Early this morning, Hendrick Motorsports and Dale Earnhardt Jr sat in front of the NASCAR media at Charlotte Motor Speedway to announce that Dale Jr. would be sitting out the next two Cup Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway due to a concussion. It was interesting watching the press conference live on SPEED and ,listen to him tell what happened to him and how he got the concussion. Dale Jr. said that 5 weeks ago at Kansas Speedway, he blow a right front tire and hit the wall hard. He didn't think much of it after a few days.
It wasn't until this past Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway when Dale Jr got caught up in the last lap crash that included over half the field and he was hit hard in the right rear that he know something was wrong. On Wednesday Dale Jr was diagnosed was a concussion and would have to sit out for next few races and recover.
Personally it will be hard to see the #88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet Impala SS on track Saturday night racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway with Regan Smith driving instead of Dale Jr. However I give Dale Jr. a lot of credit for knowing his body well enough and having the strength to stand up and ask for help when something was wrong.
I know that Dale will be sitting out for the next few races and I know that Regan Smith will do a good job, but I also know that Dale will be resting and getting better and will race again when he his healthy and cleared. I respect Dale for dealing with this instead of just driving hurt. Get well soon Dale and as a fan, I can't wait to see him race in a few weeks when he is cleared.
