Dale Earnhardt Jr. sat down with his former crew chief, and current NBC analyst, Steve Letarte earlier this week for a segment that aired before Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
In the interview, Earnhardt not only reiterated his desire to return to racing once he is free of the concussion-like symptoms that have kept him out of the car of late, but also talked about the impact fiancée Amy Reimann has had on his recovery.
He spoke of his role with his team, and his openness in discussing his symptoms to date.
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In the interview segment, Earnhardt told Letarte that Reimann has been a key part of his recovery.
“If Amy wasn’t with me, I probably wouldn’t be thinking about driving anymore,” he told Letarte. “Probably be a recluse, just disappear. But she is pushing me every day, every morning, at 7 o’clock in the morning. ‘All right, let’s go.’ She’s up, got her exercise gear on, she’s like ‘Let’s go, let’s go do this.’”
Must Watch: @DaleJr sat down with @SteveLetarte to discuss his health, his head, and his heart. #NASCARonNBC https://t.co/lNBU1UsWlx
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 10, 2016
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Earnhardt has previously talked about her impact in his recovery, but continued to discuss just what her support has meant to him.
“I wouldn’t be this far along in my recovery,” he said as he continued to talk about her encouragement. “I’d be just a mess emotionally. She’ll support me no matter what I choose to do in life. We’re going to get married this offseason. I couldn’t be more impatient about that getting here and going through that process. I can’t wait to have a family and do all these great things and experience that.”
As Letarte joked that they’d be the older guys sitting by the pool with their children, Earnhardt continued that, “I’m not only thinking, I’m almost obsessing over those things.”
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Still, as Letarte pointed out, Earnhardt’s name will be associated with the concussion discussion going forward.
Earnhardt offered his own assessment of his role.
“I’ve been able to help some people directly,” he said. “If you’ve got a family member who's going through it and you’ve never dealt with it and you’ve seen a different person. They’re just not the person you remember and I can help you understand why they’re that way to give you some comfort in knowing this is not a permanent situation and that they can get this corrected, but I don’t know that I belong in front of a large audience at a podium.”