LOUDON, N.H. – Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s misfortune may turn into a coming-out party for Jeff Gordon – coming out of retirement, that is.
Earnhardt is sidelined with concussion-like symptoms and won’t compete in Sunday’s New Hampshire 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN). His status for future races this season remains uncertain.
Should Earnhardt have to miss next week’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports already has a super sub lined up to replace him.
“If Dale is not able to go to Indianapolis, we will put Jeff Gordon in the car,” said Hendrick Motorsports General Manager Doug Duchardt.
The choice is logical. Fox Sports has completed its portion of the Sprint Cup season, and Gordon’s services as a booth analyst aren’t required for the rest of the year. Consider also that Gordon has five victories at the Brickyard, a record for the vaunted track.
Whether Gordon returns to race at Indy, however, depends on the prognosis for Earnhardt, who was advised by doctors this week not to race at Loudon. Alex Bowman, initially contacted as a possible relief for Earnhardt before the extent of his condition was known, is driving the No. 88 Chevrolet this weekend.
“Alex came in Tuesday night to get fitted for the car,” Duchardt said. “And at that time, it was in the contingency that he would have to backfill for Dale after Dale started the race.
“Dale then went and saw a team of neurologists and in the past two days has been going through some tests. (Thursday) around noon is when I found out that Dale could not be in the car for this weekend, based on their suggestion.”
Earnhardt’s health issues also bring an important opportunity to Bowman, who drives a limited NASCAR XFINITY Series schedule for JR Motorsports.
“Yeah, it’s been a crazy 12 hours, for sure,” Bowman said on Friday morning at NHMS. “I think the first time (crew chief) Greg (Ives) called me, I was at work, so I didn’t even answer. But it’s definitely not the circumstances that I want to get an opportunity like this. Obviously I’m hoping Dale feels better, but at the same time, it’s the best opportunity I’ve ever had in my life.
“I’m ready to just plug into their program and do my job. I’ll give them the best feedback I can and go from there. I’m really confident in the whole team. Obviously, they bring great race cars to the track every weekend, so if I just do my job, I feel like we would be good to plug into it.”
Duchardt declined to speculate whether Gordon would substitute for Earnhardt in additional races, if necessary.
Source: Reid Spencer / NASCAR Wire Service>/em>
