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Posted on 02/24/2017 8:40:07 PM PST by MtnClimber
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. wanted to smoke some brisket, like a lot of brisket, hopefully a nice 15-pound chunk of it. This was late last summer, the summer that was churning on without him.
He wasn’t racing. He wasn’t traveling every week. He wasn’t in the constant state of movement that had defined his existence for 17 racing seasons, if not before – the 200-mile-per-hour life of a NASCAR megastar.
He was sitting around a lot, sitting in his living room in Mooresville, N.C., recovering from a concussion suffered after hitting the wall in June at Michigan International Speedway. He was in a bad way – serious symptoms, serious doubts, enough to keep him out of the final 18 races of the 2016 season.
The idea that he would get to where he is now, set to start second in Sunday’s Daytona 500, set to begin another full season with championship aspirations, was by no means certain. Six weeks after the wreck he could sit calmly on his couch and “convince myself I was 100 percent,” he said, but he knew that wasn’t reality.......
In this case it was one hand on the cart and one hand on some shelving. He stayed upright. He tried to regain his senses. He has no idea if anyone else saw him.......
For many, this might have been a sign that it was over. Any fellow shopper who saw Dale Earnhardt Jr. nearly hit the linoleum had to lose faith.
When six weeks after a wreck you can’t manage to buy brisket and pickled bar props, when you can’t deal with Sam’s Club, how could you ever deal with pack racing and young guns who aren’t afraid to rub you up against the wall?
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
It sounds like that was a very serious concussion that Jr had at Michigan last year. Now he qualified 2nd for the Daytona 500. But, qualifying is very tame compared to the race.
..extra gas?
Man, his father is a total legend. Can’t believe it’s been 16 years already. I wonder how Junior felt. In fact, he was in the exact same accident a week later and I thought he was a goner too.
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I was at a Daytona 500 party here in Colorado when Dale Sr had the crash. Most people there were HUGE #3 fans. I commented that I thought the angle he hit the wall looked really bad. It was not until the next morning that the announcement of the terrible news was made. It does not seem like it was that long ago. I hope Jr gets to retire without another concussion.
I remember. Soon after Dale Sr. was killed Peter Brock died in a very similar accident at the Bathurst Speedway in Australia. Like with Dale Sr, the crash didn’t appear to be serious but Brock died of the same type of injuries.
Very tragic events, but at least the Hans Device became mandatory to reduce risk of future incidents.
I’m happy he has the number 2 start. I’d like to see him have a great year, maybe a championship year, and retire safely. Good luck this weekend, Junior!
ping
I'm givin' Amy, Dale Jr's wife much of the credit for his return to health and racing. They are a team!
I’m surprised Dale is returning to racing. Don’t know how much I will be posting on these threads as I’ll turn 84 in a couple of months and have not joined the League this season but Keep me on the ping list...
and they softened up the turns with the barriers. I have seen some really hard knocks had full throttle where the driver hops out of his ride and the car is nothing left after the safety barriers have been installed. Amazing technology, Styrofoam and wave action
Feel the same way - there’s no Pontiac’s, Oldsmobile’s Chrysler’s or Big bad Dodge Chargers- NASCAR is boring as Hell
I agree Liberty. We have a family friend that is at Jr’s house at least once a week and she notes that Amy has made Jr think about his life what is truly most important.
I’m givin’ Amy, Dale Jr’s wife much of the credit for his return to health and racing. They are a team!
I smacked my head 2 years ago(fell in garage), knocked out 8 teeth and broke some bone, still not the same.
Took a year to be able to ride a motorbike again and even then it was terrifying.
Balance is something you do not notice until it is not working right.
There is something about Nascar here...http://www.nascar.com/en_us/race-center/2017/xfinity-series/powershares-qqq-300.race.html
Great article in last Thursdays Wall Street Journal, front page in fact, about the state of NASCAR these days. TV viewership down almost 50% from a few years ago. Attendance at tracks dramatically down also. The article went in-depth about the France family’s history in the sport and strongly insinuated the France family was the problem. They had a quote from Richard Petty complaining that lack of leadership at the top was sorely lacking. Mentioned Monster Energys sponsorship at 20M per year and NASCAR had wanted much much more but couldn’t sell the name. After 10 years on the FR league I decided to hang it up this year. Rule changes have gotten to be beyond ridiculous and the 3-tiered points system for each race was the straw that broke this dogs back. I’ll watch a few races but my excitement and commitment to NASCAR is down the ‘tubes. Err, sorry ‘bender.
I couldn’t have said it better Big Dog...
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