MOORESVILLE, N.C. (July 25, 2016) – Dale Earnhardt Jr. was not in Indianapolis last weekend, at least in body. Spirit-wise, he was in the car with Jeff Gordon for every lap at the historic Brickyard. And, given the fact that he’s sitting out with concussion-like symptoms, he thinks that having Gordon in the car would be a good thing for his No. 88 Chevrolet team at Hendrick Motorsports.

“Jeff and those guys, we talked all weekend…I didn’t think I could be as helpful as I was for New Hampshire because I tested New Hampshire but it seemed like Greg [Ives] and those guys had some great ideas on what they were doing with the car,” Earnhardt Jr. said on his weekly podcast “The Dale Jr. Download” on Dirty Mo Radio. “Jeff had some great ideas and thoughts about the team, and another week with those guys at Pocono will be interesting and I can’t wait to keep talking and debriefing with him throughout the week on what he thinks about the team, what I can do better and how the team can get better.”

Earnhardt Jr. was especially thankful for Gordon stepping in at a time of need.

“Getting a different driver in there that thinks differently, feels things differently, is a great way to get new information,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I was excited for Greg and I think this is really helping our team, as unfortunate as this situation is, we need to try to gain something out of it. I think our guys are excited about the opportunity to work with Jeff; they know he is capable. It’s pretty fun to see it happening and trying to learn from it. I’m trying to stay plugged in and in communication with them as we go so that I’m up to speed and when I get back in the car, it’s real seamless.”

To listen to the full episode, you can download it here.