Jeff Gordon driving the No. 88 car this weekend has created some confusion at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Gordon will be sporting the same colors (Axalta used to be a primary sponsor for Gordon) and team owner (Rick Hendrick) as last year.
The similarities apparently confused Gordon's former crew chief Steve Letarte, who was part of the NBCSN broadcast for Saturday's qualifying session. He said Gordon was in the No. 24 car. An easy mistake considering he's called the shots atop the No. 24 pit box for Gordon and the No. 88 box for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who Gordon is substituting for today in the Brickyard 400.
Seeing the familiar red, yellow and orange colors make laps probably reminds Letarte of the good ole days when Gordon raced full time - all the way back in 2015. This retirement thing didn't last too long.
I guess when there's a four-time champion available it's easy to choose a substitute driver. And how could Gordon say no to a team owner who signed him to a lifetime contact?
Gordon would have relieved Earnhardt last week in New Hampshire if he wasn't in France at the time. But it's more fitting for Gordon, who grew up within 20 miles of IMS in Pittsboro, Ind., to make his return to the sport this weekend.
Gordon has won at IMS five times out of the 22 Brickyard 400 races - his latest just two years ago.
To make it six out of 23, Gordon will need to motor his way from the 21st starting spot. But only three drivers have won this event from beyond 20th spot, including Gordon in 2001 (27th).
The past four winners have started in the top 10, including two from the front row.
Kyle Busch, who won Saturday's Xfinity Series race, and Joe Gibbs teammate Carl Edwards will start on the front row today.
Lurking just behind in third will be Tony Stewart, who could be making his final start at his home track.
The hype is surrounding Gordon today - for good reason - but it's more likely Stewart celebrates for the third time at Indy than Gordon for the sixth time.
Starting third compared to 21st is the obvious reason, but motivation is also in Stewart's favor.
Stewart isn't ripping off wins left and right. His only win this season was at Sonoma, where a late caution worked out in his favor and allowed him to pick up track position.
His car will be fast enough today to contend for the win, which isn't the case most weekends. He'll want to take advantage of his opportunity to pick up more bonus points for the Chase.
Plus, Stewart would like to have his final win come at his home track rather than Sonoma.
As for Gordon, he's not racing for a Chase spot. He's doing a favor for a friend and former teammate.
Gordon's likely goals today are to get a solid finish and not tear up the car. He had his final run at a championship last year, and it led to his first top three finish in the standings since 2009.
Stewart has that same motivation this season, and he'll use it to chase his first championship since 2011.