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Sprint Cup
CUP: Earnhardt Jr. – Time To Go
Dale Earnhardt Jr. returns to the driver’s seat after two weeks of down time…
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will return to the driver's seat for Sunday's NASCAR Tums Fast Relief 500. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Admitting that he was “mentally a mess” after deciding to sit out two races, Dale Earnhardt Jr. returned to Martinsville Speedway Friday with plans to jump back into full-bore racing.
“I feel like I’ve been out of the car for a year,” said Earnhardt Jr., who missed races at Charlotte and Kansas while recovering from concussions. “I think we can go right to it. I felt good about the test (Monday at a short track in Georgia). I want to do a good job over the next four weeks. I want to run hard and go into every weekend trying to do what we’ve done all year.”
After announcing during Charlotte race week that he would leave the Hendrick Motorsports team for two weeks, Earnhardt Jr. visited concussion experts in Pittsburgh to take a more aggressive approach to his recovery.
“When I went to Pittsburgh, I was just mentally a mess,” he said. “The doctors up there – we talked the whole day. I went through exercises and did a lot of stuff. In 12 hours, I felt really good, completely different.
“I couldn’t believe it. It’s been pretty normal the last 15 days or so. Everything about my life is back to normal except the driving part.”
And that part returned at noon Friday at Martinsville as Junior climbed back into the 88 for the first Cup practice of the weekend.
Earnhardt Jr. said he learned valuable lessons from his recent experiences and said he will approach any future health problems with a new perspective. He admitted having concussion issues after crashing in late August during a tire test at Kansas Speedway, but he raced anyway.
“One thing I can tell you is I’m going to be honest with myself and honest with the doctors, and we’ll do whatever they tell me to do,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I want to be able to live a full life and not have any issues down the road. But I feel pretty fortunate to recover from this concussion rather quickly and feel lucky I made the choices I did to give myself that opportunity.
“I feel if I had tried to push through this second one (suffered in a last-lap crash at Talladega), I would have put myself in a lot of danger. I just hope I don’t have another big hit and can race for five or 10 more years.”
Junior described himself as “really kind of shut off from everything” during the two and one-half weeks he was essentially at home recovering from the Talladega hit. “I had a lot of time on my hands and was just exercising and doing what the doctors told me to do,” he said. “I was feeling better every day and going through the process to let things happen.
“I learned a ton about what I’ve gone through. I feel like I’m a lot smarter and a lot more prepared and understand the situation a lot better now than before. It’s been a good experience but something I’d rather not have gone through.
“I’m excited to be back to work and get back in the car and back to normal, back to the life I’m used to.
“There have been times when it’s frustrating because you want your brain to clear up and the fogginess to go away and all the symptoms to go away. Every concussion is different. They’re kind of like snowflakes. You react differently to each one. I’ve learned a whole lot about it. I feel good knowing what I know about it.”
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.
“I feel like I’ve been out of the car for a year,” said Earnhardt Jr., who missed races at Charlotte and Kansas while recovering from concussions. “I think we can go right to it. I felt good about the test (Monday at a short track in Georgia). I want to do a good job over the next four weeks. I want to run hard and go into every weekend trying to do what we’ve done all year.”
After announcing during Charlotte race week that he would leave the Hendrick Motorsports team for two weeks, Earnhardt Jr. visited concussion experts in Pittsburgh to take a more aggressive approach to his recovery.
“When I went to Pittsburgh, I was just mentally a mess,” he said. “The doctors up there – we talked the whole day. I went through exercises and did a lot of stuff. In 12 hours, I felt really good, completely different.
“I couldn’t believe it. It’s been pretty normal the last 15 days or so. Everything about my life is back to normal except the driving part.”
And that part returned at noon Friday at Martinsville as Junior climbed back into the 88 for the first Cup practice of the weekend.
Earnhardt Jr. said he learned valuable lessons from his recent experiences and said he will approach any future health problems with a new perspective. He admitted having concussion issues after crashing in late August during a tire test at Kansas Speedway, but he raced anyway.
“One thing I can tell you is I’m going to be honest with myself and honest with the doctors, and we’ll do whatever they tell me to do,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I want to be able to live a full life and not have any issues down the road. But I feel pretty fortunate to recover from this concussion rather quickly and feel lucky I made the choices I did to give myself that opportunity.
“I feel if I had tried to push through this second one (suffered in a last-lap crash at Talladega), I would have put myself in a lot of danger. I just hope I don’t have another big hit and can race for five or 10 more years.”
Junior described himself as “really kind of shut off from everything” during the two and one-half weeks he was essentially at home recovering from the Talladega hit. “I had a lot of time on my hands and was just exercising and doing what the doctors told me to do,” he said. “I was feeling better every day and going through the process to let things happen.
“I learned a ton about what I’ve gone through. I feel like I’m a lot smarter and a lot more prepared and understand the situation a lot better now than before. It’s been a good experience but something I’d rather not have gone through.
“I’m excited to be back to work and get back in the car and back to normal, back to the life I’m used to.
“There have been times when it’s frustrating because you want your brain to clear up and the fogginess to go away and all the symptoms to go away. Every concussion is different. They’re kind of like snowflakes. You react differently to each one. I’ve learned a whole lot about it. I feel good knowing what I know about it.”
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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