Jeff Gordon will drive four more races in Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 car, including this weekend’s Southern 500, and Alex Bowman will drive the remaining eight races with Earnhardt out of the rest of the season, Hendrick Motorsports announced Friday.
Earnhardt has not competed since the July 9 race at Kentucky Speedway.
Bowman drove the No. 88 car at New Hampshire and Michigan.
Gordon has raced the No. 88 car at Indianapolis, Pocono, Watkins Glen and Bristol.
“Jeff and Alex will give us a great opportunity over the rest of the season,” car owner Rick Hendrick said in a statement. “Jeff is one of the best of all time and knows our system. He brings things to the table that no one else can. Alex is a young driver with a lot of talent, and he will give us a fresh perspective. We know they’re not only capable of running up front and giving us a chance to win, but they’ll help us get better.”
Here are the remaining races each driver will pilot the No. 88 car.
Jeff Gordon
Sept. 4 - Darlington Raceway
Sept. 10 - Richmond International Raceway
Oct. 2 - Dover International Speedway
Oct. 30 - Martinsville Speedway
Alex Bowman
Sept. 18 - Chicagoland Speedway
Sept. 25 - New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Oct. 8 - Charlotte Motor Speedway
Oct. 16 - Kansas Speedway
Oct. 23 - Talladega Superspeedway
Nov. 6 - Texas Motor Speedway
Nov. 13 - Phoenix International Raceway
Nov. 20 - Homestead-Miami Speedway
Gordon’s final race will come at Martinsville - where he scored his most recent victory last season to earn a chance to race for the championship in the season finale. His nine wins there are more than any driver in NASCAR history except Richard Petty (15 wins) and Darrell Waltrip (11 wins).
Gordon has two wins at Richmond (1996 and 2000). He has five wins at Dover, including his most recent there in 2014. Gordon has seven wins at Darlington, which ranks behind only David Pearson (10) and Dale Earnhardt (nine) at that track.
