Dale Jr, Out

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Junior is out this week with concussion like symptoms

espn.go.com/racing/nascar/story/_/id/17078816/dale-earnhardt-jr-sunday-race-new-hampshire-concussion-symptoms

[AlaCowboy]

Isn't this the third time for him?

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Jul 16, 2016 19:57:24 GMT -5 AlaCowboy said:

Isn't this the third time for him?

Yes he had 2 in 2012.
I'd hate to see this cut his career short

[AlaCowboy]

Jr. has missed three races and his doctor says at least two more before he can race again. This is very serious.

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Aug 2, 2016 20:57:25 GMT -5 AlaCowboy said:

Jr. has missed three races and his doctor says at least two more before he can race again. This is very serious.

I really hate to hear that. He may have to be happy with just being a team owner

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WATKINS GLEN, NY -- Everyone danced around the subject Friday when Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his first media appearance since he was sidelined from NASCAR competition four weeks ago by a concussion.
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"What? You didn't say the word!" he joked.

Of course the word the Sprint Cup Series star was referring to was the R-word -- retirement. And given Earnhardt's history of concussions, stepping away from competition is something that may be forced upon him sooner rather than later.

Traumatic brain injuries are a hot topic in the sports world, and doctors are taking the issue extremely seriously. As Junior said Friday, "The doctors won't let me race. This is not my decision, but it's the right decision and I trust what my doctors are telling me."

But then again, Earnhardt did make the decision to seek out those doctors when he realized that something wasn't right in his head.

EDITOR'S PICKS

Earnhardt Jr. will resume driving as soon as he's medically cleared
Dale Earnhardt Jr. made it clear at Watkins Glen International on Friday that he plans to resume driving as soon as his doctors allow.

A Chase outsider could join the mix at Watkins Glen
A road course won't just annoy many of the top teams, it can turn a relative outsider into a Chase participant. Watkins Glen promises to offer up that possibility yet again.
That's a brave move in a sport renowned as a bravery contest, where drivers are expected to demonstrate their toughness on and off the track.

Dale Jr. had a hell of a role model in that regard. His father Dale Earnhardt was known as "Ironhead" as much for his ability to shrug off injuries from wrecking as he was for his aggressive racing.

By putting himself in the position to be sat down by doctors, Earnhardt Jr. did something his old man would probably have never done, and that's a measure of how far he has stepped out of that hugely intimidating shadow.

Of course, Junior also likely never figured he was going to miss at least five races, and in all likelihood, the 2016 Chase for the Sprint Cup. While he is in daily conversation with his doctors, his concussion symptoms are only evaluated every two to four weeks. There is still no guarantee that he will be ready to return to the No. 88 Chevrolet at Michigan International Speedway in late August, or anytime this season.

Or at all, for that matter.

But Earnhardt insists that just like reporters didn't bring up the R-word in his Friday news conference at Watkins Glen, neither have his doctors. Their full focus is on his recovery and a return to his normal life.

"That is not the conversation your doctor is going to have with you when he is trying to get you right," Earnhardt said. "You are just worrying about getting normal. You go in there and you see your doctor and all you and him talk about and all he cares about is fixing you.

"He doesn't care about my racing or whatever I do as a profession. He is just trying to fix what is wrong with me. That's his job -- he's not a counselor or a psychologist.

"And that is not the conversation you are going to have in the middle of treatment with someone who is suffering or someone who is going through that process," he added. "The conversations I have had with him is that he believes we are going to fix it. He believes that he can make me stronger and that I will be able to pick up where I left off."

Earnhardt is a man given to curiosity, always learning. He spent a lot of time over the past few years researching his family history, even traveling to Germany to do it.

He has studied the many varieties of concussions, picking the brains of his doctors. Even before his latest injury, he pledged to donate his brain to researchers studying chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.


Dale Earnhardt Jr. was around at Watkins Glen on Friday trying to help his team. Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
Dale Jr. watched his father die in a racing accident, and he seems to have a realistic grasp of his own mortality. That, along with the memory of what he endured when recovering from a concussion that caused him to miss two races in 2012, adds into why he wasn't afraid to speak up this time when he knew something wasn't right.

Having the courage to admit something was wrong may ultimately enhance his own legacy.

"It's really hard, as a driver, to say that you've got a problem because you basically put yourself out there to be pulled out of the car," he said. "But man, your quality of life is so important. Your health beyond your driving career is so important. If you plan on having a family, or have a family already, those things are going to be a priority. There are so many reasons to do the right thing and go ahead and get the help you need and get back in the car when you're healthy.


"I feel like it would be even harder, the younger you are, when you're trying to get a career going and just trying to make a living driving cars," he added. "Being in the situation I'm in now, having ran for so long, maybe it wasn't as challenging or as hard a decision to make, to make the right choice. But if I was 21 and just getting started or very young, it would be so hard to make that decision."

With 26 career Sprint Cup race wins and a 13-year reign as NASCAR's Most Popular Driver, Earnhardt can be proud of what he has achieved, even if he never takes another green flag. JR Motorsports is solidly established as a top Xfinity Series team, so Earnhardt will have plenty to keep him occupied in racing when he stops driving.

There is little reason to believe that this concussion will force him into retirement, but a Sprint Cup field without its most popular driver is something that Earnhardt, his fan base and NASCAR are eventually going to have to prepare for.

He's almost 42, and while he and team owner Rick Hendrick have talked about extending their contract beyond 2017, the next contract would likely be Earnhardt's last.

Everyone would like him to be able to go out with a happy retirement tour like Jeff Gordon's, but I suspect most folks would rather have Earnhardt step away from racing on his own terms (for the most part) rather than put himself and his competitors in unnecessary danger.

Especially Earnhardt himself -- whether or not he is ultimately the one who makes the decision.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares detail on concussion treatment via Instagram
5:03 PM ET
Bob Pockrass
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BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. will miss his fifth consecutive race this week as he recovers from a concussion, and he gave his Instagram followers a peek into his rehab Thursday.

Earnhardt posted a series of videos that he said are to help with his balance and gaze stability -- the ability to focus on an object in the distance while moving his head.

One of the videos shows him doing steps as well as having someone throw a ball at a wall behind him, and then he turns and catches the ball on the rebound.

In the post showing some of the physical exercises, Earnhardt wrote: "Simple stuff but it's really helping."


Other posts included eye charts he is supposed to read while shaking his head -- "Bout got them memorized," he wrote in a post -- and in another, he talks about a computerized three-dimensional program, which crosses his eyes and trains his eyes to work together. The results are sent to his doctors online.

Another video shows disco lights in a dark room, where Earnhardt said he walks backward and forward, moving his head to the left and right.

"There is about two to three hours' worth of physical and mental therapy that I do each day -- not a lot of fun," Earnhardt said Aug. 5. "Probably some of it, just trying to describe it, is pretty mundane. But they really stress your symptoms, and that is what they want.

"They want you to do things that really push your mind, and bring out the symptoms. So, in the last evaluation, we really ramped up the therapy to make it a little more strenuous."

Earnhardt, who said doctors believe he suffered a concussion in a June 12 wreck at Michigan International Speedway, is expected to see doctors next week, which could determine when the Hendrick Motorsports driver returns to racing. Jeff Gordon is filling in for him this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Earnhardt was also quite active Wednesday on social media, answering fans' questions and tweeting comments made by reporters and drivers during the Camping World Truck Series race at Bristol. He did not give any timeline about his return.

[AlaCowboy]

I read that NASCAR is considering a ban on the supplements several top drivers use in their exercise programs, and this is related to the Dale Jr. absence.

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Aug 19, 2016 9:40:03 GMT -5 AlaCowboy said:

I read that NASCAR is considering a ban on the supplements several top drivers use in their exercise programs, and this is related to the Dale Jr. absence.

It sounds like you're saying Jr was suspended for using PEDs, which is of course ridiculous.

[AlaCowboy]

Aug 19, 2016 15:11:26 GMT -5 cbisbig said:

Aug 19, 2016 9:40:03 GMT -5 AlaCowboy said:

I read that NASCAR is considering a ban on the supplements several top drivers use in their exercise programs, and this is related to the Dale Jr. absence.

It sounds like you're saying Jr was suspended for using PEDs, which is of course ridiculous.

No, I didn't say Jr was suspended due to PEDs, just that there may be more to this than concussion protocol.

[AlaCowboy]

Jr. out at least another two weeks? Something suspicious going on here.

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Aug 28, 2016 11:21:11 GMT -5 AlaCowboy said:

Jr. out at least another two weeks? Something suspicious going on here.

Happens in football all the time.
Nothing suspicious about being cautious . Your theory on suspensions for over the counter supplements is unfounded
www.dalejr.com/media/2016/08/24/earnhardt-to-miss-michigan-darlington-bowman-gordon-to-fill-in

CONCORD, N.C. (Aug. 24, 2016) – Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet SS for Hendrick Motorsports, has not been cleared by physicians to compete in at least the next two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events as he continues to recover from a concussion.

Earnhardt, who will miss the races at Michigan International Speedway (Aug. 28) and Darlington Raceway (Sept. 4), underwent further evaluation today at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program.

“We know how hard Dale is working to get back,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “He’s following what the doctors are saying, to the letter, and doing exactly what he needs to do. Everyone wants to see him in a race car, but his health is first and foremost. We’re behind him.”

Alex Bowman, who drove the No. 88 Chevrolet in Earnhardt’s absence July 17 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, will be the team’s substitute driver this weekend at Michigan. He has four career Sprint Cup starts at the track.

Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon will return to the No. 88 team at Darlington, where his seven wins lead all active drivers. Gordon has driven the last four races for Earnhardt -- at Indianapolis, Pocono, Watkins Glen and Bristol.

www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2016/8/24/dale-earnhardt-jr-injury-update-alex-bowman-michigan-jeff-gordon-darlington-88-car.html

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Dale Jr. shuts it down for remaining 12 races


Dale Earnhardt Jr. will miss the rest of the 2016 Sprint Cup season as he recovers from concussion symptoms, it was announced Friday.

Earnhardt has missed the past six races because of a concussion his doctors believe was suffered in a June 12 crash at Michigan International Speedway. He has been undergoing regular evaluations at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program and is being treated for issues related to balance and focusing on objects that are at a distance while moving his head.

EDITOR'S PICKS

Pockrass: Dale Jr.'s decision affects all of NASCAR
When the guy who has been named most popular driver for 13 straight years calls it a season -- and for concussion symptoms, no less -- it's safe to assume there will be some ripples.
"I wish I could return to the No. 88 team this season," Earnhardt, who has not been medically cleared to compete, said in a statement. "To say I'm disappointed doesn't begin to describe how I feel, but I know this is the right thing for my long-term health and career. I'm 100 percent focused on my recovery, and I will continue to follow everything the doctors tell me. They're seeing good progress in my test results, and I'm feeling that progress physically. I plan to be healthy and ready to compete at Daytona in February. I'm working toward that.

"The support from both inside and outside the race team has been overwhelming. Everyone has been so encouraging and positive, from my teammates and sponsors to my family, friends and fans. It's motivating and humbling at the same time."


Dale Earnhardt Jr. has not been medically cleared to return and will miss the remaining 12 Sprint Cup races. "To say I'm disappointed doesn't begin to describe how I feel, but I know this is the right thing for my long-term health and career," he said. Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Hendrick Motorsports said Jeff Gordon, who is again driving for Earnhardt this weekend at Darlington, and Alex Bowman will continue to fill in for the remaining 12 races on the Sprint Cup schedule.

"I know how hard Dale has worked and how frustrating this is for him," team owner Rick Hendrick said in a statement. "He wants to be back, and we want him back, but we want it to be for the long haul. We've had incredible support from everyone involved with the team, including all of our sponsors. They've put Dale's health first every step of the way."

From a competition standpoint, missing the remainder of the season should not hurt Earnhardt. The only way he would have made the Chase for the Sprint Cup is if he came back next week at Richmond and won the race. The NASCAR car specifications also will change for 2017, meaning the cars will drive differently next season than they will the remainder of this year.

"I look up to him for what he's doing. I know how hard that is to look out and want to be inside that racecar," Sprint Cup driver Joey Logano said. "Your life and your health is not worth risking for the sport."

Speaking Aug. 5 at Watkins Glen, Earnhardt stressed he wanted to continue racing. His contract with Hendrick runs through 2017.

"As soon as I can get healthy and get confident in how I feel and feel like I can drive a car and be great driving it, then I want to drive," said Earnhardt, who missed two races in 2012 after suffering two concussions in six weeks. "I want to race. I miss the competition. I miss being here.

"I miss the people and, as Rick [Hendrick] likes to say, 'We've got unfinished business.' I'm not ready to stop racing. I'm not ready to quit. It's a slower process. I wish it wasn't."

Earnhardt crew chief Greg Ives said he talked to each of his team members Friday. He said the fact Earnhardt has been interacting with the team -- coming to the shop as well as the appearance at Watkins Glen -- has had a calming effect and keeps them from constantly speculating about Earnhardt's long-term status.

"They're disappointed that Dale is not going to be in the car, but they also know what is best," Ives said. "Time is best to heal this situation. Nobody wanted to rush things just to get into a race car just to try to prove something. We're going to go forward. We know that the way to recovery is to put your best foot forward, to have positive thoughts and to have fast race cars."

In addition to Sunday's race, Gordon will be behind the wheel of the No. 88 for races at Richmond (Sept. 10), Dover (Oct. 2) and Martinsville (Oct. 30). Bowman will drive at Chicagoland (Sept. 18), New Hampshire (Sept. 25), Charlotte (Oct. 8), Kansas (Oct. 16), Talladega (Oct. 23), Texas (Nov. 6), Phoenix (Nov. 13) and the series finale at Homestead (Nov. 20).

Earnhardt, who turns 42 in October, has 26 victories -- including two Daytona 500 wins -- in 595 career Sprint Cup starts. He has finished in the top-10 in 42 percent of his races.

The son of seven-time Sprint Cup champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, Earnhardt Jr. has never won a Cup title, with a best finish in the season standings of third in 2003. After missing the Chase for two consecutive seasons, he has enjoyed a career resurgence with five consecutive Chase appearances from 2011 to 2015.


"It's sad to see that he's not going to be able to get back in the car in 2016 because, as a race-car driver, that's where you want to be," said Elliott Sadler, who drives for Earnhardt in the Xfinity Series. "You want to be in your race car competing week in and week out. It's tough not to be able to see him in his famed No. 88 car the rest of the year.

"On the flip side to that ... (I'm) proud of him to take a step back, make sure he gets everything in line that he needs to get in-line from a medical side or feeling side to be 100 percent when the 2107 season starts."

ESPN Staff Writer Bob Pockrass contributed to this report.

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DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he feels better as he continues to rehabilitate the vision and balance issues he suffers from, but he does not belong in a race car as he recovers from a concussion suffered in June.

Earnhardt, who has missed the last six Sprint Cup races, announced Friday he would not return to his Hendrick Motorsports car for the final 12 races this year.

EDITOR'S PICKS

Now Dale Earnhardt Jr. can concentrate on healing
Now that Dale Earnhardt Jr. has announced he won't be back until next year at the earliest, he can finally take the time to really concentrate on getting better, writes Ricky Craven.

Pockrass: Dale Jr.'s decision affects all of NASCAR
When the guy who has been named most popular driver for 13 straight years calls it a season -- and for concussion symptoms, no less -- it's safe to assume there will be some ripples.
The 41-year-old driver is preparing to return to the seat in 2017, and his doctor Sunday said the treatment focuses on Earnhardt -- whom he said was "pretty sick" -- being able to handle everyday life and then a race car.

Earnhardt has battled balance and vision issues associated with gaze stability -- the ability to focus on an object in the distance while moving his head. He is going through vision therapy, stability therapy and exercise therapy.

"We're doing what we're doing right now to make sure we get Dale's systems rehabbed to the point where not only does he feel normal but hopefully to the point where we don't see less force causes [them] to come back," said Dr. Micky Collins of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program.

"We've advanced things to a point where we know how to rehab these symptoms well. ... Hopefully we can get to a point where we see that he can withstand the normal forces of a race-car driver. If he had a significant force, that would cause an injury as it would anyone."

Collins treated Earnhardt in 2012 when he missed two races because of two concussions in six weeks.

"We went through this process in 2012," Earnhardt said Sunday at Darlington Raceway. "It was very scary and difficult. Micky told me that I would one day be well and I would win races again and he was right. ... He's telling me this is possible again, and I believe it."


Dale Earnhardt Jr. vows to return to racing despite having a history of concussions dating back to 2002. Blaine Ohigashi/Getty Images
Earnhardt vows to return to the seat despite having a history of concussions dating back to 2002. The June 12 wreck at Michigan International Speedway didn't appear so violent that it should cause a concussion. His car got jostled about three weeks later at Daytona and the symptoms started the following week.

"I have the passion and the desire to drive," Earnhardt said. "I enjoy it. ... My heart is there to continue and if my doctor says I'm physically able to continue, that's an easier decision for me to make.

"[Retirement] is not something I think about. We're trying to focus on just getting well and getting normal."

Earnhardt said he has seen significant improvement over the last few weeks, and both the driver and doctor said the decision not to race the remainder of the year has relieved stress, which should accelerate his recovery.

"I struggled with my eyes for a while," Earnhardt said. "I'm starting to see improvements there, which I was thrilled to wake up one day and feel a difference. ... My balance is miles better than when it was when I first went to see Micky."

Collins said that Earnhardt has worked as hard as any patient he has had.

While he feels comfortable driving a car and doing things in everyday life, Earnhardt said there are still times where he would be in the car and stumble.

"I definitely don't belong in a race car today by any stretch of the imagination."

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
"When I first saw Dale, my goal was to see Dale become a human being again," Collins said. "And I can tell you with confidence that is occurring in front of our eyes. ... The second goal is Dale becoming a race car driver again.

"Yes, we will be working on that as well. I'm very confident we are moving in the right direction."

Earnhardt, who turns 42 in October, has 26 victories -- including two Daytona 500 wins -- in 595 career Sprint Cup starts. He has finished in the top-10 in 42 percent of his races. The son of seven-time Sprint Cup champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, Earnhardt Jr. has never won a Cup title, with a best finish in the season standings of third in 2003. After missing the Chase for two consecutive seasons, he has enjoyed a career resurgence with five consecutive Chase appearances from 2011 to 2015.

"I definitely don't belong in a race car today by any stretch of the imagination," Earnhardt said. "You don't know how long this process is going to take. We want to be healthy and be able to compete at some point.

"But we also don't want to take any risks to reinjure ourselves or put ourselves in a situation where we essentially erase all the hard work we did to get better."


Four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon has competed in four races since Earnhardt had to step out of the car, and he will drive four more including Sunday night in the Southern 500. Alex Bowman, who has driven in two races in place of Earnhardt, will drive eight more to the end of the year.

Gordon said the team has not let the potential of Earnhardt never returning to impact its week-to-week preparation.

"I don't think we're ready to go there with that mindset yet," Gordon said about thoughts of Earnhardt retiring. "I think we're all positive this is the right thing for him.

"The doctors feel confident in that. His attitude is that he wants to be back in the car and wants to get back to 100 percent when he is back in there.