Gordon steps in for Earnhardt at Indy
INDIANAPOLIS — Dale Earnhardt Jr. will miss two more races with concussion-like symptoms and Jeff Gordon will come out of retirement to drive the No. 88 car for at least the next two weekends.
Hendrick Motorsports announced Wednesday that NASCAR’s most popular driver will not compete at this weekend’s Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis and the next race, at Pocono, as he continues to recover from balance issues and nausea.
Earnhardt took himself out of the car last weekend in New Hampshire and was replaced by Alex Bowman. The team said he was evaluated Tuesday by doctors in Pittsburgh and he was not cleared to drive.
“Our focus is giving Dale all the time he needs to recover,” team owner Rick Hendrick said. “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.”
While retirement talk for the 41-year-old Earnhardt might be premature, his history of concussions is clearly a concern. He had two concussions in a six-week span in 2012 and missed two races, and this season he was involved in a 22-car wreck in Daytona and another wreck at Michigan International Speedway. He felt steadily worse, thinking it was allergies at first, and his head injury was confirmed after meeting with a neurological specialist.
Gordon, the four-time series champ and only five-time winner of the Brickyard 400, will make his season debut just a short drive away from his boyhood home in Pittsboro, Indiana. He has not competed since retiring after last year’s season finale and has spent this season primarily as a commentator on Fox Sports’ NASCAR coverage.
Brickyard organizers had billed last year’s race as Gordon’s “last ride” on his home track.
But now the 44-year-old Gordon will get one more chance to become the first driver to reach victory lane six times at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He’s also the only Cup driver to win six times at Pocono and has 93 career wins and has made all 797 of his career starts with Hendrick’s team.
“Jeff’s a team player,” Hendrick said.