NASCAR announced Thursday that it would require drivers to take the ImPACT test before the season and the test would be used to help clear a driver who suffers a concussion.
Earnhardt did not inform NASCAR personnel of his concussions as he was quickly treated following the first accident at an August tire test at Kansas Speedway, and then was not looked at by medical personnel following an Oct. 7 wreck at Talladega. He visited a doctor two days later after suffering concussion symptoms and missed the next two weeks.
He underwent the ImPACT — Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing — test after Talladega to help determine his progress. He was under the care of Dr. Micky Collins of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for Sports Medicine.
“I think it's an exciting opportunity for us to have a better benchmark to be able to diagnose and be able to treat (concussions)," Earnhardt told USA Today Friday. "It's one small piece of the entire diagnosis of a concussion, but it's important and I'm encouraged by it.”
Collins helped develop the ImPACT test at the request of the NFL. The test is most effective when someone takes it before getting injured and the results can be compared to after an injury.
The test measures verbal and visual memory, processing speed, and reaction time.
Drivers have expressed hesitation with the test because they want to know what type of results would keep them out of the car.
“I hope drivers really wrap themselves around it and take it seriously,” Earnhardt said. “I know some guys are going to not feel comfortable with it because it's not familiar, but it's a really smart thing to sort of grasp and understand, and I think it's great NASCAR is taking that proactive approach."
KESELOWSKI: DOCTORS KEEP OUT
Don’t count Brad Keselowski among the drivers happy that NASCAR is mandating neurocognitive baseline testing starting in 2014.
The 2012 Sprint Cup champion has been skeptical on how standards are set for how drivers are cleared to race after a concussion, so it is not a surprise that he is hesitant about the new policy.
“Doctors don’t understand our sport,” Keselowski said Friday at Martinsville Speedway. “They never have. Doctors aren’t risk takers. We are.
“That’s what makes our sport what it is. When you get doctors involved, you water down our sport. … This is not the field for doctors. Let them play in their arena and I’ll play in mine.”
Keselowski said evaluating and studying concussions in NASCAR is different than in other sports, especially the NFL.
“An NFL player doesn’t walk on the field and say, ‘Today might be the day where I die,’” Keselowski said. “He doesn’t make a decision when he gets out on the field that could effect the health of others. That’s a pretty distinct difference.
“He makes a decision whether or not he takes another hit whether he’ll be able to enjoy his livelihood.”
ARE KENSETH, J.J. NEW BFFs?
If NASCAR fans want a mean-spirited rivalry for the Sprint Cup title, they won’t get one from Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth.
The two title contenders are sending jokes to each other via texts. Johnson even did a 20-mile run Thursday and finished it strong after his trainer challenged him by saying “20 for the 20 (Kenseth's car number).”
“We’ve had a good banter texting back and forth,” Johnson said Friday at Martinsville Speedway, where Johnson has eight career Cup wins. “For a guy that come across dry at times, we all know he’s awfully funny.
“He asked me to not pester him and ask him for too many tips this weekend.”
What in the LOL is going on? NASCAR has two past champions — Kenseth won the title in 2003 and Johnson won five consecutive championships from 2006-2010 — who have respect for each other.
Johnson leads Kenseth by four points with four races left in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch loom at 26 points back.
With his win in April at Martinsville being his eighth at the track, Johnson is considered the prohibitive favorite for the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 on Sunday.
Johnson has led 2,327 laps in his career at Martinsville, while Kenseth had led 169 with just eight top-10s in 27 starts. Kenseth’s average finish is 15.8 at the 0.526-mile track while Johnson’s is 5.3. Kenseth, in his first year at Joe Gibbs Racing, did lead 96 laps on his way to a 14th-place finish at Martinsville in April.
Kenseth, well aware of the difference, texted Johnson Thursday, starting the conversation with something like: “We’re friends and all, but I’d appreciate you refraining from asking too much advice or pointers about this weekend at Martinsville. I hope you would understand and not be offended.”
Johnson said he responded: “I completely understand. I wish I can offer you some help one of these days.”
TAME TALLADEGA MYSTERY
A week after an unusually tame race at Talladega Superspeedway, fans are still wondering why the race didn’t feature the big, multicar crash typical of Talladega or the wild racing that was expected at the end. So are the drivers and teams.
“Any team member or driver I’ve seen this week all asked the same question: Why wasn’t everybody wanting to race?” points leader Jimmie Johnson said. “I don’t know. We had more side-by-side action on Lap 1 and Lap 100 and on through than we did the last few laps.”
The sixth Chase for the Sprint Cup event was expected to be wild, with a typical multicar crash possibly shaking up the standings and the finish coming down to a wild scramble at the end.
Instead, there were just three caution flags — one for fluid on the track and two for two-car wrecks. And the race was mostly single-file at the end, with few drivers making moves until Austin Dillon crashed on the final lap, causing the race to end under caution. Jamie McMurray took the checkered flag after runnerup Dale Earnhardt Jr. was unable to make a move for the lead.
“I think everybody, especially the first five to 10 positions, they were waiting for their opportunity, waiting for someone to pull out, and … no one made a move,” said Johnson, who led a race-high 47 laps but finished 13th. “I can’t quite explain it, I’m a little puzzled by it myself.”
Johnson tried to make a run to the front at the end, but couldn’t get a drafting partner to go with him. Neither could Matt Kenseth, who finished 20th and lost the points lead to Johnson.
Johnson expects things to get a bit more physical this week at Martinsville.
“This week, it’s a short track so all the cautious driving is going to go out the window,” he said.
DANICA, BOYFRIEND WRECK
Danica Patrick backed her car into the wall during practice Friday and had to go to a backup car for the Sprint Cup race Sunday at Martinsville.
The wreck occurred after Patrick had completed about 35 laps about 30 minutes into the 90-minute practice session on the 0.526-mile track. The damage to the rear of her car was too much for the team to repair.
Because she went to a backup car prior to qualifying, Patrick will start where she qualifies and will not have to go to the rear of the field.
A few minutes later, Patrick's boyfriend, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., also lost control of his car and slapped the wall at Martinsville.
DALE JR. SPONSOR RETURNS
The National Guard will return as Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s sponsor next season, agreeing to back Earnhardt's No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team for one more season.
The National Guard extended its contract with Earnhardt and Hendrick through 2014. It will be the primary sponsor for 20 Sprint Cup races next season.
Earnhardt has not won a race since June of 2012 but returned to the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the third straight season. He currently is sixth in the Sprint Cup standings after finishing second last week at Talladega.
SADLER GLAD TO HELP VICKERS
Elliott Sadler was supposed to drive Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 55 car nearly 19 months ago, but Richard Childress Racing eventually decided that one of its Nationwide Series drivers shouldn’t race for a competitor with a different car manufacturer.
Sadler, who now drives in Nationwide for Toyota-backed Joe Gibbs Racing, will finally get that chance as the substitute driver for Brian Vickers.
Vickers will miss the rest of the season after being put on blood thinners for a blood clot in his right calf. Sadler will replace Vickers for the final four races in the No. 55 Toyota.
Vickers also drives for JGR’s Nationwide team and has become a friend of Sadler's this year. Sadler already had a strong friendship with team co-owner Michael Waltrip.
“The conversation I’ve had with Brian Vickers the last couple of days has been very special,” Sadler said. “I want to get in here and do a good job for him in his racecar while he gets back 100 percent. It’s neat sometimes how opportunities come and go.
“This is a great opportunity for me. It’s cool to be with this race team a year and a half later. We want to go make the most of it. But it’s a pretty unique situation where you’re really helping out some friends.”
Two weeks ago, Vickers was diagnosed with the blood clot, and he was immediately put on blood thinners. Vickers missed the majority of the 2010 season because of blood clots and eventually had heart surgery.
Sadler had a long talk this week with Vickers, who is expected to come to the race Sunday and address the media. MWR and Vickers have said that he should be ready for the 2014 season.
“We had a long discussion the other night and I think I felt worse than he did,” Sadler said. “His attitude through this has absolutely been amazing and I told him, ‘Man, I think you’re a bigger man than I am the way you’re handling this and as professional as you’re being.’”
ROCKINGHAM OFF TRUCK SCHEDULE
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will return to two tracks that had not played host to races in recent years but will not return to Rockingham Speedway in 2014.
NASCAR announced the return of Gateway Motorsports Park in St. Louis, where the trucks last raced in 2010, and New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where it last raced in 2011, to the 2014 schedule.
The series made a celebrated return to Rockingham in 2012 but will not be returning in 2014. The series schedule will again include 22 races as Iowa Speedway will play host to only one race instead of two next year.
2014 Camping World Truck Series schedule:
Feb. 21: Daytona Mar. 29: Martinsville May 9: Kansas May 16: Charlotte May 30: Dover June 6: Texas June 14: Gateway June 26: Kentucky July 12: Iowa July 23: Eldora Aug. 2: Pocono Aug. 16: Michigan Aug. 20: Bristol Aug. 31: Bowmanville, Ontario Sept. 12: Chicagoland Sept. 20: New Hampshire Sept. 27: Las Vegas Oct. 18: Talladega Oct. 25: Martinsville Oct. 31: Texas Nov. 7: Phoenix Nov. 14: Homestead
TWEETS OF THE DAY
What sports figures are cramming into 140 characters that you’ve got to hear.
“Seriously a girl came to the track… 1. Wearing heels 2. Wearing a dress 3. It’s 50 degrees out 4. Yeppppp, you’e a DA!” — Darrell Wallace Jr.
“So cute how Danica and Ricky do everything together. #nascar #Martinsville” — NASCAR fan @nascarasm on Danica Patrick and boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who both wrecked in practice Friday
