Alex Bowman and crew chief Greg Ives, who won five championships with Jimmie Johnson as his engineer, will move into Johnson’s ride at the end of the season.
Bowman and crew chief Greg Ives, who won five championships with Johnson as his engineer, will move from the No.88 into Johnson’s ride at the end of the season. The swap announced Tuesday makes Bowman just the second driver of the team created in 2001 specifically for Johnson. Johnson’s 19th full season is his last in NASCAR and he will move to a partial IndyCar schedule next year. His retirement opened the door for Bowman to replace a NASCAR superstar for the second time in four years. Two years ago, he replaced Dale Earnhardt Jr. “It’s definitely pretty similar, you go from (replacing) the most popular driver of all time to (replacing) arguably the greatest of all time,” Bowman told The Associated Press. “It’s just an honor for me to get to drive another car with a great number. I know I’m going to get a lot of the same questions I’ve answered the last couple of years, just replace Jimmie Johnson for Dale Earnhardt Jr. For everyone who has the confidence in me to do it just means the world to me.” Hendrick Motorsports said it will address its plans for the No.
