Jeff Gordon willing to continue substituting for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s status for next week’s race at Watkins Glen International is uncertain, but in case he has to sit out a fourth straight race Jeff Gordon says he is willing to fill in until Earnhardt can return.

Gordon drove Earnhardt’s No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports car a week ago at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, finishing 13th, and will drive it again in Sunday’s Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway. Alex Bowman substituted July 17 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Earnhardt is sidelined indefinitely with concussion-like symptoms. He said on a podcast released Monday afternoon that he would “soon” be re-examined to determine whether he can race at Watkins Glen, but hinted that his comeback may take longer than expected.

“I will be here as long as they need me. I say that very loosely,” Gordon said Friday. ”... Will it be more? I don’t know. I’m just thankful that the team believes in me and that gives me confidence in myself.

“I want him back when he’s ready and I think that’s what this team wants and I think that’s what Dale wants. And only he and the doctors truly know when that will be.”

Gordon retired when the 2015 season concluded, wrapping a 23-year career that saw him become one of NASCAR’s most accomplished drivers with four series championships and 93 race wins. The 44-year-old, whose birthday is next week, had dealt with severe back pain in his later years, but said he felt relatively fit after Indianapolis though admitted to some general soreness.

Team owner Rick Hendrick tapped Gordon, who drove for the organization for the entirety of his career, and seems inclined to keep him behind the wheel until Earnhardt is medically cleared. Gordon holds an equity stake in the team and also worked as a Fox Sports analyst when the network broadcasted the first half of the NASCAR schedule.

Gordon finished third in points last season, winning the October playoff race at Martinsville Speedway.

“There is the side of who is the best person to be in the car to get the most points,” Gordon said of why he was selected. “And then there is the sponsorship side of it as well. So far from what Rick is telling me that seems to be me. That is why I was at Indy and that is why I’m here.”

During his appearance on The Dale Jr. Download podcast on Monday, Earnhardt praised Gordon stepping in during his absence. Earnhardt has not traveled to the track since the diagnosis, but has remained in regular communication with Gordon and crew chief Greg Ives.

“(Earnhardt) likes to FaceTime,” Gordon said. “It seems like he is always on the treadmill every time I see him or talk to him. He is just real interested in what we are up to and how it’s going and things we are working on.

“I think also a lot of it is through this process is evaluating where they are at as a team and some of the set-up’s and whether I’m going to be making the same comments as he was making when he was in the car.”