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Alex Bowman doesn't have a ride secured for 2017

Alex Bowman (L) has two top-10 finishes while subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R) (Getty)
Alex Bowman (L) has two top-10 finishes while subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R) (Getty)

Despite showing some serious potential in his substitute role for Dale Earnhardt Jr., Alex Bowman hasn’t signed a contract to drive for anyone in 2017.

While Bowman hinted that he’s received offers, he’s not taking the first opportunity.

“No, I’m still waiting for the right opportunity to come along,” Bowman said. There’s nothing that has really fit that has come along. I’ll still probably have my day job at Hendrick Motorsports driving the simulator. We’ll go from there.”

Bowman was without a Sprint Cup Series ride in 2016 until Junior was sidelined this summer because of a concussion. Bowman was Junior’s first substitute driver and then ended up splitting duties in the No. 88 with Jeff Gordon after Junior’s absence extended through the rest of the season.

In eight races so far this season, Bowman has finished in the top 10 twice. He was 13th last week at Texas after a right-front tire problem early in the race.

Bowman has also driven part-time in the Xfinity Series in 2016. He’s finished in the top 10 in all seven of his races for JR Motorsports and is driving Saturday at Phoenix. The Tucson, Arizona, native will drive the No. 88 car, which is in the Xfinity owner’s Chase.

“Coming to Phoenix anyway, there’s a lot of pressure on getting a win with it being my hometown, how well we’ve run here in the past and how well we’ve run this season,” Bowman said. “So the importance of getting a win here was already very high. The Owner’s Championship — we have to win to make Homestead and that’s what we plan on doing.”

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!