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Dale Earnhardt Jr. confident he isn't at increased risk for another concussion
Dale Earnhardt Jr. said the rehabilitation he’s gone through after suffering a concussion over the summer means he isn’t at an increased risk for another one once he resumes racing in 2017.
Junior has been medically cleared to rejoin the Sprint Cup Series in 2017 after missing the final 18 races of the 2016 season. He struggled with symptoms including vision stability and his equilibrium while recovering from the concussion he suffered when his car hit the wall at Michigan.
The concussion was the second known one Junior suffered in the past four years. He missed two races in 2012 after he sustained a concussion in a test session after his car blew a tire and smacked into the wall.
“I wouldn’t be coming back to the seat and wanting to drive and excited about driving cars if there was any risk, other than the typical risk that every driver faces on Sunday,” Junior said Friday. “I feel very confident in what I’ve seen in myself and my improvement and I feel confident in what my doctors are telling me about my future and the risks that I’m taking and my ability to be able to withstand the normal wear and tear of not only driving a race, but getting in that unfortunate accident from time to time. We all feel pretty confident that not only am I as healthy as I was before the symptoms came last year, but I’m actually stronger.”
The symptoms Junior faced during 2016 were delayed — he initially believed he was having sinus trouble — and he admitted he had moments where he doubted he’d be able to race again.
Junior was cleared after completing a test at Darlington Raceway on Wednesday. He said he took a baseline test before jumping into the car and would exit the car every 30 laps or so to check with doctors to make sure he was feeling good.
“A lot of the things that [Dr. Jerry Petty] was checking, visual and balance and so forth, actually strengthened throughout the process,” Junior said. “You sort of get acclimated and up to speed with what it takes to kind of drive a racecar and those systems strengthen through that process. Rather than see them sort of flat-line and stay the same, which was what I was hoping for, they actually got stronger. That was great. I felt like throughout the day I got more and more comfortable in the car and it felt like an old shoe by the end of the day.”
Earnhardt Jr.’s current contract with Hendrick Motorsports runs through the end of 2017. He had previously said he and the team were in negotiations for a contract extension before the concussion. Friday he said discussions will resume regarding a new contract “shortly.”
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
