The concussion that will keep Dale Earnhardt Jr. out of the next two Cup races has ramifications beyond the future of NASCAR racing’s most popular driver.
One of the most-asked questions in the wake of the Earnhardt announcement was whether NASCAR and medical personnel at race tracks can or should do more to help identify possible concussions and what that might mean in terms of withholding drivers from competition.
Given that a description of symptoms is usually necessary to diagnose a concussion, the bottom line is that accurate identification of a concussion depends in large part on the cooperation and honesty of the driver.
Earnhardt chose not to seek treatment after a hard wreck during testing Aug. 29 at Kansas and continued to drive, though he acknowledged Thursday that he was less than 100 percent before the Chase for the Sprint Cup started.
After a wreck at Talladega on Sunday, Earnhardt had a persistent headache and sought medical advice from neurologist Dr. Jerry Petty, who held Earnhardt out of at least the next two races, pending further evaluation after he is symptom-free.
“It will probably help to go back to Kansas and what happened,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR vice president of racing operations. “He was seen by an ambulance, proper safety measures were in place, he was cleared. I talked to (Kansas Speedway president) Pat Warren at the track. He had conversations with Junior, post-incident, and everything seemed fine.
“So that’s where I would say the process of an evaluation for any athlete or driver – it’s not just NASCAR making the call. It has to be the driver as well, letting us know how he’s feeling. Part of that we can always evaluate as we will. We’ll look at Kansas and see what we may be able to do better.”
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