Dale Earnhardt Jr. paves the way for concussion awareness and a safer NASCAR

Editor’s note: Dale Earnhardt Jr. received medically clearance to resume racing in December 2016 and returned to competition at the beginning of the 2017 season. On Tuesday, citing that he wanted to walk away on his own terms, Earnhardt announced he is retiring from fulltime NASCAR competition effective at the end of the current season. The story that follows was originally published in July 2016.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is far more than NASCAR’s most popular driver, an award he’s won a record-tying 13 years running. He’s also the sport’s primary ambassador, a crossover star whose name resonates with those who cannot differentiate a lug nut from a tie rod yet are still drawn to the 41-year-old’s down-home country charm and thoughtful genuineness.

In recent years, however, Earnhardt has taken on a far more important role: NASCAR’s No.1 head injury advocate.

It has long been part of NASCAR’s fabric that drivers were expected to race hurt. If you could find a way to get yourself in the car, you were expected to do so. No excuses. Just grit it out and strap yourself behind the wheel.

NASCAR’s national championship was even constructed to reward those willing to “tough it out,” as points were awarded just for starting a race. And with the consequences for sitting out an event too detrimental to their title aspirations, drivers who often had no business being on the track felt compelled to race with injuries that otherwise would have had them sidelined.

This rudimentary way of thinking prompted Richard Petty to race with a broken neck, for Davey Allison to race with a broken right wrist requiring his team to Velcro his hand to the gear shifter and so on and so forth. Even Earnhardt fell victim to this culture of playing hurt when in 2002 he purposely hid a concussion for months out of fear he wouldn’t be allowed to race.

It was a ridiculous mindset desperately needing to evolve, but a leader was needed to spur the revolution to eradicate the tough guy ethos permeating within the sport.

Enter Earnhardt.

Ten years after refusing to say publicly he had a concussion, Earnhardt suffered a pair of concussions within a six-week span. After the second, which occurred in a multi-car crash during a race at Talladega Superspeedway, Earnhardt was medically cleared onsite. But still not feeling healthy, he took it upon himself to seek additional medical opinions.

What he learned changed not only his way of thinking, but also NASCAR’s entire approach to dealing with head injuries.

Following the diagnosis, Earnhardt disclosed the news and sat out two races to recuperate. That he did so on his own volition went against the essence of how drivers were supposed to act, especially those who were racing for a championship, as Earnhardt was that season.

However, instead of being disparaged for his decision, Earnhardt rightly received overwhelming praise. It takes a big man to admit something is wrong, and Earnhardt did just that. His health was too important, and by ignoring the signs he was not only endangering himself but other drivers.

Not coincidentally, NASCAR shortly thereafter overhauled how it handled concussions. Drivers were required to submit a baseline ImPACT test as a gauge to determine whether they could resume competing following a crash. Although some disagreed with NASCAR’s methods, its most popular figure was an unwavering staunch supporter.

Another major step to protect drivers from themselves was taken when NASCAR overhauled its Chase playoff format prior to the 2014 season. Incorporating a once unheard measure, officials now had the power to grant waivers to drivers needing to miss a race for medical reasons, thereby allowing them to maintain championship eligibility. Immediately the practice of drivers sacrificing the well-being of themselves and others just to win a title was discontinued.

In the years since, multiple drivers have received exemptions for injuries that previously may not have been reported lest they keep them from racing. In 2015, Kyle Busch received such a measure after breaking his leg in a crash, and after letting his body heal properly he used that second chance to go on and win the championship. Tony Stewart, who broke his back in a January all-terrain vehicle accident, finds himself in a similar situation this season, with a chance he wouldn’t have had just a few years ago.

Busch and Stewart wouldn’t have likely raced anyway because their injuries were too serious, but we cannot definitively say what desperate steps they may have taken in the name of competition.

It is not hyperbole to say that, without Earnhardt at the forefront, NASCAR may not have been as quick to modify its longstanding policies. In March, he went a step further by pledging his brain to science for concussion research.

But it is also due to Earnhardt’s awareness of the long-term effects head injuries can have on his health, as well as his advocacy on the topic, that there is the very real possibility the 41-year-old may not return this season. He announced on Thursday that he’ll sit out Sunday’s race at New Hampshire because he’s suffering from concussion-like symptoms following two accidents in a three-race stretch from June 12 to July 2.

Neither Earnhardt nor Hendrick Motorsports have laid out any timetable for a possible return, and with Earnhardt’s history he understands as well as anyone what the ramifications are if he were to continue subjecting himself to additional concussions.

Many injuries can be overcome or outright ignored. Head injuries simply aren’t one of them. That’s a fact Earnhardt unfortunately knows all too well.