Junior: Donating to science a ‘no-brainer’
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. is calling his decision to donate his brain to science a “nobrainer.”
NASCAR’s most popular driver tweeted his intention earlier this week. He said Friday he plans to pledge his brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation. The group works with Boston University on research into chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative disease that doctors believe is caused by repeated blows to the head.
Earnhardt, 41, says he was motivated by reading about three former Oakland Raiders who donated their brains in honor of teammate Ken Stabler. The quarterback’s brain showed signs of CTE. Soccer star Brandi Chastain, among others, also has pledged to donate her brain for research.
“I just thought that was amazing that those guys did that in honor of their teammate, and I read where Brandi had done that maybe a month ago, so that just was really inspiring,” Earnhardt said at Martinsville Speedway.
Earnhardt has a history of concussions. He had two just weeks apart in the fall of 2012 and missed two races. The first came in a crash during a test session at Kansas, and Earnhardt hid the injury. He spoke up when he knew something was wrong after a crash at Talladegaa a few weeks later.
He sought treatment at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, a leader in concussion research. That sparked his interest in learning about his brain, an endeavor he hopes to continue with a visit to Boston University and its brain bank when the series goes to New Hampshire.
“They gave me the confidence going through that process that I could be successful and get through it and I have,” Earnhardt said. “I’ve been healthy and successful and I learned a ton.’’
The accuracy of concussion evaluations is part of an ongoing debate. IndyCar driver Will Power was held out of the seasonopening race at St. Petersburg when he was misdiagnosed with a concussion rather than an inner ear infection that caused dizziness, headaches and nausea. Earnhardt, however, thinks the system works.
“I think the protocols and the advances that we have made in trying to protect ourselves are great things,” he said.
Pole to Logano
Joey Logano won the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway Friday.
It is the third consecutive pole for Logano on the smallest and oldest track in the premier series. He’s the first driver to do that on the 0.526-mile oval since Jeff Gordon won three in a row in 2003-04.
Logano, the fastest in all three rounds of qualifying, barely edged Kasey Kahne with a speed of 97.043 mph.