What comes next for Hendrick Motorsports' No. 88 car? With Dale Earnhardt Jr. not able to drive the rest of the 2016 Sprint Cup season, crew chief Greg Ives has a more definite assignment.
Including Sunday night's race at Darlington, Ives will handle different drivers in the season's final 12 races. He knows them both: Jeff Gordon and Alex Bowman.
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"We've been able to work through several things," Ives said in an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "The main thing is giving Dale the time he needs to fully recover. We could rush things, we could make things go a little bit quicker. But we want to make sure when we are back together, when we are in the car that it's for the right reason."
Gordon will drive at Darlington; we have known that for two weeks. Bowman will drive eight of the remaining races, getting experience and exposure with Hendrick that could set him in good stead for the future.
What neither driver has been able to do is produce a top-10 finish. Gordon's best of four fill-in races was 11th two weeks ago at Bristol. It's about as good as could be expected from a driver who came out of retirement to help his team.
Bowman looked good at times in his two races, but both ended badly. A crash left him 26th at New Hampshire. Last weekend at Michigan, he was 30th, five laps down, after engine trouble.
Unfortunate circumstances but I'm so thankful to get the opportunity to run 8 more races with @TeamHendrick. Going to make the most of it!
— Alex Bowman (@AlexBRacing) September 2, 2016
Now it's up to Ives to make the most of races with a future Hall of Famer and four-time Cup champion, and a 23-year-old developmental driver.
https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmnascar/crew-chief-greg-ives-talks-about-dale-earnhardt-jr-missing-the-rest-of-the-2016-season
Really, the only person with nothing to gain at this point, or rather the least to gain, is Gordon. His career is over; he will soldier through and do his best for Hendrick, his team for life, and the men working for him.
It's Bowman who could gain the most. Eight hot rides and strong results could secure his future. This season, he is a part-time driver. The past two seasons, Bowman had a full-time ride.
But those two seasons produced little success. Neither BK Racing nor Tommy Baldwin Racing had competitive rides, and Bowman's results were typical for back-marker teams. His best in 2015? Two 20th-place finishes. In 2014? Bowman was 13th in the July Daytona race.
Earnhardt has a contract for 2017, and reports say he talked with Hendrick officials about an extension.
But if the worst happens; if Earnhardt can't return, who takes his place? Bowman has the opportunity of a lifetime. He won't for now be more than an understudy, but his audition could cast him into the lead role.
Nobody will replace Earnhardt. Sure, Bowman might well drive the No. 88 car full time in 2017. But the impact of Junior leaving the sport will not be comfortable.
For now, Ives told ESPN: "It's just one of those things where we keep going, keep working hard."