Earnhardt, Jr. Ruled Out For Indy and Pocono, Gordon To Fill In

Hendrick Motorsports announced this morning that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has not been cleared by doctors to return to competition and will sit out the next two races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 24th and at Pocono Raceway on July 31. Four-time Sprint Cup Champion and current FOX Sports NASCAR commentator Jeff Gordon will come out of retirement to drive the no. 88 Chevrolet at both events.

Gordon retired from full-time competition following last season's finale at Homestead. He is the all-time wins leader at Indianapolis with five wins – his most recent in 2014 – and at Pocono with six victories.

Earnhardt, Jr. missed last weekend's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with concussion-like symptoms following crashes during the previous weeks events at Michigan and Daytona. Earnhardt, Jr., who missed two races in 2013 suffering from concussion symptoms following a crash at Talladega, had consulted with neurologists before deciding to sit out Sundays race and underwent further evaluation yesterday and was still suffering balance issues and nausea.

HMS said Earnhardt, Jr. will not travel to either event as he continues to recover.