Jerry Lai/USA TODAY Sports
The world of NASCAR isn't a stranger to concussions, but the news about its latest one might bring a legend out of retirement.
On Thursday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced in a shocking statement that he is suffering concussion-like symptoms following crashes in recent races. The announcement guarantees that he'll miss the race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, where Alex Bowman will stand in for Earnhardt.
While that's a big part of the story, the speculation for what will happen in the following week's race, the famed Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is even juicier. According to Bob Pockrass of ESPN NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon will fill in for Earnhardt if he's not able to compete.
Earnhardt competes for Hendrick Motorsports, a company which Gordon is an equity owner of, so it makes sense that Gordon would want to fill in for Earnhardt to help his business interests. The interesting part is that Gordon retired last year, so how his status would work out remains to be seen.
Hendrick Motorsports also said that they'll have another announcement in the coming week with an update on Earnhardt's condition and whether he'd be able to compete at Indianapolis in the first place.