Earnhardt Jr to Miss Charolotte, Kansas Races Due to Concussion

Dale Jr will sit out at least the next two races

After taking several hard hits in the last lap pileup that claimed 24 race cars on the last lap at Talladega last Sunday, Dale Earnhardt, Jr was outspoken and his comments about his dislike of this new style of plate racing were well publicized. But the driver of the No. 88 Chevy was also seen holding his head while he sat on the steps of his team's trailer, promoting questions about the well-being of the sport's most popular driver.

Those questions about Earnhardt's health were answered Thursday morning in a Hendrick Motorsports press conference where the team announced that he would not race this weekend at Charlotte or next weekend at Kansas. He will be replaced by Regan Smith, who will be replaced in the Phoenix Racing No. 51 car by A.J. Allmendinger.

Earnhardt told the media that because his car spun around so quickly during his wreck last weekend, it disoriented him and he knew right away that "[I] had re-injured [myself]."

Junior also took a hard hit when he blew a right front tire and hit the wall in a Goodyear tire test at Kansas close to five weeks ago, but was cleared to drive by Nascar's medical staff. "I knew something just was not quite right," said Earnhardt. He went on to say he felt good after a week and was about "80 to 90 percent" by the time the Chase rolled around. He didn't want to risk missing the top ten cutoff, so he decided to just "push through it and work through it."



Dale Jr's crippled car limps to the garage at Tallladega

He tried to do the same after his hits on Sunday, but when he was still having headaches on Wednesday, he decided to seek medical attention. When Dr. Jerry Petty and Earnhardt looked at the driver's MRI, Earnhardt said it looked good, but he was "very honest" about how he felt with Dr. Petty. Petty could not in good conscience allow the driver to race this weekend.

Earnhardt said that he is looking forward to getting back in his race car as soon as possible, but he also wants to be healthy. "The basis for this whole deal is I've had two concussions in the last four or five weeks, and you can't layer concussions," Earnhardt, Jr said. "I feel perfectly fine," he added, "but I don't want to keep getting hit in the head." While he could not give a solid number, Junior did say he's had several mild concussions over his career.

Dr. Petty was also in attendance at the Thursday press conference, as were owner Rick Hendrick and crew chief Steve Letarte. Petty said that Junior's injury is the kind that doesn't show up on an MRI scan and that "as long as there's any headache, the brain is not healed." He also said that Earnhardt's MRI was normal and "encouraging" and that after another scan and a few test laps, Junior may be cleared to drive again.

While Earnhardt will not be at the track this weekend, he feels his presence would be a distraction to his team, there will still be many storylines to follow. How will Smith do in his first race in a Chase-caliber car? How will Allmendinger do in his first race since being suspended in July? And of course, when will Dale Earnhardt, Jr race again?

Only time will tell.