Earnhardt takes blame for debate over 'Clash'
Dale Earnhardt defended a Twitter post by his wife, Amy Earnhardt, that said it wouldn’t be “worth the risk” to see her husband compete in next year’s Clash at Daytona.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his own statement Saturday. He defended his wife’s Twitter post — and blamed himself for putting her in a position where she felt she had to speak out.
Five days after Amy Earnhardt wrote it wouldn’t be “worth the risk” to see her husband compete in next year’s Clash at Daytona, the 42-year-old driver explained outsiders don’t understand what the family endured as he recovered from concussion-related symptoms last year.
“She’s been there for everything,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “A lot of folks that may have a different opinion about it weren’t there through the whole process. If anyone knows how difficult it was beside me, it would be her.”
Earnhardt spoke about six hours before making his final Brickyard 400 qualifying run at Indianapolis.
The series’ most popular driver announced in April he would retire after this season, in part because of his injury history. Two big crashes last summer forced him out of the final 18 races, and he missed two races during the 2012 playoffs also because of concussionrelated symptoms.
But Earnhardt appeared to reopen the possibility of returning to Daytona after winning the pole there three weeks ago, his first since September 2013. To be eligible, drivers must win at least one pole during the previous season, be a previous Clash winner or be a former Daytona 500 polewinner who still competes full-time on the Cup series.
On a recent podcast, Earnhardt said he told team owner Rick Hendrick that competing in the Clash would be something his wife “needed to warm up to.”