DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Following the announcement that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would not be returning to the No. 88 Chevrolet SS for the remainder of the 2016 season, the driver, along with Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick and Dr. Micky Collins (director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program) met with members of the media Sunday to discuss Earnhardt's rehabilitation progress.
Earnhardt said he is continually seeing progress, with improvements showing from his gaze stability to his balance.
"It seems like this has lasted a really, really long time but when you look at it on paper it’s been a very short period and the gains that I’ve felt in that short period are giving me a lot of confidence that this is going in the right direction and all the hard work we’re doing is paying off," the driver said.
Collins described Earnhardt as a "model patient" and said he is working as hard as any patient he's ever treated.
"He’s feeling better, he can tolerate a lot more, he’s having fewer and fewer symptoms and is doing very well and to me, that is the number one goal, to get Dale to feel as a normal human being," Collins said. "The second goal is Dale becoming a race car driver again and yes, we will be working on that as well and I’m very confident that we’re moving in the right direction in that respect."
Earnhardt originally thought the rehabilitation process would be similar to what he experienced in 2012 when he missed two races due to a concussion. However, the driver said he quickly realized that this process would require a different timeline for healing.
"You don’t know how long this process is going to take and we want to be healthy and be able to compete at some point," Earnhardt said, "but also, we don’t want to take any risks to re-injure ourselves or put ourselves in a situation where we can basically erase all the hard work we’ve done to get better."
Considering how he feels personally and physically, the driver said he fully believes the decision to sit out the remainder of the season was the best choice. With that in mind, Earnhardt and Hendrick are excited about his return.
“I want him to race with me as long as he can and he wants to be there," Hendrick said of Earnhardt. "The seat is his and I expect, we’ve got a lot of time between now and Daytona. I saw him like two or three weeks ago and then I saw him last Monday and I saw him today; the improvements have been phenomenal and listening to the doctor we are excited about Dale Earnhardt Jr. being in the car at Daytona and we’ve got right much time. We're excited about him racing beyond 2017.”
"My heart wants me to continue and wants me to continue to be working with the guys I’ve got," Earnhardt said. "I’m only 41. I think I have some good years left. I’m as good as I have ever been inside the car. My ability to communicate and drive the car and get everything out of it, I feel very confident. I feel like I’m still an asset to the team and to the company. Rick likes to say we have unfinished business. I certainly feel the same way. We have races to win."