Dale Earnhardt Jr. dealing with concussion-like symptoms
Your teams on the go or at home. Personalize SI with our new App. Install on iOS or Android.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is experiencing concussion-like symptoms that will keep him out of Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports announced.
Earnhardt was not cleared by doctors on Thursday and Alex Bowman will race in his place.
“I wasn’t feeling great the week going into Kentucky (Speedway) and thought it was possibly severe allergies,” Earnhardt said. “I saw a family doctor and was given medication for allergies and a sinus infection. When that didn’t help, I decided to dig a little deeper. 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.”
“I’m proud of Dale for standing up,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “The number-one priority is his health, so we’re going to give him all the time he needs. We completely support the decision by the doctors and will be ready to go win races when he’s 100 percent. In the meantime, we have full confidence in Greg (Ives) and the team, and we know they’ll do a great job.”
There is no timetable for Earnhardt’s return. His next race would be July 24 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Earnhardt currently ranks 13th in Sprint Cup points.
