Gordon to replace Earnhardt for next two races

[July 21, 2016]  The Sports Xchange

Retired driver Jeff Gordon will return to the racetrack for this weekend's Brickyard 400 to replace Dale Earnhardt, who continues to battle concussion-like symptoms.

Hendrick Motorsports made it official Wednesday that the 44-year-old Gordon will take the wheel and return to Sprint Cup racing for the next two weekends. Earnhardt has not been medically cleared to drive in Sunday's race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Earnhardt, who sat out last Sunday's New Hampshire 301, also will miss the following race at Pocono on July 31.

Gordon retired as a full-time Sprint Cup driver for the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 car at the end of last season and now works as a NASCAR analyst for FOX Sports. He will replace Earnhardt in the No. 88 Chevrolet for the next two races.

"I think Jeff will do well," team owner Rick Hendrick said Sunday when talking about the possibility of Gordon's return. "He's won that race a lot of times. He's been out of the car this year. I expect if he gets in the car, he might be a little bit rusty, but we've got a lot of practice time and I don't think it'll take Gordon long to get back in the groove."

Gordon, a four-time Sprint Cup Series champion, retired following a 23-year career with 93 wins in 797 starts. Gordon, an equity owner in Hendrick Motorsports, has run in every Brickyard race since the inaugural event in 1994, winning a record five times --1994, 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2014.

Gordon was on vacation in France last week when he received the call from Hendrick asking him to fill in for Earnhardt if he wasn't able to race.

Alex Bowman took the reins of the No. 88 from Earnhardt at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last Sunday, finishing 26th.

Hendrick said it has yet to be determined whether Gordon continues to drive for Earnhardt if needed.

"Jeff's a team player," Hendrick said in a news release Wednesday. "I know he'll be ready, and I know Dale has incredible trust in him. It's going to be an emotional weekend (at Indianapolis) with Dale not being there and seeing Jeff back behind the wheel.
 

"Our focus is giving Dale all the time he needs to recover. There's nothing we want more than to see him back in the race car, but we'll continue to listen to the doctors and follow their lead. What's best for Dale is what's best for Hendrick Motorsports and everyone involved with the team. We're all proud of him and looking forward to having him racing soon."

Earnhardt missed two races in 2012 for concussion-related issues after a wreck at Talladega Superspeedway.

"I've struggled with my balance over the last four or five days, and I definitely wouldn't have been able to drive a race car (at New Hampshire)," Earnhardt said earlier during his "The Dale Jr. Download" podcast. "So making the right decision (not to race) was out of the question. I made the decision I had to make. ... It's just going to take a lot of patience. I put my health and quality of life as a top priority, and I'll always do that. I'm going to take this slow and strictly follow the advice of my doctors."

Earnhardt visited the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program Tuesday for further evaluation.

"I miss everybody. I really appreciate all the support that I've gotten," Earnhardt said on the podcast. "It's really unnecessary, but it really does make me feel good.

"I have to be honest. To hear everybody wishing me well really, really does my heart good. This kind of thing can beat you down and get you sad, but I've got a lot of good people around me, a lot of people supporting me. I hope we can get back at the track soon."

NASCAR requires drivers to submit a baseline neurocognitive assessment such as an imPACT test, which is only one tool as a prerequisite for being licensed to compete. The mandate followed a comprehensive industry-wide education process launched by the sanctioning body in 2013.

NASCAR has a medical advisory group consisting of a team of consulting physicians who work directly with the league on policy development while regularly meeting with drivers to continue the education process. A driver with concussion-like symptoms can only return to NASCAR competition after the sanctioning body receives a notice from an independent board-certified neurologist or neurosurgeon.

Gordon can earn owner points for the No. 88 Chevrolet but can't accumulate driver points for Earnhardt. At the moment, Earnhardt sits in the final spot on the Chase Grid, 14 points ahead of the cutoff line for NASCAR's 10-race, four-round elimination playoffs. If he returns before the Chase, he will likely be out of the top 16 in points and could need a win to make it.

Three-time champion Tony Stewart, who will retire after this season, is looking forward to racing Gordon again.

"That's going to be really cool ... if we get to race Jeff one more time," Stewart said Sunday.

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