Hendrick GM: Jeff Gordon to drive at Indy if Dale Jr. can’t – Nascar

RELATED: Drivers react, offer thoughts on Earnhardt Jr. news

Hendrick Motorsports indicated that Jeff Gordon would return to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition in place of Dale Earnhardt Jr. next weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway if Earnhardt has not fully recovered from concussion-like symptoms.

Gordon, a four-time champion in NASCAR’s premier series, ended his full-time driving career last season. All of his 93 victories and 797 starts came during his 23-year career with Hendrick Motorsports, which fields four cars including the No. 88 Chevrolet driven by Earnhardt Jr.

Hendrick Motorsports announced Thursday that Earnhardt would miss this Sunday’s New Hampshire 301 (1:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with concussion-like symptoms. Earnhardt also missed time in the 2012 season, sitting out two races after sustaining two concussions in a stretch of six weeks.

Doug Duchardt, Hendrick Motorsports’ general manager, revealed the striking news of Gordon’s possible Indy return on July 24 in the Crown Royal Presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard during a press conference Friday morning at New Hampshire. Gordon is NASCAR’s all-time winningest driver at the historic Brickyard with five Indianapolis victories on his Hall of Fame-worthy resume.

Duchardt said that there was no timetable for Earnhardt’s return to competition, reiterating the organization’s stance from Thursday’s announcement.

“I really don’t want to speculate past Indy,” Duchardt said. “I think we just want to take it one race at a time here. I think putting any speculation past that is assuming that Dale is not going to be ready for that amount of time. We will obviously be thinking about contingency plans, but we don’t have anything formalized for sure past Indy.”

Alex Bowman will be making his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start of the season in the Hendrick No. 88 Chevrolet. Bowman, 23, is also a part-time competitor for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.

Duchardt indicated that Gordon was not strongly considered for this weekend’s duty at New Hampshire because before Thursday, all indications were that Earnhardt potentially needed only a relief driver instead of a full-fledged replacement. Additionally, Gordon revealed Thursday that he was currently in France, which would have made for a tight turnaround to prepare for competition in New England this weekend.

NASCAR spokesperson David Higdon said that for Earnhardt to return to racing, competition officials would need notice of medical clearance from an independent, board-certified neurologist. Duchardt said that the team would make a determination by the middle of next week for the driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet at Indianapolis.

“For (crew chief) Greg (Ives) and the team, certainly the way Jeff sits in the car and what we have to do to prepare the car for Jeff they have to get ready for that,” Duchardt said. But, I think I would be looking around Wednesday time frame.”

Ryan Newman , a 15th-year veteran with Richard Childress Racing, said that a driver of Gordon’s caliber would likely be capable of competitively rejoining the series without signs of rust.

“Yeah, just because you go to the nude beach for a couple of months doesn’t mean you don’t know how to put your underwear back on,” Newman said, prompting laughter in the NHMS media center.