Team owner says Dale Earnhardt Jr. should receive medical clearance in December

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is expected to be medically cleared to return from a concussion next month, team owner Rick Hendrick said Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Earnhardt has not raced since July 9 after sustaining a concussion in a June 12 crash at Michigan International Speedway. It was NASCAR’s most popular driver’s third concussion in four years. He missed two races with a concussion in 2012.

Throughout his recovery, Earnhardt has said he was targeting a return for the 2017 season-opening Daytona 500 in February. Hendrick’s comments Friday would fit the timetable Earnhardt has laid out.

“Sometime in December the doctor is going to give him the final clearance, then he’ll be back in the car,” Hendrick said at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday. “He feels great. Everything is on track. Every step that we supposedly need to go through, we’ve gone through. So I don’t see anything holding us back.

“He sent me a text the other day he was excited and waiting for Daytona.”

Alex Bowman and Jeff Gordon have shared driving Earnhardt’s No. 88 car during his absence. The 23-year-old Bowman will start Sunday’s finale, and has impressed in his stint as Earnhardt’s fill-in. He led the most laps and nearly won last week’s event at Phoenix International Raceway, and has three top-10 finishes in nine races.

Bowman’s performance has raised speculation whether Hendrick will attempt to help find a full-time opportunity for 2017, something Bowman has not been able to finalize. But Hendrick didn’t seem optimistic about Bowman’s chances of securing a permanent seat either with his team or elsewhere.

“Alex is a good guy,” Hendrick said. “He’s helped us in a lot of ways and we’re just taking that a day at a time. He’s done test for us. He’s done simulation for us. He’s really done a good job. We’re just taking it a day at a time. We don’t really have any certain plans.”