Dale Earnhardt Jr. to remain sidelined for the next 2 NASCAR races

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will miss at least the next two Sprint Cup races as he continues to recover from a concussion, Hendrick Motorsports announced Tuesday. Jeff Gordon will continue to substitute during Earnhardt’s absence.

Earnhardt has missed the past three races since he began experiencing concussion-like symptoms following the July 2 race at Daytona International Speedway. During an appearance on The Dale Jr. Download podcast on Monday, Earnhardt said doctors told him they believe the symptoms stem from a crash he was involved in during the June 12 race at Michigan International Speedway.

The 41-year-old NASCAR driver will miss upcoming races Sunday at Watkins Glen International and Aug. 20 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Sprint Cup Series is off the week between Watkins Glen and Bristol.

Earnhardt’s symptoms pertain to balance, vision and nausea, issues he’s never experienced previously when dealing with a concussion in 2002 and two within a six-week span in 2012.

“This is scary for me because of the way it’s been different,” Earnhardt said Monday. “I’m having balance issues. I’ve never had balance issues before. The eye issues with the stability, I’ve never had that before.”

Doctors from University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program have been treating Earnhardt, who underwent an examination at the clinic on Tuesday and tweeted a photo of crew chief Greg Ives accompanying him on the trip.

Earnhardt said on Monday’s podcast there are days when he feels better and other days when he feels no progress, and is frustrated that he’s not shown more improvement. Doctors recommended he place himself in areas with bustling noise to stimulate his mind, which would then trigger his symptoms. Earnhardt has done so by regularly visiting his race teams and going to restaurants and grocery stores.

“Anywhere you go with a lobby and a lot of movement and chatter and things happening -- you’re in motion, you’re observing a lot of different things,” Earnhardt said. “That really drives the symptoms up. So my doctor wants me to expose myself to that.

“Don’t shy away from doing these things because you think it’s going to make you feel bad. ... Go there and if it makes you feel bad, that’s fine. Just don’t make yourself sick. Once you’ve had your fill of exposing yourself to heavy symptoms, get in a calm place you’re comfortable and get back to feeling great. Keep doing that. Expose yourself and recover, throughout the day. You’re basically re-acclimating yourself to things that are driving your brain crazy.”

Gordon, who turns 45 on Thursday, filled in Monday at Pocono Raceway and July 24 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway driving Earnhardt’s No. 88 car, while Alex Bowman drove July 17 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen signifies Gordon’s 800th NASCAR premier division start.

There is no timetable on when Earnhardt may return to racing.

“We have a break in the schedule after Watkins Glen, so the extra week of recovery time will certainly be a benefit,” team owner Rick Hendrick said. “Dale will be back when he’s ready, and we’re looking forward to that happening, but the priority continues to be his health and well-being. We’ll keep our focus on that and let the doctors guide us.”