{"id":4790,"date":"2016-07-24T11:03:58","date_gmt":"2016-07-24T16:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=4790"},"modified":"2016-07-24T11:03:58","modified_gmt":"2016-07-24T16:03:58","slug":"qa-with-nascars-jeff-gordon-and-rick-hendrick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2016\/07\/24\/qa-with-nascars-jeff-gordon-and-rick-hendrick\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A with NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon and Rick Hendrick"},"content":{"rendered":"

JEFF GORDON, INTERIM DRIVER OF THE NO. 88 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS, AND RICK HENDRICK, OWNER OF HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, met with members of the media at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to discuss Jeff climbing behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet SS for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. as he continues to heal from concussion like symptoms.\u00a0 Full Transcript:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"(L-R)

(L-R) Jeff Gordon, driver of the #88 Axalta Chevrolet, and team owner Rick Hendrick speak to the media before practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Crown Royal presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 23, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Daniel Shirey\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS OF GETTING BACK IN THE CAR?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JEFF GORDON:<\/strong> \u201cI certainly woke up feeling good when\u00a0I saw Dale Jr.s\u2019 Tweet that he\u2019s seen progress. I texted him right away as soon as I saw that. So, that is great news. Great way to start the day.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m certainly a little overwhelmed over everything that has happened over the last week.\u00a0\u00a0But, most of all, I\u2019m proud to be here and help his team out. This is his team. What we want most is to have him healthy and strong for the long term. Today is a great sign of things to come for him.\u00a0\u00a0For me, my goal is to come here and give this team the best effort that I can, and give them the best result\u2026hopefully a good one.\u201d<\/p>\n

WHAT ABOUT THE CONDITIONING NEEDED TO BE IN THE CAR JEFF?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

JEFF GORDON:<\/strong> \u201cThere is certainly a lot of preparation that goes into every race and every season as a driver, and as a team. All I can tell you is that I have done everything I possibly can over the last three days to get ready for this race the best way that I can. We\u2019ll find out\u00a0what kind of condition I\u2019m in.\u00a0\u00a0There are certainly going to be challenges this weekend, but I feel like I am capable of doing it.\u00a0\u00a0Rick (Hendrick) and the whole team have given me a lot of confidence in myself my choosing me and asking me to do this. I questioned Mr. H several times when he was asking me on the phone about this. That confidence that they have in me and then to go spend time with the team, Dale has a great team, I\u2019m so impressed with Greg Ives and everybody at the No. 88 team.\u00a0 And everyone pitching in at Hendrick Motorsports to get me comfortable and to get me ready\u2026 to have the confidence in me. There are going to be challenges. There is no doubt about it. Qualifying is the first thing that comes to my mind, even before the heart. To me qualifying; to go lay down laps; to advance to second round and hopefully get to third round. Qualifying is very important here. To do that in a short period of time with the amount of practice we have today in the heat of the day is going to be tough.\u00a0\u00a0As far as hydration and all of those things, that is the most important thing for me is to just make sure hydration-wise is to get through the race in good shape. They have advanced a little bit since last year as far as cooling is concerned that I actually have some- air conditioning that actually cools things. Jimmie Johnson has offered me his cool vest. They know that I\u2019m old and not in the kind of shape that I was but\u2026 Of any track that I can think of coming to, heat or no heat, and come and do a good job for this team, it is right here in Indianapolis. \u201c<\/p>\n

\"(L-R)

(L-R) Jeff Gordon, driver of the #88 Axalta Chevrolet, talks to teammate Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Red Vest Chevrolet, during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Crown Royal presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 23, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Robert Laberge\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

IF YOU COULD TALK ABOUT HOW DALE IS DOING?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

RICK HENDRICK:<\/strong> \u201cI think you saw the tweet this morning.\u00a0Wednesday\u00a0he came by the shop, and we got to visit. He looks good; he is encouraged. He is following the Dr.\u2019s orders. We\u2019re really excited. He is in great spirits. He wants to get back in the car. He wants to race, but he also knows that the regime they have him on will get him right for a long time. He\u2019s following Dr.\u2019s orders, but I can tell he is getting antsy. But, he is going to do what they say.\u00a0\u00a0He is doing well.\u201d<\/p>\n

WERE YOU ON VACATION WHEN A LOT OF THIS WAS GOING ON? WHAT WAS INGRID\u2019S RESPONSE WHEN YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO GET BACK INTO THE CAR?\u00a0\u00a0WHAT WAS MR. H APPROACH TO THIS?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JEFF GORDON:<\/strong> \u201cIf I could scroll through my phone, and look at the texts I have gotten from Rick that said \u2018Call me\u2019, I can tell you that you sit down when you call him in those instances.\u00a0\u00a0It hasn\u2019t happened a lot, but the times that it has it is usually pretty big.\u00a0\u00a0I was in the South of France at that time. I think it was the second day of our vacation. Ingrid and I had planned a vacation to go over there.\u00a0\u00a0I get that text, and I looked at her and said \u2018Oh boy, here we go\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0I had no idea.\u00a0\u00a0When Rick said to me \u2018Are you coming to Indianapolis?\u2019 I said \u2018Yes I am. I am coming\u00a0on Saturday\u2019. He said \u2018Well, you better bring your uniform\u2019. I asked what he was talking about and he started to tell me about what was going on.\u00a0\u00a0I thought he was messing with me. I knew he was messing with me. I knew right away the seriousness after that, and that he wasn\u2019t joking. That it was serious. Honestly I didn\u2019t have to think twice about it. When Rick calls, he has that confidence in me, and asked me to step-up and do something for the organization \u2013 whether it was driver, or other responsibilities. The way he has been there for me. The way this team and organization has been there for me over the years, I didn\u2019t anticipate this. This is certainly the last thing that was going to happen. But I knew it was Indianapolis. I didn\u2019t think about it. I felt like if there was one place that I was capable of doing it, it would be here. \u201c<\/p>\n

\"

Jeff Gordon, driver of the #88 Axalta Chevrolet, practices for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Crown Royal presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 23, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jeff Curry\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

WHAT GOOD DOES THIS DO FOR YOU THAT YOU ENDED YOUR CAREER IN SUCH INCREDIBLE FASHION AT HOMESTEAD \u2013 WHAT IS IN IT FOR YOU?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JEFF GORDON:<\/strong> \u201cI don\u2019t think I am thinking of it that way. It is really just looking at how my role and how I fit in Hendrick Motorsports. How it has played a role in my life over the years. Not just for partnership, but the friendship that Rick and I have. He\u2019s never asked me for many things that I can contribute and help that weren\u2019t valid and weren\u2019t something that I was proud to be able to do. So really, this is just me helping out the organization. I don\u2019t know. We will see what happens on Sunday.\u00a0\u00a0If we are out there having fun, and put a good result\u00a0\u00a0together, I can tell you what is in it for me is to make that team proud, and not let them down. That is what I did as a race car driver. That is what I do with my kids. That is why I like to do with my involvement with Hendrick, and whether I am in the booth, or whatever I am doing, I like to make people proud of the effort I put in to it. I\u2019m going to tell you, the last two days, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever put as much effort in to preparing for a race, and crammed in all that I have in the last two days.\u00a0\u00a0That process itself has been really interesting, exciting and fun and has me pretty fired up to get in the car and feel what it is like to be in there. I was at the GM simulator yesterday morning.\u00a0\u00a0If we are racing simulators, I feel like I have a shot at this race. It went really well. Just seeing the team and their attitude and their effort and willingness to put me in there and feel good about it. That is motivating.\u201d<\/p>\n

CAN YOU DETAIL OUT WHAT YOU WEEK HAS BEEN LIKE? HOW MUCH HOMEWORK GOES INTO THIS?\u00a0 HOW LONG ARE YOU PREPARED TO DO THIS?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JEFF GORDON:<\/strong> \u201cFirst off I will just walk you through a little bit.\u00a0 I got back from France on Tuesday.\u00a0 I landed in New York; Mr. Hendrick was kind enough to have a plane there waiting for me to bring me to Charlotte.\u00a0 I landed in Charlotte, drove straight to the shop and spent the evening with the team.\u00a0 They had already put the seat in and the steering wheel and had been working with the No. 24 team that had access to everything the seat and the liner.\u00a0 Luckily, we have archived and kept a lot of these things.\u00a0 Really, this is basically my seat from Homestead, probably my steering wheel as well.\u00a0 So, I spent the evening and it was really close, there were just a couple of little minor tweaks.\u00a0 I came back the next morning to the shop and started that process.\u00a0 I had to get a physical.\u00a0 I had to do all the NASCAR requirements. I have an owner credential I don\u2019t have a driver credential, so had to go through that process and spent the whole day there with Greg Ives.\u00a0 The cool thing about Greg Ives is he reminded me that he worked for Robbie Loomis when Robbie was my crew chief and he was telling some great stories about working with Robbie.\u00a0 I\u2019ve known Greg for a long time and always been impressed with him.\u00a0 But, I have never had the opportunity to work with him.\u00a0 I\u2019m looking forward to working with him.\u00a0 I think he\u2019s a great crew chief and they have a great race team.\u00a0 I spent a lot of time with him and his team and the engineers going over data from the test that were here.\u00a0 We have video, we have like Go-Pro video from inside the cars that I can watch Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott, they both tested here and all their data.\u00a0 And then it was not about 2015, it was about 2014 because in 2015 we had that huge spoiler\u2026 everything was different, but if you go back to \u201914 even though it was more power, the traces are more similar.\u00a0 I kind of like \u201914 it was a good year.\u00a0 I was happy to see that.\u00a0 Then I took that information and went to the simulator the next morning in Huntersville (North Carolina) with GM (General Motors\/Chevrolet) and they put those set-up\u2019s and this aero package in the car in the simulator and I was able to drive it.\u00a0 I had been in the simulator last year and I drove here as a matter of fact after a tire test that I did.\u00a0 It was more of a verification trying to get the simulator continued to advance.\u00a0 They have advanced a lot.\u00a0 I thought that and I will be able to verify that today that is was very close.\u00a0 Much closer than in the past of the breaking points, turning points, car handling, all those types of things.\u00a0 I\u2019m hoping that really pays off for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

HOW LONG ARE YOU PREPARED TO DO THIS?<\/strong>
\nJEFF GORDON:<\/strong> \u201cLet\u2019s not speculate.\u00a0 Right now it\u2019s through Pocono.\u00a0 We were very encouraged by Dale, Jr\u2019s tweet today and comments and the way he is feeling and hope that continues to progress and that he is back as soon as possible.\u00a0 The one thing I was encouraged by when I saw him on Wednesday is his passion for racing, how much he loves being in the car and how much, like Rick said, you know he is getting antsy he wants to get back in there.\u00a0 We just want him to be there when he is ready and when the doctors say he is ready.\u00a0 I will do whatever I need to do, but I\u2019m also thinking what is going to get the team the most points and give them the best opportunity to advance into the Chase.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got the two sides.\u00a0 The owner and the driver side of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

HAD YOU AND MR. HENDRICK DISCUSSED THIS POSSIBILITY AT ALL LAST SEASON?\u00a0 OR WHEN THE REQUEST WAS MADE WAS IT A COMPLETE SURPRISE?\u00a0 HAD THIS OF BEEN PART OF THE FOX PORTION OF THE SEASON WOULD YOU HAVE BEEN AVAILABLE TO DRIVE?\u00a0 IS THERE ANY OPPORTUNITY DURING PRACTICE FOR YOU TO PRACTICE PIT IN AND OUT, AS WELL AS, STARTS AND RESTARTS?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RICK HENDRICK:<\/strong> \u201cNo we never talked about it because you gave me a helmet when you got out of the car, so I thought you were done.\u201d<\/p>\n

JEFF GORDON:<\/strong> (Laughs) \u201cI should have given you the seat and the steering wheel.\u201d<\/p>\n

RICK HENDRICK:<\/strong> \u201cWe never thought about needing him in a pinch like this.\u00a0 We talked about all\u2026 no, I know we didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

JEFF GORDON:<\/strong> \u201cWell the crazy thing about all this I was asked to drive Tony Stewart\u2019s car in Daytona to start the season out with his injuries and the incident that happened there.\u00a0 No, I wasn\u2019t able to do it because of my commitments to FOX.\u00a0 Now, Rick has some amazing ways to convince people into things that the average person might not be able to.\u00a0 So, I don\u2019t know maybe he could have called Eric Shanks (President, COO and Executive Producer of FOX Sports) or something, but no I don\u2019t think so.\u00a0 That is what to me when I think about this whole scenario\u2026 I mean I\u2019m driving in the track last night just going \u2018wow\u2019.\u00a0 The last seven days have just been a whirlwind.\u00a0 And the fact that it\u2019s Indianapolis, I don\u2019t know it\u2019s kind of hard for me to really wrap my brain around it right now.<\/p>\n

ANY CHANCE DURING PRACTICE TO PRACTICE PIT IN AND OUT?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JEFF GORDON:<\/strong> \u201cOh yeah, what I will do is pretty much every time I go out and make a run, I will hit pit road hard.\u00a0 Because that is the other thing, the digital dash, I\u2019ve never run with the digital dash before.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t have it in the car last year for me.\u00a0 Some of the Hendrick cars did, but I did not, because we wanted to stick with what we had all season long to go to Homestead.\u00a0 So, that is new and that is one of the things I\u2019ve been playing around with while I was getting fitted in the car is the placement of all the gauges and things that are on the digital dash.\u00a0 So, I\u2019ve got to work on that pit road lighting system.\u00a0 They have worked out the bugs, so it\u2019s going to make it easier.\u00a0 I will hit pit road, do my down shifts and get down to pit road speed, carry pit road speed and then when Greg (Ives) is ready he is going to tell me where I can come in and stop in a box.\u00a0 Just kind of get a feel for how the car stops.\u00a0 The biggest thing is going to the No. 88 stall, not the No. 24 stall.\u00a0 (Laughs).\u00a0 Twenty-three years I went to that No. 24 stall.\u00a0 We have already talked about the processes of assuring that doesn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

IS IT GOING TO BE A LITTLE WEIRD CLIMBING INTO A CAR WITHOUT THE NO. 24?\u00a0 AFTER YOU READILY AGREED TO FILL-IN WAS THERE A LITTLE BIT OF HESITATION AFTERWARDS?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JEFF GORDON:<\/strong> \u201cWell, first off, there are so many strange scenarios that play out in this situation.\u00a0 I mean, I\u2019m going to be racing against the No. 24 car out there.\u00a0 I mean, none of us anticipated this happening.\u00a0 You can\u2019t plan.\u00a0 You don\u2019t know how you are going to react to it.\u00a0 To me, once I get behind the wheel and I\u2019m inside the car I don\u2019t know what is on the outside of that car.\u00a0 It\u2019s a race car and I\u2019m going to be focused on driving, not focused on anything else.\u00a0 But, when I\u2019m standing outside of it and I\u2019m looking at the No. 88 car and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.\u2019s name over the door\u2026 it is certainly a unique situation that I don\u2019t know how that is going to impact me.\u00a0 Mostly, I\u2019m just thinking about Dale, Jr. and what he is going through and how tough this has been on him and this team to have driver\u2019s getting in and out of the car.\u00a0 They want him back and we want him back.\u00a0 I\u2019m just going to be focused on doing my job the best I can and hopefully walk away with this experience with them in a good place and where I can hold my head up high about the job that I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

YOU SPENT THE FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR IN THE MEDIA.\u00a0 DOES THAT GIVE YOU A GREATER APPRECIATION FOR HOW IMPORTANT SPECIAL STORIES LIKE THIS ARE? NOT JUST FOR THE MEDIA, BUT FOR TRACKS LIKE INDIANAPOLIS AND POCONO AND THE FANS IN NASCAR?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JEFF GORDON:<\/strong> \u201cCertainly.\u00a0 Yeah, absolutely, we are looking for big stories because you know that when they come along it creates a lot of buzz and interest and gives you a lot to talk about.\u00a0 So, I\u2019m sure the folks at NBC are going to have plenty to talk about here on Sunday.\u00a0 Yes, there is no doubt that I have a greater appreciation for that.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard for me to think about that right now, just thinking more about what the job at hand is.\u201d<\/p>\n

GIVEN EVERYTHING THAT YOU\u2019VE BEEN THROUGH IN RACING AND PERSONALLY, HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO OFFER ANY PERSPECTIVE TO JUNIOR AS FAR AS A \u2018ONE DAY AT A TIME PHILOSOPHY\u2019 MOVING FORWARD?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RICK HENDRICK:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cDale and I talked earlier about multiple years beyond next year and I was involved when he went to the doctor. And then the doctors really rook over and then we text back and forth. And then I got to see him face-to-face. But, I care about him as a friend and someone that means a lot to me and I want him to be healthy and right when he gets in the car and the doctors are going to dictate that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe news has been really good. And the tweet this morning was really good. He looks good. He\u2019s sharp. So I\u2019m excited about getting him back. But I\u2019ve just tried to leave him alone. But then he will text me. I don\u2019t Tweet, so he\u2019s got to text me. But, I really enjoyed spending time with him Wednesday. He misses this. He misses his team. He went to see his team. He saw the guys and it really lifted them. I think between Jeff agreeing to drive the car and Junior walking in the shop, the team is really excited. Jeff\u2019s situation with our company, everybody there knows him; and when some unknown person is going to get in the car, or clearly not anyone of the talent that Jeff has here at Indy, so that excited the team. But more than anything, when he walked in that building it just lifted everybody up. So, we\u2019re really excited. Everybody is there for Junior and his health is number one priority. But, we feel good about where we are right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

WHAT ARE YOUR IMPRESSIONS OF THE EVOLUTION OF DRIVER AWARENESS OF THEIR PERSONAL HEALTH? THERE\u2019S THE GREAT STORIES LIKE WHEN RICKY RUDD TAPED HIS EYEBALLS OPEN. THAT\u2019S GONE. THAT\u2019S EXTINCT. HOW HAS THAT EVOLVED DURING YOUR CAREER, JEFF? YOU HAD BACK ISSUES BUT YOU WOULDN\u2019T GET OUT OF THE SEAT. HOW HARD IS IT FOR A DRIVER TO MAKE THAT DECISION? WHAT DOES IS SAY ABOUT DALE THAT HE MADE THIS DECISION HIMSELF TO SEEK OUT THE DOCTORS AND BE PROACTIVE?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JEFF GORDON:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s one of the things that immediately stood out to me was how proud I was of Dale to seek out those doctors and to recognize\u2026.\u00a0 And he\u2019s somewhat been through something similar to this in the past. And he set a great example then and I think he\u2019s setting a great example now because if he didn\u2019t seek out those doctors, then I don\u2019t know if he would have known exactly what was going on. And now he\u2019s much clearer on that and I think it\u2019s going to benefit him long-term, not just as a person, but as a race car driver, as well. So, I\u2019m very proud of him for doing that and it sets an amazing example to others.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery scenario is different. It\u2019s different when you\u2019re dealing with things that have to do with your brain versus your finger or an arm or a foot or whatever. I think every athlete and every race car driver drives with certain symptoms that they feel like they can manage that are non-related to concussion-like symptoms per se.\u00a0 And I think that when it\u2019s back or an illness; you know you push through a lot of things but there becomes that moment where you know okay, this is not something that is worth pushing. And you only hope that others, moving forward, will say hey, Dale Junior was able to make this decision, and so can I.\u201d<\/p>\n

DO YOU THINK THEY WILL BECAUSE HE DID IT?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JEFF GORDON:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI hope they will. I\u2019d like to think that in today\u2019s world that they would make that choice. Listen, you have to know your own body. So, if you are recognizing things that are happening that aren\u2019t normal that are affecting you in your day-to-day life or in the race car, you have to take some responsibility, as well. And then you need to turn that over to the doctors to let them make the right decisions for you because stepping into that doctor\u2019s office is the first step. The next step is paying attention to professionals that understand those kinds of conditions. And so, I certainly would hope more, if they\u2019re dealing with things like that, would do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

YOU MENTIONED THE MORALE BOOST ABOUT HAVING DALE IN THE SHOP THIS WEEK. IT\u2019S BEEN A ROUGH STRETCH FOR YOUR TEAM AND IT SEEMS LIKE THEY ARE IN A BIT OF A SLUMP. HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO HAVE ALL THIS GOING ON WHILE YOU\u2019RE TRYING TO CATCH THE COMPETITION ON THE TRACK? DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE BEHIND? CAN MAYBE JEFF HELP EVALUATE WHERE YOU\u2019RE TEAM CAN IMPROVE?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RICK HENDRICK:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems like when it rains, it pours. I think at Daytona we wrecked three or four cars. And then we went to Kentucky and wrecked again. We were in good shape in New Hampshire, but wrecked again. I\u2019ve been doing this long enough that you can\u2019t stay on top forever. You have to work hard to get back. And I think we\u2019ve made a lot of improvements. I think we\u2019ll see some, hopefully, this weekend. But, you never like having a curveball. This is kind of one of the toughest things you have to go through as one of your star drivers can\u2019t drive. And so, the encouraging news is that everybody just stepped-up and is working harder. We\u2019re determined to work in every area from the engine to the chassis and aero and everything. And the teams are excited. It\u2019s kind of our \u2018refuse to lose\u2019 belief. But we didn\u2019t need this, for sure. We didn\u2019t need the wrecks we\u2019ve gone through. Our place looks like a salvage yard where all of the cars have been tore up. But that just makes us dig harder. I think Junior, coming to the shop, was a big lift.\u00a0 Jeff being here is a big lift. Hopefully we\u2019ll turn the corner here pretty quick.\u201d<\/p>\n

JEFF GORDON:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIf I may just add that to me, when Hendrick Motorsports is dominating this series, that highly motivates your competition; and they go to work. And sometimes you get torn down while you\u2019re getting your butt kicked. But, you start to find a way to get yourself better than you were before and hopefully get yourself in position. The resources and the type of people that Hendrick Motorsports has is sort of what\u2019s happening to us right now. We\u2019re being highly motivated by other organizations and teams that are out there and are getting great results. But, we\u2019re too good of an organization not to find a way to only make ourselves better and stronger and our cars faster to get back to that place.\u201d<\/p>\n

THE FOLKS AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY STARTED TALKING IN FEBRUARY ABOUT JEFF GORDON DRIVING THE PACE CAR AND BE THE FIRST CELEBRITY DRIVER TO DRIVE BOTH THE INDY 500 AND THE BRICKYARD 400; AND WERE ON THE VERGE OF ANNOUNCING IT BEFORE HE CALLED. CAN WE GET A RAIN CHECK ON THAT?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JEFF GORDON:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely!\u00a0 I owe you one, for sure, on that; and I would be honored to be able to do it. Thank you for considering me and yeah, that was another part of this. I sent Jon Edwards a text and said, \u2018Um, have you spoken to the speedway?\u2019\u00a0 And he goes, \u2018Yeah, the announcement is getting ready to come out\u2019. I said, \u2018You need to hold off on that announcement.\u2019\u00a0 So, I apologize about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

WE\u2019D MUCH RATHER HAVE YOU OUT RACING HERE, BUT IF YOU\u2019RE NOT RACING NEXT YEAR WE\u2019D CERTAINLY LOVE TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

JEFF GORDON:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI do not anticipate coming back to the Brickyard unless I get a text from Rick Hendrick.\u201d (Laughter).<\/p>\n

Transcript and photos courtesy of Team Chevy Racing and NASCAR<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JEFF GORDON, INTERIM DRIVER OF THE NO. 88 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS, AND RICK HENDRICK, OWNER OF HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, met with members of the media at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to discuss Jeff climbing behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet SS for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. as he continues to heal from concussion like symptoms.\u00a0 Full […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4793,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[300,301,16,302],"class_list":["post-4790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-brickyard-500","tag-jeff-gordon","tag-nascar","tag-rick-hendrick"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/IMS_NSCS_Gordon_Hendrick_072216.jpg?fit=4331%2C2887&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-1fg","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4790"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4790\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4795,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4790\/revisions\/4795"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}