Earnhardt to miss at least two more races
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will sit out at least the next two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, with Jeff Gordon subbing for him in the #88 at both Watkins Glen and Bristol.
Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Eric Gilbert
According to a statement from Hendrick Motorsports on Tuesday, Earnhardt underwent further evaluation at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program and was not cleared by physicians to race.
He continues to recover from a concussion his doctors believe he received in a wreck in June at Michigan.
Earnhardt, however, will travel to Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International this weekend and participate in a news conference at noon ET Friday at the track’s infield media center.
“We have a break in the schedule after Watkins Glen, so the extra week of recovery time will certainly be a benefit,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “Dale will be back when he’s ready, and we’re looking forward to that happening, but the priority continues to be his health and well-being.
“We’ll keep our focus on that and let the doctors guide us.”
Recently retired four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon will again substitute for Earnhardt in his No. 88 Chevrolet in Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International and the Aug. 20 race at Bristol, Tenn.
Gordon, who turns 45 years old on Thursday, will now make his 800th career Cup start at the Glen, where he owns four career wins. Gordon, who has also won five times at Bristol, has made all 799 career Cup starts while driving for HMS.
On Monday evening during his weekly “Dale Jr. Download” podcast, Earnhardt said his main problems remains gaze stability – being able to fix on an object on a great distance and stay there with head movement.
“I lose the object I try to target. It’s only been three weeks since I first got checked out. That’s really a short period of time in the grand scheme of things when it comes to these issues, but I’m very impatient and I want change now and I want improvement now,” he said.
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