Jeff Gordon will be replacing Dale Earnhardt Junior at the Brickyard 400 as Earnhardt recovers from possible concussion symptoms.
Dale Earnhardt Jr’s status for the Brickyard 400 has been sketchy at best. He is likely going to take time off due to suffering from concussion symptoms for well over a week. NASCAR has been scrambling to find a replacement. They have found one in none other than Jeff Gordon. He will come out of retirement to race in Earnhardt’s 88 car.
From Indy Star:
"Gordon has won the Brickyard 400 a record five times, most recently in 2014. He won the track’s inaugural NASCAR event in 1994 and is considered a hometown favorite – he spent his high school years living in nearby Pittsboro – despite being born in Vallejo, Calif."
Without Earnhardt, NASCAR needed to find someone who could match his draw. Gordon is one of the few drivers who can do that. He is one of the most, if not the most, popular drivers in NASCAR history. Gordon has had a lot of success at Brickyard and he should draw a lot of interest in the race.
Since retiring from NASCAR after last season, Gordon has become an equity owner of Earnhardt’s team. Gordon has been involved in racing for a very long time. It figures that he wouldn’t be able to stay out of a race car for that long. Gordon’s involvement should definitely help ratings and make one of NASCAR’s most popular races even more popular.
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