Dale Earnhardt Jr. medically cleared to race in 2017

It’s official: After missing the entire second half of the 2016 season due to a concussion, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been medically cleared to return to competition, Hendrick Motorsports announced Thursday morning.

Earnhardt successfully tested at Darlington Raceway Wednesday and afterwards was given medical clearance by Dr. Micky Collins, medical director of the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program in Pittsburgh, in consultation with Charlotte neurosurgeon Dr. Jerry Petty. Earnhardt has worked extensively with Collins during his rehabilitation.

Petty, a longtime fixture in the NASCAR community,  attended the test at the 1.366-mile South Carolina racetrack.

Earnhardt’s first race will be the Daytona 500 on Feb. 26, 2017 on FOX.

“Dale is one of the hardest-working patients I’ve ever encountered,” Collins said. “He’s done everything we’ve asked, and we believe he is ready to compete at a professional level again and can withstand the normal forces of a race car driver. Dale has been very open with us, and we’ve had plenty of time for his treatment, so we feel very good about his long-term prospects and how this has been managed by everyone involved.”

Earnhardt, 42, ran  185 laps — a little over 250 miles — during a nearly five-hour session at Darlington under the guidance of Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

“I feel great, and I’m excited to officially be back,” Earnhardt said in a statement released by the team. “I expected things to go really well yesterday, and that’s exactly what happened. Actually getting in a race car was an important final step, and it gives me a ton of confidence going into 2017. Thanks to the staff at Darlington for hosting our team and to NASCAR for giving us the opportunity to put a car on the track. I’ll do more testing in January to help knock the rust off. When it’s time to go to Daytona, I’ll be ready.”

Alex Bowman will race the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the The Clash at Daytona on Feb. 18, the season-opening exhibition race at Daytona International Speedway.

“Alex did such a great job in the car this year, and I felt like he deserved another opportunity,” Earnhardt said. “When I spoke with Rick and the team about him driving The Clash, everyone agreed that he more than earned it, and Nationwide was 100-percent on board. I’m really grateful to him and Jeff for what they did for our team, and I’m glad Alex is getting another run with us.”