According to a statement from Hendrick Motorsports on Wednesday afternoon, Earnhardt underwent further evaluation at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program and was not cleared by physicians to race.
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And Dale Earnhardt Jr.is still suffering from concussion related symptoms will sit out of races at MI and Darlington.
Earnhardt missed two races in 2012 with a head injury but drove without apparent problem the past three years.
Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon will return to the No. 88 team at Darlington, where his seven wins lead all active drivers. Bowman said he talked to Earnhardt on Friday. What exactly he does the 23-year-old wouldn’t specify, but considering each manufacturer has its own hi-tech simulators that teams use to test and fine-tune chassis setups for the various tracks comprising the Sprint Cup schedule, reasonable deduction points to Bowman having some kind of involvement.
The Kannapolis, N.C. native believes his concussion issues stem from the first race at Michigan International Speedway where he was involved in a crash on June 12.
“Obviously, I’m happy to fill in when needed”, Bowman said. Jimmie Johnson was second in qualifying for Sunday’s race, followed by Denny Hamlin. Everyone wants to see him in a race vehicle, but his heath is first and foremost.
Him and I went back and forth this morning on the rules package and what to expect and just what he thought the race vehicle was going to do and whatnot, Bowman said.
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Byron raced trucks for Kyle Busch Motorsports and looked to have a future at Joe Gibbs Racing, the current power player in NASCAR.
