A week after announcing that he would step out the car due to two concussions, Dale Earnhardt Jr. plans to jump back in a car at Martinsville.
Kelly Earnhardt wrote a blog post on jrnation.com Wednesday stating that Dale Jr. is making a full recovery and expects to be back racing in the Cup series on October 28th.
“If all goes according to plan, and he continues to improve to 100%, he will test a race car early next week to be cleared for Martinsville.”
Dale will test a car early next week to confirm that he is ready to go back racing. If Earnhardt is symptom free and feels he is ready to put energy back into racing he will drive the No. 88 car the following weekend.
Earnhardt has been going through a rehab program designed by Dr.Petty. This process included meeting with a concussion expert this week at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center led by Mikey Collins. Dr.Petty’s goal is to have Earnhardt feeling 100% and symptom free from concussions before he races again.
A person is already more susceptible to concussions once they have a history of them. Putting Earnhardt in a situation where he could get multiple concussions could be career ending.
Regan Smith will sub for Earnhardt in the No. 88 car for the second week in a row on Sunday. Once Earnhardt jumps back in the car at Martinsville, the hope is that no one will ever have to replace him again. Drivers want to end careers on their own terms, not someone else’s terms.