Gordon speaks about back problem

The 37-year-old told reporters at Richmond International Raceway that he had an MRI scan taken this week but he refused to reveal the full results of it, despite admitting that it showed some arthritis and other things that have come probably as a result of previous crashes.

"I had another MRI, one that was more detailed this week and I've got some information that I'm just not ready to release yet or admit to yeah we found some things and have a better diagnosis of it," Gordon said.

"When I know how I'm going to treat it I'll let you guys know. I don't believe it's anything serious. It's just something that's causing the pain. There's a little bit of arthritis which is not totally unnatural but there's also some other things that come from what they can understand from trauma or a crash or maybe just years of beating it up."

Gordon had already been suffering from back pain last year, a season where he had one of his biggest crashes ever when he had a massive impact against an inside concrete wall at Las Vegas. More recently he crashed at Talladega in the early laps of last Sunday's Sprint Cup race.

The Hendrick driver says he is not yet sure about what has been the main cause of his back problem.

"Heck I don't know I might have picked up my luggage or something and then tore something up in there," Gordon added. "So I don't know, but we have a better diagnosis of it and I've got some experts that are giving me all the best scenarios and when I know more I'll let you guys know."

The four-time champion anticipates Saturday's race at Richmond to be tough on him given the characteristics of the 0.75-mile track where he has won twice.

"This will be a tough weekend because of the G-forces and the braking that you use here and the long runs that you have here," said Gordon. "It will be tough on my back. We'll just have to fight through it."

In the past his Hendrick team-mate Mark Martin also suffered from back pain - although it is believed for different reasons to Gordon's - and needed surgery to fix the issue.