Ralph
Dale Earnhardt Jr., known professionally as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dale Jr.,
or
just Junior, is an American professional stock car racing driver
and champion
team owner.
Born: October 10, 1974 (age
41),
LOUDON, N.H. – Doug
Duchardt, general manager for Hendrick Motorsports, says there was no
indication that driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. was
dealing with concussion-like symptoms during the organization's weekly
competition meeting earlier this week.
Two days after that
meeting, Duchardt and others were informed that the 41-year-old would not be
competing in this weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire
Motor Speedway.
In Thursday's
statement from the team announcing the driver change, Earnhardt said he was not
feeling well going into last weekend's race at Kentucky Speedway. After
returning from the race, he saw doctors for what he initially thought was a
severe sinus infection.
"When that
didn't help, I decided to dig a little deeper," Earnhardt said.
"Because of my symptoms and my history with concussions, and after my
recent wrecks at Michigan and Daytona, I reached out and met with a
neurological specialist. After further evaluation, they felt it was best for me
to sit out."
His timeline for
returning to competition is unknown and Earnhardt is expected to see doctors
again next week for an update on his condition. Duchardt said if Earnhardt is
unable to return for next week's race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, former
HMS driver Jeff Gordon , a
four-time series champion who retired from driving at the end of 2015, would be
his replacement in the No. 88 entry.
Duchardt would not
speculate on any potential replacements beyond next weekend's event. "We
will obviously be thinking about contingency plans, but we don't have anything
formalized for sure past Indy," he said.
This weekend's race
will mark the second time Earnhardt has been sidelined by a concussion or
concussion-like symptoms. In 2012, he missed two races late in the season
following a hard crash during a test at Kansas Speedway.
According to David
Higdon, Chief Communications Officer for the sanctioning body, NASCAR
"requires drivers to submit a baseline neurocognitive assessment, such as
an impact test … as a prerequisite for being licensed to compete."
Additionally,
NASCAR's medical advisory group, a team of consulting physicians who work
directly with the league on policy development while regularly meeting with
drivers to continue the education process, includes many leaders in the
neurological field.
Another important
element worth noting is the active role our drivers and teams take in
monitoring their health. Drivers approach this responsibility very seriously
and that ultimately benefits their entire team, the sport and their fellow
competitors.
"We applaud Dale Earnhardt JR.for being
a great example dating back to 2012 where he chose not to race in Charlotte and
in Kansas during the Chase and has made that decision this weekend as
well."
At Michigan last
month, Earnhardt was involved in an incident with fellow drivers Chris Buescher and AJ
Allmendinger, but was able to drive his car back to the garage. At the time he
told FS1 that the impact "wasn't too bad, actually."
Barely one month
later, Earnhardt was one of 22 competitors caught up in a crash at Daytona.
Duchardt said there was
no advance warning that something was amiss following the incidents at MIS or
Daytona. "We didn't know of anything until he started talking to Greg
(Ives, crew chief) about not feeling quite right in Kentucky," he said.
"I think this
weekend he is just, per doctor's orders, laying low like most people in these
situations – minimum stimulation and just work to get better and keep
activities down."
Higdon said
officials would "need to receive a notice from an independent
board-certified neurologist" before Earnhardt, or any driver diagnosed
with a similar injury, would be allowed to return.
"That would be
our expectation that the driver is prepared and able to compete in our
sport," he said.
Earnhardt is 13th in
points and has yet to win this season. His eligibility for one of the 16
positions in this year's Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup upon his return,
should he be in position to qualify for a spot, would be determined by NASCAR.
Attempting to compete in all races is one of the Chase eligibility
requirements, although NASCAR can award an exemption based on each individual
situation. Defending series champion Kyle Busch was provided a waiver last season after missing the first
11 points races due to injury; three-time series champion Tony Stewart has also
received a waiver after missing this year's first eight races due to injury.
Because of
Earnhardt's initial concerns of potential sinus issues, Bowman was already on
standby with the plan to replace the veteran once Earnhardt started Sunday's
race at New Hampshire, according to Duchardt. When Earnhardt wasn't cleared to
return to competition, the team moved forward with Bowman as the replacement.
"The most
important thing in this whole process is for Dale to get better and feel
better," Duchardt said, "and we're going to let that happen on the
timeline it's going to happen on.
And so,
basically, less than 24 hours ago we found out that Dale couldn't run. We had
Alex lined up to be in the car. It made perfect sense. And I have confidence
that he and Greg will go a good job this weekend.
Credit: http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2016/7/15/dale-earnhardt-jr-sidelined-new-hampshire-concussionlike-symptoms-nascar-policy-return-timeline-unknown.html
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