Earnhardt Jr. heading to docs 'soon' for update to help determine Watkins Glen status

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will soon find out about his potential status for the Aug. 7 Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen.

Earnhardt Jr. has missed the last two Cup races because of what Hendrick Motorsports has termed concussion-like symptoms and will miss Sunday’s race at Pocono while Jeff Gordon fills in.

“I’m going for another evaluation here soon to see what kind of gains we’ve made, get in front of my doctors and let them get a good look at me and let them tell me where they think I’m at and that will help us make the decision on what we’re going to do for Watkins Glen. ” Junior said on his weekly podcast.

He said he’d update his status on the podcast again after the Pocono race. Junior, who said he’d been experiencing balance issues and nausea, noted that the daily exercises he’s been doing for his symptoms range from 2-2.5 hours and some are ‘tough’ while others are ‘tedious.’

“The balance deal is a critical part of being able to drive a race car,” Junior said.

Gordon finished 13th in Junior’s absence at Indianapolis and the race at Pocono will be his 799th career Sprint Cup start. No replacement driver has been mentioned if Junior isn’t able to drive at Watkins Glen.

It’s worth noting the Cup Series has an off-weekend on Aug. 14 between Watkins Glen and Bristol, so Junior would get an extra week of recovery time without missing another race if he’s not cleared to drive at the Glen.

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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