In part, the 2012 Cup season will be remembered for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s exit from the #88 Chevy because of a concussion. In retrospect, Earnhardt regrets not taking a hiatus from competition sooner than he did. On Aug. 29, during a tire test at Kansas, Earnhardt sustained a concussion in a hard crash. He knew he was hurt but decided to keep the severity of his injury to himself. A subsequent crash at Talladega caused a second concussion and forced Earnhardt from the car for two races. ‘I think I should have taken the first concussion more seriously,’ Earnhardt said Thursday, after being honored as the sport’s most popular driver for the 10th straight year. ‘I think I should have been smarter about it the first time, when we crashed at Kansas. I didn ‘t feel good, and I started getting nauseous after that. I knew right then, for damn sure, that I had a really bad concussion. I wish I would have taken that more seriously. I don ‘t know if it would have changed anything. It’s a tough decision to make, going into the Chase. I ‘d dealt with concussions before, and I thought that I ‘d just drive through it, and it’s be over in a couple of weeks&But; I wasn ‘t lucky enough to avoid another accident, so I feel foolish in that regard, that I was careless.’ Missing two races cost Earnhardt any possibility of winning his first championship and dropped him to 12th in the final standings.(NASCAR Wire Service)(12-1-2012)
