Substitute driver Alex Bowman has high hopes of doing well in replacing the sidelined Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Sunday’s New Hampshire 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Bowman will drive Earnhardt’s No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
According to research from NASCAR and NBC Sports, several substitute drivers in the past have gone from replacement roles at the start of a race to victory lane at the end of the same race.
Here’s some of the more notable substitutes-turned-winners in Sprint Cup annals:
* Tiny Lund for Marvin Panch - 1963 Daytona 500
* David Pearson for Dale Earnhardt – 1979 Southern 500
* Dale Jarrett for Ernie Irvan at Robert Yates Racing for the 1995 season (won at Pocono). Irvan was hurt at Michigan in 1994
* Robby Gordon for Mike Skinner – 2001 at New Hampshire
* Jamie McMurray for Sterling Marlin — 2002 at Charlotte
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