After weeks of
conjecture and uncertainty, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. confirmed last week that he will
return to NASCAR premier series competition in 2017, after missing 18 races
this season with a concussion.
The Hendrick
Motorsports driver completed a clandestine test at Darlington (SC) Raceway last
Wednesday, under the watchful eye of NASCAR officials and neurosurgeon Dr.
Jerry Petty, before being declared symptom-free and ready to race.
“The test… couldn’t
have gone any better,” said Earnhardt afterward. “NASCAR was really great to
put it together. I appreciate them creating rules for drivers in this type
of situation to be able to get in a car. It really helps build your
confidence to know that everything is working like it’s supposed to work…
before you get back into a full race weekend.
“We just ran laps,” he
said. “We put tires on, ran 15 laps at a time (and) took about a 20-minute
break. Dr. Petty was there. We did a personal evaluation before I got in
the car to set a baseline and Dr. Petty evaluated me after each run to see if
everything was good. A lot of the things that he was checking -- visual
and balance and so forth -- actually strengthened throughout the process. You
sort of get acclimated and up to speed with what it takes to drive a race car,
and those systems strengthened through the process.
“Throughout the day, I
got more and more comfortable in the car. It felt like an old shoe by the end
of the day. I was happy with the speed we had. That wasn’t really the
ultimate goal, but we had great speed. By the end of the day, we felt really
confident that health-wise, I was 100-percent ready to get back in the car.”
Earnhardt admitted
nervousness prior to the Darlington test, saying, “I have nerves and
butterflies every time I get in a race car. But I was certainly very anxious to
get in the car (last week). As soon as I got my feet on the ground in
Darlington, I was in my suit and over by the door, wondering if the car was
ready to go. I couldn’t wait to get in there and see what I felt
like.
“I had a hard time
sleeping the night before. It had been a long, long time since I had drove a
car. As soon as I got out there… it came right back to me. It wasn’t like
I had to re-learn to do it all over again. It felt very comfortable. Of
all the tracks we could have gone to, Darlington was a good choice to put me
through the test, physically and mentally. I was a little bit nervous
about that. Darlington is a tough track, but the nerves were gone after
about four laps.
“Then it was, `Let’s
just run. Let’s run some more, put some tires on and go some more.”
Earnhardt said it has
been a long road back to where he was pre-injury, saying, “I worked with Dr. Micky
Collins, and we worked -- not only to get healthy and back to being a normal
human being again -- but to get stronger than we were before. I wouldn’t
be coming back to the seat if there was any risk, other than the typical risk
that every driver faces on Sunday. I feel very confident in what I’ve seen
in myself, what my doctors are telling me about my future, the risks I am
taking and my ability to be able to withstand the normal wear and tear of driving
a race and getting in that unfortunate accident from time to time.
“Not only am I as
healthy as I was before the symptoms came last year, but I’m actually stronger.
This isn’t uncharted territory for me, so I know I’m as strong as I need to
be. I’m feeling that way, and I’m also hearing the affirmation from my
doctors that I can go back and drive racecars.”
The 14-time NASCAR Most
Popular Driver said he returns to the cockpit with a new appreciation for his
life and career.
“You certainly realize
things that you might be taking for granted,” he admitted. “(You) learn to
appreciate a lot of different parts and aspects of your life a lot more. When
you get something taken away from you, you realize what it is worth. We
gripe about our schedule… but when you are watching your friends out there on
the track and watching your crew work without you, it really puts things into
perspective. It helps you appreciate what you’ve got.
“I definitely feel
recharged and energized about the opportunity to be able to come back and race,”
he said. “I felt like I have a lot left in the tank (and) I’m excited about
getting to Daytona. We are going to test in Phoenix, which I’m really
looking forward to. Testing is kind of boring, but I’m ready to get more
and more laps in the car, so I feel confident in myself. Confidence is
really critical for me to perform well. The more I can do to help build my
confidence before we got to Daytona, the better.
"I'm cleared and I
am healthy,” assured Earnhardt. “That’s not patting myself on the back, that’s
from my doctor's mouth. I had to work really hard to get to be a human being
again...to be normal. Then I had to work even harder to be able to drive race
cars; to be a professional race car driver. The distance between just
being myself and being a race car driver… was another handful of
responsibilities.”
The third-generation NASCAR driver also commented on the role he has
played in spotlighting the impact of concussions on professional athletes,
saying "It is not
something that I intentionally wanted to spearhead, but I have seen a culture
change tremendously.
“I think everyone in
general -- not just athletes, but the public, the doctors...everyone -- we are
all learning something new every day,” he added. “Mickey sees two dozen
patients a day with various types of injuries, and every day he learns
something new. He has seen a million people with the same thing that I had, but
every day he learns something new. It's incredible the progress that is being
made. It is happening right in front of us. It is being taken more seriously,
and I think that is great.
“I don't want anyone to
go through the injury (I did), much less the rehabilitation. But it is great
for folks that do get injured to know there is something that can be done. There
is a place to go to get help. That’s something people are becoming aware
of; that there are ways to get help so you can get healthy and return to the
activity that you love.”
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