By alley - Jul 17, 2016, 2:00 PM ET

NASCAR: Hendrick wants Earnhardt 'for a long time'

With the news that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is facing another recovery from a concussion, team owner Rick Hendrick says he doesn't believe Earnhardt's current contract, which ends in 2017, will be his last.

"He and I talked about years beyond next year just around Daytona," Hendrick said Sunday at New Hampshire. "If there was something major wrong, I think they would have seen it already. I'm very hopeful and he's very hopeful. I think the doctors want to err on the side of being sure. We want him for a long time."

"He's running through a bunch of tests and he's going to have some more tests the first of the week," Hendrick said. "He's doing good. He wants to be in the car. The doctors are going to tell him when it's OK for him to be back. I know he's anxious and we want him back as soon as the doctors give clearance."

Hendrick said earlier in the week that he was "proud" of Earnhardt for coming forward and removing himself from the car given his concussion history, which also sidelined him in 2012.

"He's kind of an iron man – he doesn't want to let the team down, he doesn't want to let his fans down," Hendrick said Sunday. "We need him for the long pull. He wants to be in the car. But the best thing the doctors can do is go through all the protocol and do all the tests, and there's a bunch of tests.

"When they say, 'You're good to go' he'll be back."

In yet another big surprise, if Earnhardt can't go, a familiar face will return to the team in his place. Jeff Gordon

will hop in

, although he didn't believe the offer.

"He thought I was kidding at first," Hendrick said. "He was on vacation and I asked him what he was doing and he said, 'I'll be in Indy.' ... I said, 'Bring your driver's uniform just in case.'

"He said, 'Are you kidding?' I said, 'No, I'm serious.'"