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NASCAR Cup Indianapolis

Jeff Gordon "overwhelmed with everything that's happened"

Jeff Gordon said he knows there are plenty of challenges ahead this weekend at he prepares to substitute for NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Jim Utter

Edited: Jul 26, 2016, 8:32 PM

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Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Jeff Gordon

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon

Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

“I’m a little overwhelmed with everything that’s happened over the last week. My goal is to come here and give this team the best effort I can, and hopefully a good one,” Gordon said Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“I’ve done everything that I possibly can to get ready over the past three days. There’s certainly going to be challenges this weekend. I questioned (Rick Hendrick) several times on the phone when he was asking me about this. Dale has a great team. I’m so impressed with everyone on the No. 88 team.”

On Wednesday, HMS announced that Gordon would fill in this week for Earnhardt, who remains sidelined with concussion-like symptoms including nausea and a lack of balance. Alex Bowman drove Earnhardt’s No. 88 Chevrolet last weekend at New Hampshire.

Gordon's appearance this weekend continues his streak of being the only driver to compete in every single Brickyard 400, a race that he is a five-time winner of.

Earnhardt's treatment continues

Earnhardt underwent further evaluation Tuesday at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program. He is not expected to compete at Indy or next week at Pocono.

Friday morning, Earnhardt posted a message to his Twitter account in which he said he was beginning to feel better.

Hendrick said Earnhardt came by the team’s shop on Wednesday and “looked good.”

“He’s encouraged and he’s followed the doctors’ orders,” Hendrick said. “He wants to get back in the car and he wants to race. He also knows if he follows the regimen they have him on, he will be able to race for a long time.”

Getting the call

Gordon was in the south of France on vacation with his wife, Ingrid, when Hendrick first reached out to him about filling in for Earnhardt, should the need arise following last weekend’s race at New Hampshire.

“I get that text and I looked at her and said, “Oh boy.” He wasn’t joking. He was serious. Honestly, I didn’t have to think twice about it,” Gordon said. “When Rick calls, he has that confidence in me to step up and handle whatever responsibilities.

“When I knew it was Indianapolis, I didn’t think twice about it.”

Gordon said he doesn’t want to speculate as to his tenure in the No. 88 beyond Pocono.

“When I saw him on Wednesday I was encouraged so much by his passion for racing. We want him to come back when he’s ready and when the doctors say he is ready,” Gordon said. “Really this is just about me helping out the organization.

“I like to make people proud of the effort I put into it. It’s what I did as a race car driver, it’s what I do with my kids and my family.”

Hendrick said he and Gordon had never talked about a possibility that would include Gordon coming out of retirement from his TV analyst job prior to this situation.

Gordon said he was initially asked about substituting for Tony Stewart in the Daytona 500 earlier this season when Stewart was recovering from his back injuries, but his obligations with Fox Sports prevented him from considering the possibility.

Although out of the car only for half a season, Gordon said there are several changes he will have to get used to – including the digital dashboard, which he never used previously, and competed with the lower downforce rules package twice, when it was tested last season at Kentucky and Darlington.

Gordon said one of strangest situations to come out of this is the fact he will end up competing against the No. 24 car, which he drove for his entire Sprint Cup Series career with HMS.

“It’s certainly a unique situation,” he said. “Mostly I’m just thinking about Dale Jr and the impact on his team. Hopefully, I can walk away from this experience with my head held high.”

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