Nascar

Gordon comes out of retirement to replace Earnhardt at Indy

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Alex Bowman (88) driving for Dale Earnhardt Jr., leads Ryan Blaney (21) and Jimmie Johnson (48) during practice at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for Sunday's NACAR Sprint Cup Series auto race Saturday, July 16, 2016, in Loudon, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this April 1, 2016, file photo, Sprint Cup driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., speaks to the media during a press conference at the Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va. Earnhardt Jr. will miss two more races as he recovers from concussion-like symptoms and retired NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon will replace him at Indianapolis and Pocono. The announcement came Wednesday, July 20, 2016, from Hendrick Motorsports, which said Earnhardt has not been cleared by doctors to drive. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Feb. 23, 2014, file photo, Dale Earnhardt Jr., left, celebrates in Victory Lane with teammate Jeff Gordon, right, after winning the NASCAR Daytona 500 Sprint Cup series auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Gordon will get one more shot to win in Indianapolis this weekend when he replaces Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 car. On Wednesday, July 20, 2016, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Earnhardt would miss the next two weeks as he continues to battle balance issues and nausea. (AP Photo/Terry Renna, File) (The Associated Press)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will miss two more races as he recovers from concussion-like symptoms and retired NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon will replace him at Indianapolis and Pocono.

The announcement came Wednesday from Hendrick Motorsports, which said Earnhardt has not been cleared by doctors to drive. He missed last weekend's race in New Hampshire and was replaced by Alex Bowman.

Team owner Rick Hendrick says the team is looking forward to having NASCAR's most popular driver back racing "soon."

Gordon is the only five-time winner of the Brickyard 400 and race organizers billed the 2015 race as his "last ride" in Indy. Since retiring at the end of last season, he served primarily as a commentator for Fox Sports.