Series standings. It will be interesting to see how the situation pans out.

ALSO READ- Jimmie Johnson Involved in Crash at Kansas, Falls Out of Final Playoff Spot

SOURCE- 247 Sports