Earnhardt Jr. knocked out in late race accident

DOVER, Del. -- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was airlifted to a local hospital on Sunday after being knocked unconscious in an accident at Dover International Speedway.

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He was alert and talking upon exit from the track, but NASCAR officials chose to transport him by air rather than ground due to traffic concerns.

Earnhardt Jr. was transported to Bayhealth Medical Center in Dover for observation and was released at approximately 7 p.m. ET. His injuries were listed as a minor concussion and a bruised right foot.

He was expected to fly home Sunday evening to Mooresville, N.C. He will be re-examined Monday by Dr. Jerry Petty.

After spending a large part of the day racing for the lead, Earnhardt began to fade after pitting for two tires with 75 laps to go. Then, running 19th on Lap 363, he drove high between Turns 1 and 2 to allow race leader Ryan Newman to speed by underneath.

VIDEO CLIPS Newman celebrates his seventh win of the season Play video Hear from the top finishers at Dover Int'l Speedway Play video Newman stretches fuel, holds off Mayfield for his seventh win Play video Earnhardt Jr. transported to hospital after a late-race crash Play video Nemechek walks from a fiery crash after a hard hit Play video Skinner brings out a caution in the early laps Play video

But as Newman sped past, Junior lost control of the Budweiser Chevrolet and spun backwards exiting Turn 2, contacting the wall on the driver's side. His car then slid down the track, and Earnhardt steered it clear from hitting the inside retaining wall.

After bringing the car to a complete stop, he put the window net down to signal he was OK.

But somewhere in the next several moments, he apparently lost consciousness, as safety workers were forced to pull him from the car and place him in the ambulance.

According to NASCAR vice president for corporate communications Jim Hunter, Earnhardt did not regain consciousness until he reached the infield care center several minutes later.

"Apparently, he was unconscious at the scene, regained consciousness at the care center and was talking to everybody," Hunter said. "They want him to go to the hospital for x-rays and further evaluation."

The race had just ended as Earnhardt emerged from the infield care center following a lengthy evaluation, and thousands of fans still stationed in the Turn 4 grandstands gave him a standing ovation.

This is Earnhardt's second such accident in the past 17 months. Last April, he suffered a severe concussion in a hard crash at California, but waited three months to reveal the crash's effects to anyone.

"This is his second one recently, but we'll wait and see what the doctors say before we move forward," Hunter said.