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[h=2]NASCAR: Gordon could stand in for Earnhardt Jr.[/h] Friday, 15 July 2016


RACER staff








Dale Earnhardt Jr. will miss Sunday's New Hampshire NASCAR Sprint Cup race with concussion symptoms and Jeff Gordon will stand in if he does not return for weekend's Indianapolis round.


Earnhardt withdrew from this weekend's Loudon race on Thursday night, with Alex Bowman called up from his JR Motorsports Xfinity Series team as stand-in. But Hendrick Motorsports general manager Doug Duchardt said the recently retired five-time Brickyard 400 winner Gordon will make a comeback for Indy if Earnhardt continued to be absent.
"He's a four-time champion and has 93 wins, he's not a bad person to put in the car, but this week he's in France," said Duchardt of Gordon. "The way the week played out, we thought we only needed a back-up driver.
"If Dale is not able to go at Indianapolis, we will put Jeff Gordon in the car. When Dale is ready, that's his car to get back into."
Earnhardt missed two races with concussion in 2012, and suspects crashes in the recent Michigan and Daytona rounds might have led to a recurrence of the symptoms. He felt unwell in the build-up to last weekend's Kentucky race, and initially put it down to allergies or a sinus infection. When the problems continued, he was advised against racing.
"Because of my symptoms and my history with concussions, and after my recent wrecks at Michigan and Daytona, I met with a neurological specialist," said Earnhardt. "After further evaluation, they felt it was best for me to sit out."
Duchardt declined to speculate on how long Earnhardt's absence might continue.
"The most important thing in this process is for Dale to feel better," he said. "I'm not going to speculate on Dale's future. The important thing is Dale recognized he had something going on and took a step out."
Earnhardt has yet to win a race this year but is currently among the provisional Chase field based on his points score. He will need a waiver from NASCAR to qualify for the Chase now he is missing a race, but the series has already given one to Tony Stewart this season and 2015 champion Kyle Busch benefited from such a dispensation after breaking his leg last year.
Duchardt said Hendrick could wait until Wednesday next week to decide whether Earnhardt or Gordon would race at Indianapolis and has not planned beyond that.
"Speculating past [Indianapolis] is assuming Dale won't be ready for that amount of time," he said. "We'll be thinking about contingency plans but we don't have anything formalized."
New Hampshire substitute Bowman was a Cup regular with the Tommy Baldwin Racing team last season and has raced part-time for Earnhardt's JR Xfinity squad this year.
"It's definitely not the circumstances that I wanted to get an opportunity like this," said Bowman. "Obviously I'm hoping Dale feels better but at the same time it's the best opportunity I've ever had in my life."

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[h=2]NASCAR: Concussion symptoms sideline Earnhardt[/h] Thursday, 14 July 2016


RACER Staff / Image by LAT





Dale Earnhardt Jr. will miss Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in New Hampshire after experiencing concussion-like symptoms. He was evaluated this week in Charlotte and was not cleared to race, Hendrick Motorsports announced Thursday.


"I wasn't feeling great the week going into Kentucky [Speedway last weekend] and thought it was possibly severe allergies," Earnhardt said. "I saw a family doctor and was given medication for allergies and a sinus infection. When that didn't help, I decided to dig a little deeper. Because of my symptoms and my history with concussions, and after my recent wrecks at Michigan and Daytona, I reached out and met with a neurological specialist. After further evaluation, they felt it was best for me to sit out.
Earnhardt had endured two wrecks in a three-race stretch from June 19 to July 2.
"I'm disappointed about missing New Hampshire this weekend," Earnhardt added. "I'm looking forward to treatment with the goal of getting back in the race car when the doctors say I'm ready."
Alex Bowman will drive the No. 88 Chevy. He was released by Tommy Baldwin Racing in January after a full season with the team. He races part-time for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series.
Earnhardt missed two races as the result of a pair of concussions in 2012. The first occurred when he suffered a tire failure and crashed heavily during a test at Kansas, with the second following a few weeks later after a crash at Talladega. NASCAR introduced mandatory baseline concussion testing two years later.
Earnhardt revealed in September 2002 that he had raced with a concussion, which he sustained in the April Fontana race.
Hendrick Motorsports does not have a timetable for Earnhardt's return; the team will provide an update next week regarding plans for the Crown Royal 400 at the Brickyard. Earnhardt is 13th in points and winless so far this season.
"I'm proud of Dale for standing up," team owner Rick Hendrick said. "The number one priority is his health, so we're going to give him all the time he needs. We completely support the decision by the doctors and will be ready to go win races when he's 100 percent. In the meantime, we have full confidence in Greg [Ives] and the team, and we know they'll do a great job."
In March, Earnhardt announced that he hopes to donate his brain for the purpose of concussion research, saying on Twitter, "What use is [your brain] to you at that point? I'm gonna donate mine."

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[h=2]NASCAR: Hendrick wants Earnhardt 'for a long time'[/h] Sunday, 17 July 2016


RACER Staff / Image by LAT
With the news that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is facing another recovery from a concussion, team owner Rick Hendrick says he doesn't believe Earnhardt's current contract, which ends in 2017, will be his last.
"He and I talked about years beyond next year just around Daytona," Hendrick said Sunday at New Hampshire. "If there was something major wrong, I think they would have seen it already. I'm very hopeful and he's very hopeful. I think the doctors want to err on the side of being sure. We want him for a long time."
Alex Bowman, who races part-time for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, is driving the No. 88 Chevy at Loudon.
The surprise announcement came Thursday that Earnhardt had not been cleared to drive at New Hampshire after the 41-year-old saw a doctor, suffering from what he thought was a sinus infection or allergies. Earnhardt had endured two wrecks in a three-race stretch from June 19 to July 2.
Hendrick said the team should know by late Tuesday or Wednesday if Earnhardt will be ready to race at Indianapolis.
"Hopefully Dale is going to be back next week and it's not even something we think is going to happen," Hendrick said. "Jeff is a team player and wants to support the organization and I'm sure he'll do whatever he has to do."
"He's running through a bunch of tests and he's going to have some more tests the first of the week," Hendrick said. "He's doing good. He wants to be in the car. The doctors are going to tell him when it's OK for him to be back. I know he's anxious and we want him back as soon as the doctors give clearance."
Hendrick said earlier in the week that he was "proud" of Earnhardt for coming forward and removing himself from the car given his concussion history, which also sidelined him in 2012.
"He's kind of an iron man – he doesn't want to let the team down, he doesn't want to let his fans down," Hendrick said Sunday. "We need him for the long pull. He wants to be in the car. But the best thing the doctors can do is go through all the protocol and do all the tests, and there's a bunch of tests.
"When they say, 'You're good to go' he'll be back."
In yet another big surprise, if Earnhardt can't go, a familiar face will return to the team in his place. Jeff Gordon will hop in, although he didn't believe the offer.
"He thought I was kidding at first," Hendrick said. "He was on vacation and I asked him what he was doing and he said, 'I'll be in Indy.' ... I said, 'Bring your driver's uniform just in case.'
"He said, 'Are you kidding?' I said, 'No, I'm serious.'"

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[h=2]NASCAR: Bowman - 'They knew we were here'[/h] Sunday, 17 July 2016


Matt Weaver / Image by Getty Images for NASCAR
Driving the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr., Alex Bowman contended for his first-ever Sprint Cup top-10 before falling victim to a late crash that dropped him to 26th by the end of the event.
Despite the unfortunate result, the 23-year-old enjoyed his time with NASCAR's most popular team and felt as though he forged a positive impression during the weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
"It was amazing," Bowman said after the race. "I can't thank Hendrick Motorsports and all these guys enough. They took me to my worst track by far and made me look good. I just have to thank [Rick Hendrick] because I had such an amazing time. Everybody, [crew chief] Greg [Ives, crew chief] and all the guys were so welcoming. I hate the circumstances and really hope Dale is feeling well, but I had so much fun today."
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. The contact took place as he left his pit box, scraping against Carl Edwards, who was boxed into his pit box.
"I think [Edwards] was backing up because he was blocked in as I was leaving the pit box," Bowman said. "My left rear hit his right rear as I was leaving. It caved it in enough, we thought we would be fine, but obviously, when I got into [Kurt Busch] a little bit it was already going down.
"I got really loose, got up the race track and got into him. I hate that for Kurt. Obviously, just got loose had a tire going down and then it went down at about the start/finish line, I just tried to hang on to it. It is really unfortunate."
"They knew we were here for sure, and I had a blast."
The fact he was even racing against Busch in the first place was the most notable thing Bowman plans to take away from the experience. Bowman has two years of Sprint Cup racing under his belt but spent it with underfunded BK Racing and Tommy Baldwin Racing, which released him in January.
This was the first time Bowman truly got to compete against NASCAR's elite.
"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, or rather, I've raced around them," Bowman said. "I've never got to actually race with guys like Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, all those guys. I had a lot of fun passing really good cars.
"I'm just really thankful for Nationwide and all of Hendrick Motorsports for letting me be here."
Earnhardt will be evaluated early next week, but his status for the Crown Royal 400 at the Brickyard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway remains unclear. Four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon would come out of retirement to drive the No. 88 if Earnhardt is still unable to compete.
Bowman is currently a part-timer in the Xfinity Series for Earnhardt's JR Motorsports No. 88 team.

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Two races for Jeff Gordon......
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/video/gordon-sub-junior-indy-pocono-145456013.html

Hendrick Motorsports confirmed that Jeff Gordon will be the substitute driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. for at least the next two races as Earnhardt continues to recover from concussion-like symptoms.

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More on Jeff Gordon:
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/a...es-winner.html