It took less than four laps for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to feel back at home in his race car. His test this week at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway was the final hurdle for NASCAR's most popular driver to earn clearance to compete next season, and he passed.
The test ended months of speculation about whether Earnhardt should retire. A detailed medical plan helped get him back on the track when many thought he should just step away for good.
"When you get something taken away from you, you certainly realize what it's worth," Earnhardt said Friday. "I'm feeling recharged and energized about coming back ready to race. I've got a lot left in the tank."
And he wants to make something perfectly clear: He would not be climbing back into the No. 88 Chevrolet if his doctors had not assured him that he's healthy and his past concussion history hasn't put him at a heightened risk of permanent injury.
"I have a personal responsibility to myself," he said. "I am not going to take any unnecessary risks with my health."
Earnhardt's lengthy history with concussions flared again this year after a crash at Michigan in June. He missed the final 18 races of the season and spent that time in intensive therapy meant to first help him control vision, balance and nausea. Testing that began Wednesday with 15-lap bursts and continued for longer and longer runs indicated, Earnhardt said, that his vision and balance were even improving between runs.
"Felt like an old shoe by the end of the day," Earnhardt said. "I felt really, really confident that by the end of the day, I was 100 percent ready to get back in the car."
Around the horn
Golf: Harris English and Matt Kuchar shot a 6-under 66 in modified alternate shot play to take the second-round lead in the Franklin Templeton Shootout in Naples, Fla. Wisconsin friends Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly were a stroke back after a 68.
