After months of progress from a season-ending concussion, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was medically cleared for the 2017 NASCAR season on Wednesday after a test at Darlington Raceway.
While NASCAR's most popular driver will be fully recovered from concussion-like symptoms that sidelined him for the final 18 races of the 2016 season, the No. 88 driver won't be racing in the season-opening, non-points Clash at Daytona, formerly known as the Sprint Unlimited. Alex Bowman will fill in for Earnhardt.
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Earnhardt has undergone evaluations at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program under Dr.