Dale Jr. will be at Dover as Gordon returns to the No. 88

While Earnhardt will remain on the sidelines as he continues to recuperate from a concussion, he’ll trade in his driver’s helmet for his team owner’s hat on Saturday and will cheer on the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports crew and driver Jeff Gordon on Sunday at the Monster Mile.

They get to work with Jeff Gordon, which is pretty awesome. He’s an awesome substitute to have. I can’t think of a better one.

Dale Jr. on the No. 88 team

The trip marks NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver’s first trip back to a race track since a press conference at Darlington Raceway on Labor Day weekend.

“It will be kind of different — maybe not a ton of fun,” Earnhardt said on his Dirty Mo Rado broadcast. “It’s a bit weird to be not in the car but at the track when you’re a driver. You don’t know what to do with yourself. But I’m going to try and support the guys and maybe learn a thing or two.

“I’m excited to see how Jeff does. He usually runs great at Dover. I’m looking forward to it, but it’s going to be different. We’ll see how it goes.”

Gordon and Bowman filling in

Earnhardt has remained close to the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports crew since he removed himself from the car following the race at Kentucky Speedway in July. Alex Bowman has competed in four races since Earnhardt’s absence and posted a career-high 10th-place finish at Chicagoland two weeks ago. Gordon has run the balance of the races. The four-time champion’s best result was 11th at Bristol.

“The guys are excited to get to work with Alex,” Earnhardt said. “He’s a young guy. They see him as a person they can help. It gives them a bit of a challenge to try and give him these opportunities that he might find himself with a full-time job next year.

Earnhardt continues to work on his recovery program. He misses being behind the wheel. But he feels the No. 88 team is in good hands with Gordon and Bowman.

“It’s unfortunate that I’m not in the car,” Earnhardt said. “I want to be in the car, but the guys need something to motivate them and something to make the job enjoyable and fun. They get to work with Jeff Gordon, which is pretty awesome. He’s an awesome substitute to have. I can’t think of a better one.

“Then you get the opportunity to work with a young guy like Alex, who I think has proven he has ability and speed. He gets to get in some good equipment that he can build some confidence in. He’s going to run a few races here, so he’ll get a few more opportunities. It’s not just a one-shot deal. So the pressure is kind of off of him in a sense to not make it happen all at once. He can put together a handful of races here that might be impressive enough for the right opportunity to come along or the opportunity he is looking for.

“So, I’m pretty happy for him. I’m glad he’s getting the chance. I thought when we first talked about him driving the car at the first New Hampshire, it was just going to be a one-race deal. But it’s turned into something more, and that’s due to the speed he’s shown in the car but also the rapport he’s built with the team. He's already got a great relationship with the guys. He spends a lot of time with them on the weekend and does everything you want as a driver. He’s very interactive with the group and they seem to really like working with him.”