Dale Earnhardt Jr. has announced that he will sit out Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire due to concussion-like symptoms.
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“I’m disappointed about missing New Hampshire this weekend”, Earnhardt added. Because of my symptoms and my history with concussions, and after my recent wrecks at MI and Daytona, I reached out and met with a neurological specialist. Dale said in a press release that.he wasn’t feeling well before Kentucky, last week.
Four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon may be coming out of retirement to race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
While the are sure to be a lot of unknowns for the next few days or even weeks, the one constant hope is that Earnhardt is able to recover and return to the track at 100 percent. Alex Bowman was named as his replacement.
Hendrick Motorsports has not said how long Earnhardt, who has had accidents at MI and Daytona this summer, is expected to be out of the race vehicle.
Earnhardt, 41, is winless this season and 13th in the points standings.
Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick said he was proud of Dale “for standing up”.
Earnhardt is being replaced by Alex Bowman for Sunday’s New Hampshire 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H. Earnhardt experienced concussion-like symptoms following crashes at MI on June 12 and Daytona on July 2. Concussed drivers must be cleared by an independent neurologist or neurosurgeon before they can get back in a race vehicle. But if Earnhardt still isn’t healed next week, that’s when Gordon will help out the racing team he spent 23 years with.
This is the second time Earnhardt has pulled himself from competition for concussion-related issues.
“It makes flawless sense to make it mandatory”, Earnhardt said in February 2013. Concussed drivers must be cleared by a neurologist or neurosurgeon before they can get back in a race vehicle.
He did not race at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway in the fall of 2012 after being involved in a huge crash at Talladega Superspeedway on the race’s final lap. As one of the drivers on the cusp of Chase contention, this is going to be a blow to the team regardless of whether NASCAR gives him an exemption. “In the meantime, we have full confidence in Greg [Ives] and the team, and we know they’ll do a great job”.
The new is not good on a couple of different levels for Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 team.
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“I’m not here to try and be Dale Earnhardt Jr”, Bowman said.
