LOUDON, N.H.- Team owner Rick Hendrick said he does not think the concussion symptoms that sidelined Dale Earnhardt Jr. are career threatening.
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Earnhardt, 41, sat out Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway because he was not cleared to race. “He and I talked about years beyond next year”.
Hendrick also said he wants Dale Jr for the long haul.
“I’m very hopeful. He’s very hopeful and I think the doctors are going to error on the side of being sure. We want him back as soon as the doctors give him clearance”. Theyre young, theyre hungry, but when they get in a wreck and get a concussion, they know if they dont get back in the auto, someone else is going to take it. We want to change the culture of the sport.. Alex Bowman will drive the 88 on Sunday.
His run at a good finish ended on Lap 273 when damage from his previous pit stop cut a tire and sent him hard into the outside retaining wall.
Gordon has the all-time record number of Sprint Cup wins at IMS, so this is a bit of a no-brainer.
This is the first time I’ve consistently run in the top-10 in a Cup auto. I couldn’t have asked for a better substitute there.
Gordon was the obvious choice to pinch-drive in the No. 88 Chevrolet for Earnhardt, his former Hendrick Motorsports teammate, at one of his favorite tracks.
Gordon was in France when he received the call from Hendrick that he might have to grab his helmet out of storage.
“I am an organ donor so it wouldn’t bother me to do that, but it’s something I’ve not taken steps in and have not discussed at all”, he said. “Jeff is a team player and wants to support the organization, and I’m sure he’ll do whatever he has to do”. So, Hendrick Motorsports announced today that if Earnhardt isn’t medically cleared in time to drive at IMS, Gordon will be his stand-in there.
“He’s running through a bunch of tests, and he’s going to have some more tests the first of the week”, Hendrick said.
If there is one thing that every NASCAR drivers wants to be doing, it’s driving.
“To hear everybody wishing me well really does my heart good”, Earnhardt said. Then, in 2012, a crash during a test session at Kansas Speedway left Earnhardt out of the racecar for two weeks, suffering from a definitive concussion and costing him a chance at a possible championship.
Although his team and NASCAR applauded Earnhardt for making the decision, the questions remain: Will other drivers follow his lead if they have concussion-like symptoms, and does NASCAR need to do more?
That being said, the Chase conversation really is something that is on the back burner for now as Earnhardt Jr.’s health is of the most importance.
The results “made me feel confident my brain was pretty sharp”, he said. Since the new Chase system was put in place in 2014, drivers have recovered from injury, returned to racing and succeeded in the postseason.
Chris Nowinski, Legacy co-founder, said Earnhardt has become the face of concussion awareness in sports.
“Obviously, I hate that we didn’t get the finish we deserve, but I’ve raced with a lot of these guys for a long time….” He wants to be in the auto, but the best thing the doctors can do is go through all the protocol and do all the tests. It’s always been a real experience to go through this stuff because you learn so much. He felt worse Tuesday and told his team that it needed to at least consider a backup driver for New Hampshire.
Gordon thought he was finished, walking away at the end of last season and one final championship run from one of NASCAR’s all-time great careers: 93 wins, four series championships and more than $150 million in winnings.
“He thought I was kidding at first”, Hendrick said.
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“I told him I was serious”.
