Dale Earnhardt Jr. cleared to race following concussion
Earnhardt will compete at the Daytona 500 in February.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., left, and team owner Rick Hendrick during a news conference before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Darlington Raceway, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016, in Darlington, S.C. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
Hendrick Motorsports announced Thursday that Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been medically cleared to race following a concussion that kept him out for the last few months of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
Earnhardt was cleared to race after a test session that included 185 laps at Darlington Raceway. Dale Jr. will compete at the Daytona 500 in February.
“I expected things to go really well yesterday, and that’s exactly what happened,” Earnhardt said in a statement. “Actually getting in a race car was an important final step, and it gives me a ton of confidence going into 2017.”
Earnhardt told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio in October that he was in the “final stages of getting well” after suffering the concussion in July. He announced in September that he was sitting out the rest of the 2016 season. Junior has been receiving treatment from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center since mid-July.
Listen to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90 to hear more on the news.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Terry Renna
Music, Sports, News and more
All in one place on the SiriusXM app
