Dale Earnhardt Jr. returns to NASCAR in Daytona 500 practice

Dale Earnhardt Jr. may have not taken part in any NASCAR race-weekend activity in seven months because of a concussion, but neither he nor his team were in any hurry to get onto the track for the first practice session of the 2017 season Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.

When the four-hour practice began for Sunday’s Daytona 500 qualifying, the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team was in no rush to get onto the track. Earnhardt didn’t put a wheel on the 2.5-mile tri-oval until nearly an hour had elapsed. It marked the first time he had taken part in an official on-track session since racing July 9, 2016 at Kentucky Speedway.

Earnhardt removed himself from the car two days after Kentucky owing to a concussion he had sustained in a June 12 accident at Michigan International Speedway, with the symptoms not manifesting until days afterward that Earnhardt initially believed were related to a sinus infection. He would go on to miss the entire second half of the 2016 season recovering from what was his third concussion in four years.

“It felt good,” Earnhardt said. “I was not really nervous, but today went really smooth. Didn’t have any problems, so we just kind of got everything done we wanted to do and the guys will go to work and try to put together a good car for qualifying and hopefully we will get out there and get a good lap in.”

Before Daytona, Earnhardt obtained medical clearance to return by completing a NASCAR-supervised test at Darlington Raceway in December, then took part in a test last month at Phoenix International Raceway.

But Saturday was the first time behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet in an official capacity. He completed nine laps, posting a fast speed of 192.680, the 11th-fastest speed overall out of 42 cars that clocked a time. Joey Logano’s 193.116 mph lap topped the session.

Daytona is one of Earnhardt’s best tracks. He is a two-time Daytona 500 winner and has twice been victorious in the track’s July race.

“It felt good to just get out there and get to work a little bit and be with the guys and see all the familiar faces in the garage, other drivers and team members and so forth,” Earnhardt said. “Just trying to put as many laps as I can behind me and get further and further into this deal to where the events from last year become more of a distant memory and don’t define me as who I am so much anymore.

“It will be good to get in the car and get some good wins and good finishes under our belt this season. That is our plan.”