Earnhardt cleared to return to racing

Dale Earnhardt Jr has been cleared to return to NASCAR Sprint Cup competition this weekend at Martinsville Speedway after his injury lay-off.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver successfully completed a test at the half-mile Gresham Motorsports Park on Monday, running 123 laps while monitored by his neurosurgeon and NASCAR consultant Dr Jerry Petty.

Dr Petty also consulted through the process with Dr Micky Collins, director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre sports medicine concussion programme, where Earnhardt was evaluated last week.

Following Earnhardt’s final neurological test on Tuesday, Dr Petty gave NASCAR’s most popular driver the green light to return to racing.

“Dale Jr has done everything asked of him,” Dr Petty said. “He hasn’t had a headache since October 12, and we have not been able to provoke any symptoms since that time.

“I have informed NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports that he is medically cleared for all NASCAR-related activity.”

Earnhardt missed the Chase rounds at Charlotte and Kansas after he was diagnosed with a concussion following a last-lap crash at Talladega and a previous incident while testing at Kansas six weeks earlier.

He currently ranks 12th in the Cup standings, having run one of his most consistent seasons and his strongest since joining Hendrick in 2008.

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/nascar-news/nascar/earnhardt-cleared-to-return-to-racing

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