Earnhardt cleared to return to track

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. was cleared Tuesday for this weekend’s race at Martinsville Speedway after missing the last two weeks to recover from a pair of concussions.

NASCAR’s most popular driver was examined by neurosurgeon Dr. Jerry Petty one a day after he ran 123 laps at half-mile Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Ga. Petty monitored Earnhardt during Monday’s test at Gresham.

“Dale Jr. has done everything asked of him,” said Petty, who consults with NASCAR and is Earnhardt’s personal physician.

Petty sidelined Earnhardt after the driver went to see him complaining of a lingering headache following a 25-car accident on the last lap of the Oct. 7 race at Talladega. Petty diagnosed Earnhardt with a concussion, and said Earnhardt also suffered one in an Aug. 29 crash during a tire test at Kansas that went untreated.

Earnhardt missed races at Charlotte and Kansas, marking the first time a Cup event did not include an Earnhardt in the field since Sept. 3, 1979.