In addition to two Xfinity Series championships, Earnhardt Jr. has won 26 Cup races – including two Daytona 500s. He described Sunday “going to Target or somewhere and I have symptoms and might stumble across an aisle or need more sidewalk than a normal guy”. That was my perspective – that of a 50-year-old former driver who has sustained many concussions and weighing every conversation I’ve had with Dale the past two months. That is the first goal. My ability to communicate and drive the vehicle and get everything out of it-I feel very confident.
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Earnhardt is out for the rest of the year with a concussion, targeting a return for the start of the 2017 season.
The June crash in MI left Earnhardt with balance and vision issues associated with gaze stability.
“I definitely don’t belong in a race auto today by any stretch of the imagination”.
Earnhardt held about a 45 minute session on Sunday flanked by team owner Rick Hendrick and Dr. Micky Collins of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program.
“Stress and concussion don’t get along well and we see stress can really exacerbate and worsen things”, Collins explained.
Earnhardt has not raced since July due to symptoms with roots in 2012 concussions that were triggered again by a crash at MI in June.
“When I first saw Dale, my goal was to see Dale become a human being again, and I can tell you with confidence that is occurring in front of our eyes”, Collins said.
While there is no direct treatment for traumatic brain injuries or concussions, Junior’s rehabilitation to restore balance and vision problems has made vast gains, even since his last checkup on August 24. Our second goal is Dale becoming a race auto driver again. He has been very diligent about doing his therapies and …we are seeing the benefits of that.
Collins said the decision to have Earnhardt sit out the remaining 12 races was made to alleviate any stress Earnhardt may have been feeling to return and focus exclusively on his recovery.
First, the decision not to clear Earnhardt medically for the remainder of the 2016 season was both prudent and necessary; and second, Earnhardt is committed to racing again at NASCAR’s highest levels with the support of medical professionals who believe he will be able to do so.
“We’ve got a lot of time between now and Daytona”, Hendrick said.
“I’m positive that we’re going to get Dale back to being a race vehicle driver”, Collins said. “Excited about him racing beyond 2017”.
Gordon said the team has not let the potential of Earnhardt never returning to impact its week-to-week preparation.
“He is feeling better”. Still, Earnhardt said his balance has improved greatly and said and he has been able to get out and make some of his sponsorship appearances.
Earnhardt said it would be almost impossible to go through his current situation if it wasn’t for his fiancée, Amy Reimann.
“I think I have some good years left”. “I care about him as a person probably as much or more than as a race auto driver”. My ability to communicate and drive the auto and get everything out of it, I feel very confident in.
“Aside from just not being at the track and doing what I’m used to doing, the first four or five weeks were really hard”, Earnhardt said. “Rick likes to say we have unfinished business. I feel like I’m still an asset to the team”. “We have races to win”.
“We didn’t know what we do now”, Waltrip said in a news conference before Sunday’s Southern 500. “It was very scary and hard”.
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“We have very specific treatments that can treat these different problems that Dale’s experiencing”.
