Drivers react to Dale Earnhardt Jr. news with wait-and-see approach

DARLINGTON, S.C. – The front edges of Hurricane Hermine soaked a quiet Darlington Raceway on Friday, but the bigger impact blew in with the morning announcement that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will miss the remainder of the Sprint Cup season as he recovers from a concussion.

Drivers Jeff Gordon and Alex Bowman are scheduled to replace Earnhardt in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet in the season’s remaining 12 races. He already has missed six events.

While inclement weather shut down all activities at the track Friday, drivers were hearing the news that Earnhardt’s absence from the sport will continue at least through the end of the season.

“I’m sad to see that he won’t be able to get back in the car because as a race car driver that’s where you want to be,” said Elliott Sadler, who drives for Earnhardt’s Xfinity Series team. “You want to be in your race car competing week in and week out. But the flip side of that is that I’m happy and proud of him to take a step back and make sure he gets everything in line where he needs to be from a medical side or feeling side and to be 100 percent when the 2017 season starts.”

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Jamie McMurray said the sport will move on through Earnhardt’s extended absence.

“But there’s a super-scary part on top of the medical side of it,” McMurray said. “When Dale Jr. is the most popular driver in our sport and you don’t show up at a track for two or three weeks, it’s not that you’re forgotten but it’s crazy how things move on.

“I don’t know that any of us knew what to expect or how that’s going to go, but I think we have to wait and see what happens with Dale Jr. He’s iconic and obviously the most popular guy, but the sport will move on and continue to be a great form of auto racing in the United States.”

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Joey Logano said Earnhardt’s absence naturally raises questions.

“Obviously, when you see Dale Jr. take this long to recover, people begin to speculate on is it this or is it that,” he said. “Who knows? Time will tell. He’s in our thoughts and prayers. Either way, God has a plan for him, and it will work out.”

Sadler said Earnhardt's issues continue to be a topic of conversation in the garage area.

“Dale Jr. is our brother,” he said. “I know we’re competitive and we all race against each other, but we also have a nice family atmosphere in our garage, as well. You never want to see one of your family members have to sit out of the race car.

“Dale is definitely a leader in our sport. He’s one of the blue-collar guys, one of the true, good racers in our sport. He’s a pure racer and loves to be in the race car. You want that for him.”

Follow Hembree on Twitter @mikehembree