Dale Earnhardt Jr. will sit out Michigan and Darlington because doctors did not clear NASCAR’s most popular driver to get back in car.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will sit out the next two races, according to a release by Hendrick Motorsports on Wednesday. The 41-year-old driver underwent another evaluation at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program and was not cleared to race.
“We know how hard Dale is working to get back,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “He’s following what the doctors are saying, to the letter, and doing exactly what he needs to do. Everyone wants to see him in a race car, but his health is first and foremost. We’re behind him.”
Earnhardt has not competed since Kentucky on July 9 and if he is to make the Chase, he will not only have to get approval from doctors, but will have to win the final regular season event at Richmond on Sept. 10. By sitting out the next two races, Earnhardt will have missed a total of seven straight and as a consequence, he has dropped to 21st in the points standings.
The Kannapolis, N.C. native believes his concussion issues stem from the first race at Michigan International Speedway where he was involved in a crash on June 12. During his recovery, NASCAR’s most popular driver has been keeping fans updated on his recovery via social media and “The Dale Jr. Download” on Dirty Mo Radio.
Alex Bowman will take over the No. 88 Chevrolet this weekend at MIS because Jeff Gordon had prior commitments that were made based on his availability in light of his retirement. He could not be there all weekend, but will arrive for the Sunday race to support Bowman and his former Hendrick teammates. He is expected back behind the wheel at Darlington where he has seven career wins leading all active drivers.
The No. 88 will be decked out in a throwback-style colors which honors the “Gray Ghost” paint scheme of Buddy Baker.
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The Pure Michigan 400 is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. ET start time (NBC Sports Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) on Sunday.