October 29, 2012
By Matthew Pizzolato
Matthew Pizzolato
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Dale Earnhardt Jr., made headlines a couple of weeks ago when he announced that he would be sitting out two races because of a concussion he suffered during a 25 car pileup at Talladega. He made them again by returning to racing this weekend at Martinsville.
Other drivers, most notably his teammates, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon have stated that it would be hard to step out of the car if they were in the midst of a tight championship battle. Gordon even admitted that he would go so far as to hide a concussion under those circumstances if he were to suffer one.
The symptoms that Earnhardt suffered opened his eyes to the seriousness and danger that repeated concussions can cause to the human brain.
"It changes the way I feel about it to where if I know I’ve suffered another concussion, or if I have symptoms after an accident, I'm definitely going to be a lot more responsible about it," Earnhardt was quoted as saying. "I can understand people's opinions that they would try to push through it, or they would ignore it to stay in the car because I did the same thing in the past."
That is something that is a cause for concern because there is no telling how many of the other drivers in that 25 car pileup may have suffered a concussion but didn't report it. How many drivers have kept them hidden over the years?
This season was the best chance that Earnhardt has had at a championship in a long time. Granted, he wasn't in the midst of a tight battle, but sitting out two races effectively ended any chance he may have had.
Admitting that he had a concussion and allowing his doctors to sideline him for two weeks took a lot of courage, and still, he had reservations about it.
"I felt like I could have raced in Kansas for sure, and probably ran at Charlotte with no problem," Earnhardt was quoted as saying during a press conference this weekend at Martinsville. "I feel foolish... you know... I feel kind of foolish sitting at home feeling okay, and not being in the car."
While he did feel sort of foolish for missing those races, he did issue a warning to his fellow drivers who might think they can keep racing despite suffering a concussion.
"Some concussions are really bad, and I don’t care how tough you think you are, and your mind is not working the way it is supposed to, it scares the shit out of you," Earnhardt said at Martinsville. "You are not going to think about race cars. You aren't going to think about trophies. You are not going to think about your job. You're going to be thinking about what do I got to do to get my brain working the way it was before. That's going to jump right to the top of the priority list, I promise you."
He may have decided to seek medical attention in the interest of his own health, but in doing so, he served a greater purpose.
"I want to be able to live a full life and not have any issues down the road, but I feel pretty fortunate to have recovered from this concussion rather quickly. I feel lucky that I made the choices that I did to give myself that opportunity."
Ultimately, his decision not to race brought awareness to the concussions in NASCAR and proved that no only is NASCAR's Most Popular Driver a leader on the track and in the garage, he is one off of it as well.
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