Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he still is working to eliminate concussion-like symptoms that have sidelined him for the last two weeks in an update provided in the latest edition of the Dale Jr. Download podcast on Tuesday.
"You can race with some ailments," Earnhardt said. "You can race with a bad wrist -- or we've seen Denny (Hamlin) and guys race with bad knees. But one of the things you cannot race through is concussion-like symptoms. You know, the balance-deal is a critical part of being able to drive a race car.
"This process is going to take a little bit longer -- I think that's what I was trying to convey when I was telling you guys how I was going to take this slow and listen to the advice of my doctors. I'm not going to go against that advice, no matter what. I can't play around at this age and with my history. I definitely don't need to get cute."
This marks the second time in Earnhardt's Sprint Cup Series career that he has dealt with concussion-like symptoms, having been sidelined for two races in 2012 after a crash during a test at Kansas Speedway.
Jeff Gordon , who drove the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is scheduled to fill in for Earnhardt again this weekend at Pocono Raceway. A date has not been announced for Earnhardt's return, but Junior, who says he has been doing physical and mental exercises for two-and-a-half hours each day, promised an update next Monday following his doctor's visit.
"I'm going for another evaluation here soon to see what kind of gains we've made, get in front of my doctors, let them get a good look at me and let them tell me where they think I'm at," Earnhardt said.
"And that will help us make the decision on what we're going to do for Watkins Glen."
The full podcast can be found here.