Dale Earnhardt Jr. crashes out of NASCAR return at Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s return to NASCAR didn’t last as long in the Daytona 500 as Junior Nation had hoped.

That doesn’t mean his mid-race exit on Sunday initiated by a flat tire on Kyle Busch’s car was a total loss for Earnhardt, who missed the second half of last Monster Energy Cup Series season with a concussion.

“That wasn’t that hard of a lick, but it’s good to come out of something like that feeling good,” Earnhardt said.

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The right side of Earnhardt’s car briefly went up and over Busch's Toyota. When the 17-minute red flag was lifted, he made his way to the garage. Under a new NASCAR rule, any car that goes to the garage for repairs incurred in a crash is out of the race.

That also meant, under another NASCAR rule change, Earnhardt would have to be evaluated at the infield care center.

But Earnhardt did his own self assessment when he pulled off the track, something he said he learned while he recovered from last season’s concussion as he sat for the final 18 races.

“You sort of bring your finger to your nose,” Earnhardt said as he motioned his index finger toward his face. “It needs to say ‘one.’ If it splits (and there’s double vision) way out here, you have problems. It’s something I can do any time I need to, but we got the opportunity to get into the infield care center and they were very thorough.”

Earnhardt praised NASCAR for aiding his efforts to make his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet safer, changes that included lessening the space his head could travel in a collision.

“With the (older) headrest, when you fly into the wall it’s like getting hit with a baseball bat,” Earnhardt said. “That car will take a few (G-forces) and if you have a lot of distance there, you can double the G’s. We talked to NASCAR over the winter and they helped me understand how to better withstand those wrecks. We have (the headrest) tight on both sides.”

Earnhardt, who missed the last half of the 2016 season with a concussion, had won this race in 2004 and 2014.

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