Alex Bowman will replace Jimmie Johnson in iconic No. 48 Chevrolet in 2021

When seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson steps out of his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at the end of the 2020 season, Alex Bowman will be taking over one of the most successful rides in the sport.

Already a Hendrick driver, Bowman will switch from the No. 88 car to the now-iconic No. 48 -— the car Johnson drove for his entire 20-year career in NASCAR — the team announced Tuesday. Although Johnson isn’t stepping away from racing entirely, the 45-year-old is retiring from full-time competition at the end of the 2020 NASCAR season in November and will run a dozen IndyCar Series races next year.

Johnson’s current primary sponsor, Ally Financial, is signed through the 2023 season and will remain with Bowman on the No. 48 car. Bowman will also continue to partner with his current crew chief, Greg Ives, who will move from the No. 88 to the No. 48.

“I’ve worked my entire life to be in a situation like this,” 27-year-old Bowman said in a statement via Hendrick Motorsports. He’s currently still one of 12 championship-eligible drivers in the playoffs.

“I can’t put my respect for Jimmie into words. To me, the No. 48 team’s legacy is about winning, but also how you go about your business. It’s leadership, confidence, work ethic, being a professional and holding yourself to a higher standard. No one will ever be Jimmie, and he’s given us a championship blueprint to follow.”

This is actually the second NASCAR legend Bowman will be replacing — after taking over for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 Chevrolet in 2018, following Earnhardt’s retirement at the end of the previous season. Bowman also filled in for Earnhardt, who was sidelined with a concussion, in 2016 for 10 races.

So far in nearly three full-time seasons with Hendrick, Bowman has two wins. His first career checkered flag came in 2019 at Chicagoland Speedway, and his second win was early in the 2020 season at Auto Club Speedway. In addition to Bowman’s one win this season, he has four top-5 finishes and 11 top-10s.

There’s been speculation throughout the 2020 season over who Hendrick would tap to take over Johnson’s ride. But with Bowman moving to the No. 48 car in 2021, it’s unknown who will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet.

As the NASCAR season winds down, there are still multiple top drivers looking for rides next year, including Erik Jones, who won’t return to Joe Gibbs Racing after 2020, and Kyle Larson, who has not yet been reinstated by NASCAR.

Larson entered this season as the most valuable upcoming free agent. But Chip Ganassi Racing fired him in April almost immediately after he used a racial slur during a livestream of an iRacing event and his sponsors began dropping him.

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