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Dale Earnhardt will miss 2 more races over concussion; Jeff Gordon steps in

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
July 20, 2016 - 7:05 am
 
FILDale Earnhardt Jr., left, celebrates in Victory Lane with teammate Jeff Gordon after winning the NASCAR Daytona 500 Sprint Cup series auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Feb. 23, 2014. (Terry Renna/AP)
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)

INDIANAPOLIS — 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.

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