Earnhardt Jr. cleared to resume racing with NASCAR

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been cleared to resume racing in NASCAR competition and will return for the 2017 season, beginning Feb. 26 with the Daytona 500.

After driving through a five-hour, 185-lap test session on Wednesday at Darlington Raceway, the 42-year-old driver, who was recovering from the effects of a concussion, was medically cleared by Dr. Micky Collins, according to a team release from NASCAR.

"Dale is one of the hardest-working patients I've ever encountered," Collins said. "He's done everything we've asked, and we believe he is ready to compete at a professional level again and can withstand the normal forces of a race car driver. Dale has been very open with us, and we've had plenty of time for his treatment, so we feel very good about his long-term prospects and how this has been managed by everyone involved."

Earnhardt Jr., who owns many racing accolades, including a win at the 2014 Daytona 500, was in high spirits after racing the track.

"I feel great, and I'm excited to officially be back," Earnhardt said. "I expected things to go really well yesterday, and that's exactly what happened. Actually getting in a race car was an important final step, and it gives me a ton of confidence going into 2017. Thanks to the staff at Darlington for hosting our team and to NASCAR for giving us the opportunity to put a car on the track. I'll do more testing in January to help knock the rust off. When it's time to go to Daytona, I’ll be ready."