Dale Jr. sub Alex Bowman: 'It's an honor to fill in for him'
Next time Greg Ives calls him, you can be sure Alex Bowman will try to answer on the first ring.
Bowman, who will replace Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, didn't pick up at first when Ives, Earnhardt's crew chief, called him earlier in the week.
"I think the first time Greg called me I was at work, so I didn't even answer," Bowman said Friday at NHMS.
Once Hendrick Motorsports officials learned Earnhardt was suffering from concussion-like symptoms and would not be available to drive this weekend, it did not take them long to tab Bowman as his sub at Loudon.
Hendrick Motorsports general manager Doug Durchardt said Earnhardt initially thought he had the flu or "some sort of sinus infection." But once tests determined it was something else altogether and Earnhardt was advised to sit out at least this weekend's race, Bowman's name immediately came up.
"At that point, that's when Dale and Greg and I felt like Alex was the right person," Durchardt said.
Bowman, 23, has 71 prior starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Tommy Baldwin Racing and currently drives part-time in the XFINITY Series for JR Motorsports, which is partly owned by Earnhardt and Rick Hendrick of HMS.
"He's run the XFINITY car," Durchardt said. "He's done a good job in that car. He is part of the JR Motorsports system and part of our system.
"And so, Greg reached out to Alex. Alex came in (last) Tuesday night to get fitted for the car. And at that time, it was in the contingency that he would have to backfill for Dale after Dale started the race."
When it turned out later in the week that Earnhardt wouldn't be able to drive at all, Bowman already had been fitted for the seat in the No. 88 car and seemed the logical replacement choice.
Durchardt said on Friday that if Earnhardt is ruled out for the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway one week from this Sunday, Jeff Gordon will replace him behind the wheel. Gordon was out of the country in France this week and therefore unavailable, Durchardt said.
So this could be a one-shot deal for Bowman, who in four XFINITY starts this season has two top-five and four top-10 finishes with one pole.
"It's been a crazy 12 hours for sure ... It's definitely not the circumstances that I want to get an opportunity like this," Bowman said. "Obviously I'm hoping Dale feels better, but at the same time it's the best opportunity I've ever had in my life. I'm ready to just plug into their program and do my job.
"I'll give them the best feedback I can and go from there. I'm really confident in the whole team. Obviously they bring great race cars to the track every weekend, so if I just do my job I feel like we would be good to plug into it."
Bowman was 13th-fastest in Friday's lone practice, turning his top lap on the 1.058-mile track at 132.172 miles per hour. He ended up qualifying in the 20th position and will start on the outside of Row 10 in Sunday's race.
"I think I can really thank Dale, Jr. for saving my career two years ago pretty much, with those two Xfinity races (for JR Motorsports) at Charlotte and Phoenix, and then for the opportunity to run nine races this year with him," said Bowman, who has never had a top-10 Sprint Cup finish. "Obviously, we have been knocking on the door to get some wins (in the XFINITY Series) and it has been a lot of fun.
"He has been a good friend to me. He has been somebody that I can lean on all the time. Obviously, I hate to see him not feeling well. That was my first thought but, he has done a lot for my career and I couldn't be any more thankful than I am. I owe him a lot. It's just been an honor to get the phone call to fill in for him."
And next time, you can bet that Bowman will answer the first time Earnhardt's crew chief gives him a ring.
