He was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome, which led to problems with virtigo. He raced last Saturday night in the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway but the symptoms persisted after the race.
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“He said, ‘I’ll be in Indy, that’s one of my appearances, ‘” Hendrick said. He had the same symptoms the week before without realizing they were concussion related and competed at the Kentucky Speedway. Whether other drivers have chosen to hide concussions or concussion-like symptoms is also slightly muddled due to the injury being hard to detect in some circumstances.
“They knew we were here for sure, and I had a blast”. “Making the right decision really was out of the question; I made the decision I had to make”.
This week, Earnhardt Jr.’s doctors will decide if he’s able to race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, one of the fastest tracks in the series. Earnhardt said he was proud of Bowman.
When a driver in NASCAR cant return his damaged auto to the garage, a trip to the care center is required.
IndyCar has found its threshold for concussion is somewhere greater than 50 Gs – and probably closer to 80 Gs. Another star of the 1960s, Lee Roy Yarbrough suffered a bad concussion while driving for Dan Gurney at Indy, was never the same driver afterward and eventually died in a mental hospital. And NASCAR doesn’t have traveling doctors like IndyCar, instead opting to have nurses travel with the circuit and rely on local physicians who meet certain criteria.
Earnhardt, who noted in his podcast that his most recent ImPACT test matched his preseason baseline test, will now follow a treatment laid out by his doctors that includes exercises to retrain his brain.
On Thursday, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would miss Sunday’s New Hampshire 301 because of concussion-like symptoms.
Earnhardt eventually visited a team of neurologists and underwent concussion testing. He eventually won one race for Hendrick Motorsports and a memorable race at the Darlington Raceway for team owner Cal Wells in 2003 and then soon retired.
“As a family, we decided we wanted to support Dale Junior and all work together toward a healthy future for these drivers”, she told The Associated Press.
“It was Mexican [food] day, so he was in a good mood”, Duchardt said.
While the policy is not specified in the NASCAR rulebook, Higdon said NASCAR drivers have an obligation to report any changes in medical history or diagnoses to the sanctioning body. “I’ve spent two years of my career wondering if I can really do this at the Cup level and today I answered that for myself”.
Earnhardt has admitted racing with a concussion in the past. He wants to be in the vehicle, but the best thing the doctors can do is go through all the protocol and do all the tests.
FILE – In this January 30, 2015, file photo, Fred Lorenzen is embraced by his daughter Amanda as son Chris looks on as he is inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C. He was one of NASCAR’s first superstars, but Lorenzens memories of his Hall of Fame career have dimmed as he battles dementia.
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Earnhardt’s decision will have competitive ramifications. Jeff Gordon leaned in for a chat with “Fearless Freddie” previous year at Chicagoland before the race. Now, Tony Stewart has won Sonoma after missing the season’s first eight events, putting him in strong position to make this Chase. According to ESPN.com, Hendrick Motorsports general manager Doug Duchardt says that Jeff Gordon will be the one to race in Earnhardt’s place next week. “I said, ‘Well, bring your driver’s uniform just in case.’ He said, ‘Are you kidding?’; and I said, ‘No, I’m serious.’ So, if Dale can’t go then Jeff is ready to step in”. “But I don’t have the past he has to know the right move”.
