The expectations from driving for Hendrick Motorsports are nerve-wracking enough; filling the seat left vacant by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is even worse. That will be what Alex Bowman is faced with this season, though, as he’ll get back behind the wheel of the #88 Chevrolet after subbing in for Junior for ten races during the 2016 season while he was dealing with his concussion. Bowman showed promise in those ten races a couple of seasons ago, though, and that’s very well what be what got him this ride.
Cup Series History
Alex Bowman actually has a couple of seasons under his belt in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. He drove the #23 Toyota for BK Racing for all 36 races back in 2014, posting a best finish of 14th in the July Daytona race. Overall, though, Alex’s average finish was an abysmal 32.6. He drove the #7 Chevrolet for Tommy Baldwin Racing in 2015, posting a best finish of 16th at Talladega while also coming home 20th at both Bristol and Dover–which were actually a bit impressive considering the equipment Bowman was stuck with. As mentioned before, though, Alex got a chance with some decent equipment, and in the ten races he ran in Junior’s #88 Chevrolet, he ended up with three top 10s, one pole, and an average finish of 19.7.
Predictions for the Upcoming Season
The path that Alex Bowman has taken to get a top ride in NASCAR is actually quite impressive; despite having ran just one full season in the Xfinity Series and two full seasons in the Cup Series (with subpar equipment), Alex is at the center of Hendrick Motorsports’ transition to a younger generation of drivers and has some pretty big shoes to fill in taking over Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s car. He showed in 2016 that he can handle that kind of pressure, though, and almost got to victory lane at Phoenix.
Overall Expectations: I’m expecting plenty of ups and downs from Alex Bowman in 2018. He’s got pretty good equipment, but at the same time there’s quite a bit of unknowns: not only is Hendrick Motorsports going through a radical shift with their drivers, but Chevrolet is also unveiling the new Camaro this season as well. What I like most about Alex Bowman heading into 2018, though, is his qualifying abilities (his average starting spot while subbing for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in 2016 was 12.3). We saw last year that qualifying up front had a solid correlation with good finishes, which will help Bowman a lot in his rookie year. From a numbers standpoint, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the #88 team capture double-digit top 10 finishes this season.
Can Alex Bowman win a Cup Series race in 2018? Probably not, but then again what he did at Phoenix in 2016 while subbing for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was extremely surprising and showed what Bowman is capable of doing with a good car. It’s also worth noting that some of Alex’s best finishes while driving for BK Racing and Tommy Baldwin Racing in 2014 and 2015 came at restrictor plate tracks–and we all know the #88 car’s history at those venues.
Alex Bowman as a Fantasy Option in 2018
DraftKings: Alex Bowman should be relatively low-priced in DraftKings to start out the year but creep higher and higher as the season goes on. As mentioned before, Alex has shown that he can qualify well in NASCAR’s top series, and that doesn’t work out very well in DraftKings when the driver doesn’t get dominator points.
Season-Long Salary Cap Games: The key for any rookie to being a great play in season-long salary cap games is to stay out of trouble. Ten races of 15th-place finishes is much better than four finishes of 10th and six finishes of 35th. When Alex Bowman subbed in for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. back in 2016, he had flashes of being very good while also running into his fair share of problems. Looking at 2018, Bowman has high potential for being a great pick in season-long games, but at the same time his risk is pretty high, as I’m skeptical he will be able to remain consistent week in and week out.
