Dale Earnhardt Jr. is hoping to run the entire 400-mile distance at Indianapolis. Credit: Autostock

Andretti to stand by for Dale Jr. at Pocono

LOUDON, N.H -- DEI Director of Motorsports Richie Gilmore said to expect more of the same next weekend at Pocono Raceway for lead driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Earnhardt completed only eight laps in practice over last weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway, and drove the first 61 laps of Sunday's Siemens 300 before giving way to relief driver Martin Truex Jr.

Before Sunday's race, Gilmore said he was planning on a similar scenario for this weekend's Pennsylvania 500, using another driver under contract to DEI, John Andretti.

John Andretti

"Right now John will be there (DEI) Monday morning, and he's going to get molded for a seat," Gilmore said. "What we'll do is take Junior's seat and since John has got shorter legs, they can mold a seat that will go right in with John and be really quick (to change).

"We were talking about that last week and John will definitely be on stand-by at Pocono."

Gilmore also referred to Truex, who is the Busch Series points leader driving for the DEI affiliate, Chance 2 Motorsports, as a "stand-by" at NHIS.

The concern among Earnhardt's associates is that the second-degree burns he suffered in an American Le Mans Series sports car crash last weekend at Infineon Raceway might become infected if Earnhardt attempts to do a full race distance before they properly heal.

"We're definitely thinking about doing something similar as we did this weekend, at Pocono," Gilmore said. "The doctors felt like he'd be great for Indy."

The Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is on Aug. 8 -- three weeks from when Earnhardt was injured.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Gillette Young Guns Challenge Driver Page 2004 Stats Merchandise Article Archive

"Right now, the doctors have told us it basically will take three weeks for everything to heal," Gilmore said. "We wanted to have a stand-by for here and for Pocono.

"John runs good (at Pocono) and he wanted to come up here and help out."

Andretti has three top-20 finishes in five starts for DEI this season, including a 13th in the Daytona 500.

Andretti has 20 career starts at Pocono, the closest track to his birthplace in Bethlehem, Pa.

His best start since 1994 was second in June 2000, but he has started fifth in the last two Pennsylvania 500s. His average start in those 20 races is 19.5, with his average finish 28.2. His best finish is 12th in July 1998.

Earlier this season, Gilmore said he hoped to have a full-time program in place at DEI for Andretti starting at Indianapolis, and running at least through 2005.