During the final years of competition, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s zeal for NASCAR and racing at large was so intense that, despite enduring over a dozen concussions, he managed to keep most under wraps. Over time, however, the symptoms became too problematic to mask, compelling him to seek medical intervention. The 2016 crash at Michigan International Speedway marked a turning point, igniting fears so profound that he opted for retirement the following year.
Advertisement
He shared that his medical team pinpointed the onset of his concussion-like symptoms to that fateful crash in Michigan. He narrated that he didn’t notice anything immediately, but a few weeks later, the symptoms blindsided him, noting that his doctors were convinced the incident in Michigan was the catalyst. His symptoms, which included vision and balance issues, evolved slowly, making it difficult to predict a recovery timeline.
Earnhardt underwent extensive testing to eliminate other potential causes such as Lyme disease and inner-ear complications. The impact forced him to sit out the remainder of the season post-Kentucky Speedway race. Yet, against all odds, Dale Jr. staged a return in 2017, announcing it would be his farewell season.
He said, “Racers get every injury you can think of, from broken legs to cracked collarbones. But it was concussions, not fractures, that forced me to retire as a full-time Nascar driver in 2017.”
During a revealing conversation with Jeff Gordon just before the 2017 season kicked off, Dale Jr. shared the extent of his post-crash ordeal, saying, “I keep a crash log. I write it down in this little crash log that my balance is weird and my vision, which I had never really had any vision issues. I couldn’t take a step without my eyes bouncing around.”
He continued, describing the severity of his symptoms, “And the sobriety test where you put one foot in front of the other, I couldn’t take one step. I needed to hold on to something to do it. You don’t know whether that’s permanent, whether it’s not, going to go away in two days, six months, two years, you don’t know.”
This uncertainty led him to a startling realization: “I was like, never driving again! No way! Racing did this to me. I wanted to get as far away from that as I could. Forget being a driver. I want to just be regular.”
The timing of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s concussion in the same year he was set to marry his now-wife, Amy, only heightened his fears. He openly shared that he was looking forward to marriage, starting a family, and exploring life beyond the racetrack. Fortunately, as his condition improved, he was able to fully savor his wedding and the subsequent honeymoon.
Concussions are a stark reality in the lives of NASCAR drivers. Some, like Ricky Craven, endure long-term effects; he suffered a concussion after a crash during a practice session at Texas in 1997, which immediately sidelined him for two races, and then symptoms persisted, pulling him out of the cockpit again four months later.
Meanwhile, Dale Earnhardt Jr. managed to overcome his concussion issues. Although he scaled back from full-time competition, he remains active, racing part-time in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and late model series.
