MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. said it would be hard to explain, the perspective that he's gained being sidelined from NASCAR competition.
The driving part, he clearly misses. The related appearances, autograph sessions and other obligations have gained newfound enjoyment during his absence from the cockpit. The challenge for when he plans to return to driving full-time is finding a way to savor the two parts together.
Earnhardt described the contrasts Wednesday at Martinsville Speedway, taking part in the announcement that the .526-mile track would add a lighting system as part of its 70th-anniversary season celebration in 2017. The driver, sidelined since July with concussion-related symptoms, also discussed how his time out of the car has spurred a recent health kick, offered him time to assist in planning his offseason wedding to fiancée Amy Reimann, and how it's taught him to relish race-weekend moments that go beyond his driving duties.
"When I was driving, I really didn't enjoy everything I did outside the car, reluctantly, just to do the driving part," Earnhardt said. "Now that I'm not in the car, I enjoy all the stuff that I'm doing outside the car that I've always done. I'm getting up in the morning race days to do the hospitalities or coming to do the winner's circle (appearances) here or Talladega, I've really enjoyed doing those things.
"The pressure of racing made the majority of everything that came with it miserable, and I probably am responsible for controlling that, right? And so, I think being out of the car has shown me that I've got to find a way that if I'm going to race more how to not feel so much pressure that it makes everything else intolerable or hard to do."
Earnhardt Jr., who turned 42 earlier this week, had his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season cut short after 18 races because of concussion-like symptoms. The unexpected absence has allowed Earnhardt to participate in activities he would've otherwise missed, such as attending a drag-racing event in Concord, North Carolina, and taking in his high school's homecoming football game.
But his time away from the circuit's entry lists has also meant an unburdening, removing the weekly stress of performing for his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team, which has found able substitutes in Jeff Gordon and Alex Bowman while keeping Earnhardt Jr.'s name on the windshield and above the drivers' side window.
"I think once I get back in the car, I've got to have a whole new frame of mind about how I handle the pressure of driving and the pressures of performing and finishing well and all that good stuff," Earnhardt said. "… The driving is fun, and I never really had a problem with that. I enjoy being at the track, and I enjoy doing the hospitalities. I'm going to go do a Wal-Mart appearance somewhere in freakin' who-knows-where, and I would be so frustrated about that because of what I was going to be doing on a race weekend.
"It wasn't the appearance that had me bent out of shape. It's just the pressure of week to week to week, performing, performing, performing -- the expectations of everything, myself and everyone else made all that sort of a heavy, heavy weight on my back. Now without the performance and the worry of having to perform, I go do this stuff and have fun. So I've got to figure out how to race and have fun, if that makes any sense."
Another unintended byproduct of his time away has been weight loss. With Reimann's encouragement, Earnhardt said he's had more of a dedicated fitness routine, something he never had to consider much during his weekly racing obligations since drivers routinely burn hundreds of calories inside the car during a race weekend.
"The only thing I ever had to worry about was just making sure I fit in my suit," Earnhardt said, adding that he's lost roughly eight pounds since beginning his rehab regimen for his concussion-like symptoms. "Any time we had to alter the suit, I had to start watching what I was eating, like we're getting out of control here."
And Earnhardt Jr. has also kept busy with planning his upcoming nuptials with Reimann in the offseason.
"We're definitely not being lazy and pushing everything off until the last minute, but it feels like it's right around the corner," Earnhardt said. "We just want it to be a great day. I think that's the same way everybody kind of feels. They just want everything to go right and not have anything go wrong. We're just making sure we've got all our T's crossed and all our I's dotted, so that that day's a special day for us."
While he's finding advice on floral arrangements and other details to make the event go off without a hitch, he's also been receiving unsolicited advice from all corners about his treatment plan. If there was a Highlights for Children etiquette lesson on how best to interact with people with his condition, the would-be physicians lighting up his XFINITY Series team's switchboard fall under the heading of Goofus as opposed to Gallant.
"I think the wrong thing to say would be to give any kind of medical advice because you've got to listen to your doctors," Earnhardt said. "We've got people calling every single day to JR Motorsports: 'tell Dale to try this, tell Dale to drink this drink, tell him to eat this, tell him to quit milk' -- all kinds of crazy, hare-brained reasons why I'm ill or need to get better, what'll speed it up and all that stuff. I've got doctors, they're smart, they know everything I need to do and that's who I need to listen to, obviously."
And the right way to offer support?
"'Look forward to seeing you back at the track,' sounds awesome," Earnhardt said. "I want to hear that. 'Get well' is great. I like to know that people want me to be well, so anytime, that feels good."
