With Dale Earnhardt Jr. sidelined with concussion-like symptoms, Jeff Gordon will drive the next two Sprint Cup races and possibly more. NASCAR has a concussion protocol that was instituted in 2013, one season after Junior opted to skip two of the Chase races because of similar symptoms.
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On Wednesday morning, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced Gordon would come out of retirement and officially replace Dale Earnhardt Jr.in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race at the Brickyard.
The recently retired Hendrick Motorsports driver will compete for the first time this year Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as a substitute driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Well, technically it’s at least two last jobs: Indianapolis and Pocono, two racetracks at which Gordon holds the all-time record for wins.
Gordon has been working as an analyst with FOX Sports and last month expressed interest in replacing Michael Strahan on “Live” with Kelly Ripa. And while it’s unclear if Gordon will be needed beyond the Pocono weekend, the four-time champion is no slouch at Watkins Glen, Bristol, Michigan and Darlington either. So Gordon in the 88 auto for the next 2 races could get interesting because he will be racing against the man that took over the 24 this season, Chase Elliot and we will see how that plays out over the next 2 races. What’s best for Dale is what’s best for Hendrick Motorsports and everyone involved with the team. “I always do that, so I am going to take this slow and follow the advice of my doctors”. So the absence of one of Hendrick’s drivers, at a track where Gordon has had a ton of success, is the ideal chance for the legendary driver to jump back into a auto. On Monday, news broke that if Earnhardt was indeed still unfit to race on Wednesday (i.e. today), Gordon would be the one to step in. Alex Bowman drove the 88 auto last Sunday at New Hampshire. He wants to race for a long time, so we are going to let the doctors make those decisions.
Earnhardt was evaluated Tuesday at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program after missing last weekend’s New Hampshire 301, according to a team release. Were all proud of him and looking forward to having him racing soon.. “Myresults matched my baseline, which made me feel confident that my brain was pretty sharp”. “I really appreciate all the support I’ve got”. This is the same Gordon who has led 15 percent of every lap he’s turned at IMS, 500 total, and posted top-fives in 14 of his 22 starts.
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The rules didn’t allow racers to be hurt, sitting out a week would be catastrophic in the point standings, and, ultimately, the payout.
