Dale Earnhardt Jr Concussion - He's Out Of Car & This Impacts More than Team

With Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s concussion that is forcing him to step out of the No. 88 Chevy for the next few weeks is an interesting or important event.  But how important?  If you think about it, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stepping out of the car impacts

• His own day
• The team, Hendrick Motor Sports
• The sport, NASCAR as folks look at the company's response to this situation,
• And possibly any motorsport.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. having a concussion that pulls him out of a car is big news.  Dale Jr. is THE name driver of NASCAR and this event will span not just headlines within NASCAR, but headlines around the world.  And people will start looking at this aspect of the sport.  And no, Talladega didn't cause it... it was brewing from an earlier hit at Kansas in a tire test.

Sure, there are safety systems in place to help the driver survive crashes, but they're designed to prevent whiplash effects on the body itself.  But when the body stops suddenly, the brain still sloshes around.  I had a bicycle accident where I went from 30 to 0 instantly. I never hit my head, but the sudden stop gave me a doozy of a spin cycle in my brain and I had a concussion from the sudden stop.

Some folks are saying he needs to man up.  Sure, ask Rusty Wallace about that.  He had issues with shaking his head and getting dizzy for 15 years.  So one has to look down the road and not ignore the idea of the quality of life in the golden years.

It doesn't make the headlines often, but if you look around, I'm betting there are a lot of old football players that aren't doing too well. 

Many are saying kudos to Earnhardt Jr. for getting out of the car, but in the reality of the game, he can.  Other drivers who aren't on the radar don't have this luxury.  If they get out of a car, does their replacement do better than they do?  Or are they not missed by the sponsor.  Right now, Regan Smith is sitting in the No. 88.  His new ride, the No. 51, where he was taking over for Kurt Busch, will have A.J. Allmendinger driving for him.  ( I saw twitter reports that AJ couldn't reach the pedals and they were scrambling to fix the car for that)

This kind of smart move is something Dale can do.  Can or will other drivers do this?  It's not the kind of job you can call in sick, you only get in the seat 36 official times a year.  Period.

Hopefully we'll see Dale Jr. back in the car in the right amount of time to safely compete again.  Not the soonest amount of time, but the best amount of time.  And hope we don't have too many other guys out there driving dizzy or with headaches.

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But these things are nothing to mock about.  People who don't remember family or friends from good hits is a scary situation.  Having your career pulled up because of concussions is not a great experience.

Right now, his doctor's orders are to do nothing and rest his brain.  No video games, nothing mentally challenging.  They say he feels fine, so it's not like he's staggering around and not knowing anyone.  This is a purely precautionary move that he gets out of the car.

And now, it's time for Regan Smith to shine, as he takes over the No. 88 wheel.  And what's cool, is that HMS went after him...  that says something about him I'd think.