Bowman growing comfortable, showcasing his potential at Hendrick

As much as fans — and the sport — have missed Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s weekly on-track presence, it has been a challenge for the Greg Ives-led crew to carry on without its driver, who was diagnosed with a concussion in July.

Although Bowman started the season without a full-time ride, he’s made the transition to one of NASCAR’s most visible cars appear almost seamless during his six races with the team.

“It’s always good to have a young kid like him who has helped develop our DL simulator for GM (General Motors) and Hendrick Motorsports,” Ives said. “For him to be able to get in the car and show the speed he has, has been great for the team and also at a time for Hendrick Motorsports when we’re improving our speed.

“For him to come in at a time when Hendrick Motorsports is starting to lead laps and runs strong, I think that’s good for his confidence and good for us as a race team.”

The best of the rest

On Friday, Bowman was fourth fastest off the truck in practice — the best of the non-Chasers. He qualified fifth for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 — the top Chevrolet.

“I’ve been really pleased with the car all day,” Bowman said. “The first round was a little bit nerve racking we were really loose kind of out of nowhere. We weren’t like that in qualifying trim in practice. Greg made great adjustments, we picked up a bunch of speed and just got a little too tight the final round, but those guys, I don’t know that we were two and a half tenths too tight or a tenth and a half too tight, whatever it was. That is a lot.

“But I think race trim the sun is going to come out and we will have something for them.”

Last week, Bowman shared the front row with Kevin Harvick at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Although he held his own with the top cars in the field, a blown tire ended his day on Lap 61. Bowman was running third. Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson went on to win at Charlotte — and ended a 23-race winless streak for the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy and the company.

All four teams are working really well together

No. 88 crew chief Alex Bowman

If Bowman has ever felt overwhelmed by the situation, he’s shown no signs of distress. His demeanor has remained even-keeled during practice, qualifying and race day.

“A lot of it is the pressure we do or don’t put on him,” Ives said. “We kind of want to establish an atmosphere that we’re coming to the race track to enjoy ourselves, to prove that this race team has the ability to run fast and also for Dale to get excited about what the team has been doing.

“I know he’s been on the sidelines but also watching our progression, watching the speeds on the car, so it’s been a lot of fun.”

Ives believes Bowman is fortunate to be riding the wave as Hendrick Motorsports gains speed toward season's end. Although the No. 88 team has exhibited more speed over the last month, Ives has seen improvement across the entire organization. And that couldn’t have come at a better time with Johnson and Chase Elliott still battling in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

“All four teams are working really well together — drivers, crew chiefs, engineers,” Ives said. “Everyone is pulling in the same direction. It’s not just the 88, across the board I think you can see everybody has turned a corner. But we’re not ready to give up yet on anything.

“We’re here as the 88 team to benefit the 48 and the 24 in their endeavors throughout the Chase. So as many wins as we can get or points in between them and the Chase drivers that we can, it’s only going to make them better.”