ESPN’s Dr. Jerry Punch interviewed Rick Hendrick before the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway and Hendrick stated that #88-Earnhardt, Jr. has been medically cleared to race next weekend at Martinsville.(10-21-2012)
UPDATE: ‘He’s been cleared to race at Martinsville, so we ‘re excited to get him back,’ Hendrick said during an interview on pit road after driver introductions. ‘He came through with flying colors. Everything is great,’ Hendrick stated. ‘He can ‘t wait to get back in the car. He’s really anxious ‘ and we ‘re anxious to get him back. So, next week he’s been cleared to race Martinsville. So we ‘re excited, excited to get him back. Dale is a good friend. He means so much to the sport. He means so much to our company. And I care about him. But he’s the sparkplug for this sport and our organization too. It just shows you how fragile things are and how you can get hurt in these cars. As much as we do to make them safe, things can happen. The doctors, we ‘ve done everything they ‘ve said and he’s checked out. Everything is 100 percent clear and ready to go, so we ‘re just really happy,’ Hendrick commented. ‘I hated for him to miss these two races as good as the season is going. But the good news is he’s ok. He’s good. He’s excited. He feels great – no headaches. He’s a racer and he wants to get back in the car.’(NASCAR Wire Service)(10-21-2012)
UPDATE 2: Hendrick later clarified his remarks;
MR. HENDRICK: ‘I want to apologize to all you guys (the media). I gave you a little bad information out on pit road today. I ‘ve been out here at the dealerships and I did talk to the doctor (Dr. Jerry Petty, neurosurgeon) with Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) and he said everything looked good and everything was fine. However, I didn ‘t know until (HMS PR director) Jesse (Essex) informed me that I had gotten ahead of myself and that there is a closed test Monday that Dr. Petty will attend. Dale will be back in the car (for that test) and he ‘ll make the decision with a final test on Tuesday. So, we don ‘t foresee any problems but I didn ‘t read my emails this morning and I kind of got ahead of myself. I talked to the doctor myself and everything went good in Pittsburg (PA, tested Tuesday Oct. 16th)) and Dr. Petty felt real good about it. And I did know that they were going to shake down a car, but I didn ‘t know that the doctor was going, and that he would actually be evaluating him Tuesday (two separate tests/evaluations). I apologize for that. The test (next) Tuesday is in his (Dr. Petty’s) office. The test Monday is in the (race) car.’
ARE YOU STILL FEELING VERY POSITIVE THAT HE ‘LL BE BACK IN THE CAR AT MARTINSVILLE?
‘I will be shocked if he’s not in the car. Everything looks good. His attitude and the way he feels; he’s had no headaches since Thursday or Friday of Charlotte; and the tests have gone real well. I think Dr. Petty is just being super-cautious and I applaud him for that. I think the sequence is that he (Dr. Petty) will be with him at the test Monday; they will evaluate him in his office Tuesday, and then he will notify NASCAR if he’s okay. Maybe I just heard what I wanted to hear when I talked to (Dr.) Petty because everything in Pittsburg was good.’(Chevy PR)(10-21-2012)
UPDATE 3: Steve Letarte, Earnhardt, Jr’s crew chief tweeted Monday evening, ‘Back in Concord after a great day of testing with #DaleJr. Looked great and ran some awesome laps.’(10-23-2012)
UPDATE 4 – Cleared: Dale Earnhardt Jr. will return to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this weekend at Martinsville, Va., after being medically cleared for competition. Since being diagnosed with a concussion following the Oct. 7 race at Talladega, Ala., Earnhardt has participated in a rehabilitation program directed by Charlotte neurosurgeon Dr. Jerry Petty. Throughout the process, Petty consulted with Dr. Micky Collins, director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program. ‘Dale Jr. has done everything asked of him,’ Petty said. ‘He hasn ‘t had a headache since Oct. 12, and we have not been able to provoke any symptoms since that time. I have informed NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports that he is medically cleared for all NASCAR-related activity.’ Earnhardt was evaluated by Collins on Oct. 16 in Pittsburgh. On Monday, Earnhardt ran 123 laps in a Sprint Cup car during a test session monitored by Petty at the half-mile Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Ga. Petty cleared the driver Tuesday morning following a final neuropsychological evaluation in Charlotte. (Hendrick Motorsports)(10-23-2012)
