CUP: Junior Returns At Martinsville

Sprint Cup

CUP: Junior Returns At Martinsville

Dale Earnhardt Jr. approved to race again after tests…

Mike Hembree | Posted October 23, 2012 Daytona Beach, FL

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will return to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)

After a Monday driving test and a Tuesday medical evaluation, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been approved to return to the Sprint Cup Series for Sunday’s Chase race at Martinsville Speedway.

Charlotte neurosurgeon Dr. Jerry Petty approved Earnhardt Jr. to race again after a Tuesday checkup.

Earnhardt Jr. will return to the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet for Friday practice at Martinsville for Sunday’s Tums Fast Relief 500.

“Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been medically cleared to return to NASCAR competition and will be back in the seat of the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports this weekend at Martinsville Speedway,” said a NASCAR statement released Tuesday afternoon. “Per NASCAR policy, NASCAR’s medical liaison office received official notification of his clearance to resume racing late this morning.”

Earnhardt Jr. missed the past two races – at Charlotte and Kansas – to recover from concussions suffered at Talladega and during a test session at Kansas in August.

In a statement released by Hendrick Motorsports, Petty said Earnhardt Jr. “has done everything asked of him. 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.”

Petty has been consulting with Dr. Micky Collins, director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Central Sports Medicine Concussion Program about Earnhardt Jr.’s situation.

Earnhardt Jr. was evaluated by Collins 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.

Regan Smith drove the 88 in the two Sprint Cup races Earnahrdt Jr. missed.

Martinsville is the shortest and slowest track on the Sprint Cup circuit and thus might be considered the best spot for Earnhardt Jr. to make re-entry.

Earnhardt Jr. fell to 12th (and last) in the Chase standings after missing two races. He is 122 points behind leader Brad Keselowski and 60 points behind 11th-place Greg Biffle. He essentially lost any chance of winning the championship when he was sidelined for two events.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

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Mike Hembree

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