NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. will miss the rest of the 2016 NASCAR season as he continues to recover from a concussion Hendrick Motorsports announced on Friday.
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Bowman will drive the No. 88 in the remaining eight races, at Chicagoland, New Hampshire (where he debuted in the vehicle in the first race Earnhardt missed), Charlotte, Kansas, Talladega, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead.
Earnhardt, who hasn’t raced since July 9, added he is getting better every day and that he doesn’t foresee his injuries giving him problems by the start of the 2017 circuit.
Hendrick Motorsports said Gordon is again driving for Earnhardt this weekend at Darlington, at Richmond (Sept. 10), Dover (Oct. 2) and Martinsville (Oct. 30).
Gordon will drive in four more races: Darlington, Richmond International Raceway next week, Dover International Speedway on October 2 and at Martinsville Speedway on October 30, the site of his last win.
Earnhardt has had concussion issues before, and first began experiencing symptoms in late July. A crash at MI in June is believed to be the cause of his concussion.
“I plan to be healthy and ready to compete at Daytona in February”, Earnhardt Jr. said.
Team owner Rick Hendrick said that he knows “how hard Dale has worked and how frustrating this is for him”.
The NASCAR community reacted to Earnhardt being out for the rest of the season via Twitter.
Earnhardt and Hendrick will be joined by Dr. Micky Collins of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program for a press conference at Darlington on Sunday.
For Earnhardt Jr.’s, this is the second time in his racing career that a concussion has ended his season early.
Earnhardt has missed the last six Sprint Cup races while undergoing treatment. Jeff is one of the best of all time and knows our system. We’ve had incredible support from everyone involved with the team, including all of our sponsors.
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“If you were in a truck every week or an Xfinity auto week in and week out and then you were filling in that would be one thing”. Hendricks Sports confirms the two drivers will continue to sub in for Earnhardt for the remainder of the season, which runs through November. Alex is a young driver with a lot of talent, and he will give us a fresh perspective. “It’s motivating and humbling at the same time”.
