Dale Earnhardt Jr. ready to return to racing, get married

LAS VEGAS — Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he feels “100%” and expects an on-track test later this month will confirm he’s ready to return to a race car.

Speaking after he won the NMPA Sprint Most Popular Driver Award Friday night in Las Vegas, Earnhardt said the yet-to-be-announced test date would be the final barrier before getting back on track next season. The Hendrick Motorsports driver missed half of this season with a concussion.

“I don’t think we’re going to have any issues,” he said. “If all that goes as planned, we’ll go to the Phoenix test in January and we’ll be right back where we started last year.

“It’s something more for my peace of mind. I don’t necessarily have to check that box to compete next year.”

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Earnhardt spoke openly about his recovery Friday night, saying there were times when he wondered whether or not he’d ever get healthy again as his symptoms — including nausea, vision and balance issues — persisted.

After doctors advised him at one point to remove all stress from his life — including discussions about his future —  he started to improve.

“My doctor told me I couldn’t get well until I dropped all that and didn’t think about it,” he said. “I thought, ‘How am I not supposed to think about that? It’s the most important thing in my life.’ He said to get healthy quicker, you’ve got to quit worrying about anything that will draw anxiety or stress.”

So Earnhardt and fiancée Amy Reimann (who will become his wife on New Year’s Eve) disconnected and made little trips to get away from all the anxiety over his future. As soon as that happened, his symptoms started to lessen.

Now Earnhardt can drive in the General Motors simulator with no vision issues or nausea, he said. And removing the stress from his life also made him “a better version of myself.”

“I was a much nicer, pleasant person, and caring and thoughtful and less agitated by stress and everyday life,” he said. “We all kind of deal with that and get a little short every once in awhile and let little things get under your skin. It showed me the person I’m capable of being. I’ve grown a lot and matured a lot over the last several years. It showed me I can do more.”

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