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Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be back in his #88 Chevrolet for this weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup race according to his Hendrick Motorsports team.
The son of the late, seven-time, NASCAR champion suffered a concussion while testing the newly repaved track at Kansas City on August 29th.
At the time there was no medical restriction on racing so he continued to race. But, after a 25-car crash at Talladega when the symptoms of the concussion became more severe he went to see NASCAR's leading doctor, Jerry Punch.
After seeing the doctor Earnhardt, diagnosed with a serious concussion, missed the following two races, at Charlotte and Kansas Speedway. Regan Smith substituted for him.
According to his team “Earnhardt has participated in a rehabilitation program directed by Charlotte neurosurgeon Dr. Jerry Petty. Throughout the process, Petty consulted with Dr. Micky Collins, director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program.”
“Dale Jr. has done everything asked of him,” Petty said. “He hasn't had a headache since Oct. 12, and we have not been able to provoke any symptoms since that time. I have informed NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports that he is medically cleared for all NASCAR-related activity.”
“Earnhardt was evaluated by Collins on Oct. 16 in Pittsburgh. On Monday, Earnhardt ran 123 laps in a Sprint Cup car during a test session monitored by Petty at the half-mile Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Ga. Petty cleared the driver Tuesday morning following a final neuropsychological evaluation in Charlotte.”
On Monday Earnhardt's crew chief, Steve Letarte, tweeted "Back in Concord [N.C.] after a great day of testing with Dale Jr. Looks great and ran some awesome laps.''
Although the driver had made the Sprint Cup Chase; he was not in contention for the Championship by the end of Talledega.
The son of the late, seven-time, NASCAR champion suffered a concussion while testing the newly repaved track at Kansas City on August 29th.
At the time there was no medical restriction on racing so he continued to race. But, after a 25-car crash at Talladega when the symptoms of the concussion became more severe he went to see NASCAR's leading doctor, Jerry Punch.
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| Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s car after the crash at Talladega. (Photo: NASCAR) |
After seeing the doctor Earnhardt, diagnosed with a serious concussion, missed the following two races, at Charlotte and Kansas Speedway. Regan Smith substituted for him.
According to his team “Earnhardt has participated in a rehabilitation program directed by Charlotte neurosurgeon Dr. Jerry Petty. Throughout the process, Petty consulted with Dr. Micky Collins, director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program.”
“Dale Jr. has done everything asked of him,” Petty said. “He hasn't had a headache since Oct. 12, and we have not been able to provoke any symptoms since that time. I have informed NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports that he is medically cleared for all NASCAR-related activity.”
“Earnhardt was evaluated by Collins on Oct. 16 in Pittsburgh. On Monday, Earnhardt ran 123 laps in a Sprint Cup car during a test session monitored by Petty at the half-mile Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Ga. Petty cleared the driver Tuesday morning following a final neuropsychological evaluation in Charlotte.”
On Monday Earnhardt's crew chief, Steve Letarte, tweeted "Back in Concord [N.C.] after a great day of testing with Dale Jr. Looks great and ran some awesome laps.''
Although the driver had made the Sprint Cup Chase; he was not in contention for the Championship by the end of Talledega.