Dale Earnhardt Jr. will not compete in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after experiencing concussion-like symptoms, his Hendrick Motorsports team announced Thursday.
In the release, the team said Earnhardt was evaluated this week in Charlotte (N.C.) and on Thursday was not cleared by physicians to race. Alex Bowman will be the team’s substitute driver this weekend at New Hampshire (1:30 p.m. on NBCSN).
“I wasn’t feeling great the week going into Kentucky (Speedway) and thought it was possibly severe allergies,” Earnhardt said. “I saw a family doctor and was given medication for allergies and a sinus infection. When that didn’t help, I decided to dig a little deeper. Because of my symptoms and my history with concussions, and after my recent wrecks at Michigan and Daytona, I reached out and met with a neurological specialist. After further evaluation, they felt it was best for me to sit out.
“I’m disappointed about missing New Hampshire this weekend. I’m looking forward to treatment with the goal of getting back in the race car when the doctors say I’m ready.”
A timetable for Earnhardt’s return is still unknown.
Bowman raced fulltime in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2014 and 2015, with a best finish of 13th at Daytona in July of 2014. He has competed in four NASCAR XFINITY Series races this season, all with Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports race team.
This is the second time Earnhardt has pulled himself from competition for concussion-related issues. In 2012, he missed two races during the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup after a wreck at Talladega Superspeedway.
“I’m proud of Dale for standing up,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “The No. 1 priority is his health, so we’re going to give him all the time he needs. We completely support the decision by the doctors and will be ready to go win races when he’s 100 percent. In the meantime, we have full confidence in (crew chief) Greg (Ives) and the team, and we know they’ll do a great job.”
Earnhardt Jr.’s misfortune may turn into a coming-out party for Jeff Gordon — coming out of retirement, that is.
Earnhardt’s status for future races this season remains uncertain.
Should Earnhardt have to miss next week’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports already has a super sub lined up to replace him.
“If Dale is not able to go to Indianapolis, we will put Jeff Gordon in the car,” said Hendrick Motorsports General Manager Doug Duchardt.
The choice is logical. Fox Sports has completed its portion of the Sprint Cup season, and Gordon’s services as a booth analyst aren’t required for the rest of the year. Consider also that Gordon has five victories at the Brickyard, a record for the vaunted track.
Whether Gordon returns to race at Indy, however, depends on the prognosis for Earnhardt, who was advised by doctors this week not to race at Loudon. Alex Bowman, initially contacted as a possible relief for Earnhardt before the extent of his condition was known, is driving the No. 88 Chevrolet this weekend.
“Alex came in Tuesday night to get fitted for the car,” Duchardt said. “And at that time, it was in the contingency that he would have to backfill for Dale after Dale started the race.
“Dale then went and saw a team of neurologists and in the past two days has been going through some tests. (Thursday) around noon is when I found out that Dale could not be in the car for this weekend, based on their suggestion.”
Earnhardt’s health issues also bring an important opportunity to Bowman, who drives a limited NASCAR XFINITY Series schedule for JR Motorsports.
“Yeah, it’s been a crazy 12 hours, for sure,” Bowman said on Friday morning at NHMS. “I think the first time (crew chief) Greg (Ives) called me, I was at work, so I didn’t even answer. But it’s definitely not the circumstances that I want to get an opportunity like this. Obviously I’m hoping Dale feels better, but at the same time, it’s the best opportunity I’ve ever had in my life.
“I’m ready to just plug into their program and do my job. I’ll give them the best feedback I can and go from there. I’m really confident in the whole team. Obviously, they bring great race cars to the track every weekend, so if I just do my job, I feel like we would be good to plug into it.”
Duchardt declined to speculate whether Gordon would substitute for Earnhardt in additional races, if necessary.