NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
STP 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
APRIL 1, 2016

DALE EARNHARDT, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Martinsville Speedway and discussed his plans to donate his brain for concussion research, why he races so well at Martinsville Speedway and many other topics. Full Transcript:

YOU HAVE A PROGRAM GOING ON THROUGH THE DALE EARNHARDT, JR. FOUNDATION THAT KICKS OFF THIS WEEKEND. CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT?
“We are working with Nationwide Children’s Hospital to raise money for the hospital. Last year we did this gloves program, where we wore a pair of gloves each month and auction them off on eBay. This year we are doing that again and we are going to do it four months this year. This is the first month where we will be wearing blue gloves the whole month for autism awareness. We are really excited to be able to announce that program. We have thought of different ways to get creative each year. We have done it a little bit differently each year to try to raise as much money and awareness as we can. Look forward to releasing more information throughout the season as we go along. This will be the first month. We hope to be able to raise a lot of money. If we can win a few races it definitely makes those gloves a little more valuable. That puts a little pressure on the team and myself, but its good pressure.”

WHY DO YOU THINK THIS IS YOUR BEST TRACK?
“I don’t know. I didn’t know it was my best. I love the short tracks. For a long time there, maybe about 10 years ago, in a little span of about three or four years we were getting more points at the short tracks than any other team. We were running consistently in the top five. I think we had a string of four to six top five’s in a row at Martinsville at one particular point. I love short track racing. We don’t get to do a lot of it, so that makes you love it more. The less is more kind of mentality I think works for me there. Being able to come to these tracks and only knowing you are only going to get to run here a few times, run a couple of short tracks throughout the season a few times it makes you really appreciate it and work hard. It makes you really try to take care of the car to run all the laps and get everything out of it you can just because it’s so much fun to begin with. I have run with some great programs here. Obviously, Hendrick Motorsports has had a lock on this place for a long time. That really makes us look good when we get in those cars because they are always going to be great race cars. I look forward to Sunday. I think we showed in the first practice that we have some pretty good pace in race trim. We are struggling in qualifying trim again, but we are going to work on that. Greg (Ives, crew chief) is in there changing things and throwing up ideas on the white board and we are going to see what works.”

AS FAR AS THE TWEET ABOUT DONATING YOUR BRAIN TO SCIENCE, IS THAT SOMETHING YOU KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO DO? OR IS THAT SOMETHING NEW? WHAT WOULD YOU HOPE PEOPLE WOULD LEARN FROM YOUR BRAIN?
“Hopefully, they don’t have to look at my brain whenever I pass away they have learned enough science to study the brains of living adults. Hopefully, the science has advanced enough to where they no longer need to be poking around inside my brain. I was inspired really by Brandi Chastain (professional soccer player) and the Raiders guys that donated their brains in honor of their teammate. I went through my experience in 2012 and met some amazing doctors at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Mickey Collins was one of those guys. They gave me the confidence going through that process that I could be successful and get through it. I have. I have been healthy and successful and I learned a ton. I may be even a better race car driver today and I’m definitely getting the results on the track that I’ve always wanted. I will be donating or pledging my brain is what they like to say to the Concussion Legacy Foundation. They are in partnership with Boston University where the brain bank is. I was a donor already for many years, as my driver’s license would attest. It seemed like a reasonable thing to do for me. Anything that I can do to help others, but hopefully the science has advanced far beyond where it is today and they don’t need it. It was something that I didn’t have to ask myself whether I wanted to do it or not. Going through that process in 2012 I learned so much and have so much respect for the work that those doctors are doing and really were inspired by some of the athletes that have pledged their brains before me.”

WAS YOUR TWEET THE OTHER NIGHT A SPUR OF THE MOMENT THING?
“I saw a story, we obviously had the week off, and I was just sitting around reading Twitter and saw that story about the Raiders donating their brains. I just thought that was amazing that those guys did that in honor of their teammate. I read where Brandi (Chastain) had done that maybe a month ago. That just was really inspiring and I saw someone mention, I don’t even know what the context of the Tweet I was responding to was. I probably should have, Mike Davis (JR Motorsports Public Relations) would prefer me to have done that in a more put together fashion where we could have put together a release or whatever. I just was in the moment of conversation and that is sometimes the comfort that you find yourself in on Twitter sometimes and I didn’t expect it to turn into the story it did, but by all means if it raises more awareness and inspires people to donate their brains and pledge their brains. They don’t need just athletes. They need everybody. I’m going to give up all the organs that are worth anything when it’s over with. They can have it all.”

INAUDIBLE:
“I got in touch with the Concussion Legacy Foundation and they help me understand exactly what the process is and it’s very straight forward. You get a card, basically like you would carry around a driver’s license where it says you are a donor on the license. There will be a card in your pocket that you carry like your driver’s license. Your family can refuse. Nothing is binding so it’s really just a promise in a way. You share that information with your family so they are aware and when this comes up if you happen to pass untimely or what have you if this comes up someone will contact them. They can refuse, nothing is binding. It’s a very easy going comfortable thing for me. I’m looking forward to having the opportunity when we go to New Hampshire maybe to go up to Boston University and talk to some people up there with the brain bank and learn more. I’m really excited or passionate I guess a little bit to know more about it and understand the whole process. I certainly want to know everything you can do. That is a very serious and personal decision. It would be interesting to go up there and see the bank and understand more.”

CONCUSSIONS IN RACING HAVE BEEN A HOT TOPIC RECENTLY WITH WILL POWER’S MISDIAGNOSIS AT ST. PETERSBURG. IS THERE A NEED FOR BETTER AT TRACK TESTING FOR CONCUSSIONS? WHERE DO YOU STAND ON THE TOPIC? DO YOU VIEW IT DIFFERENTLY THAN THE WAY BRAD KESELOWSKI DOES?
“I see the argument in reverse. Most concussions are self-diagnosed and as a driver I think the real purpose of the conversation should be to help drivers, football players, whoever it is to understand that it’s okay to self-diagnosis and go get help. I feel very good about the protocols that are in place. They have stepped up and they have gotten more, like using the impact test, I believe in the impact test and what it’s used for and how it’s used. I think it’s a great tool not only for understanding a concussion or trying to diagnosis a concussion, but it’s also a great tool to treat the concussion once you have been diagnosed and understand that you have the concussion how to treat it. Concussions are like snowflakes. There are no two concussions that are the same. Each one deals with certain parts of the body and to be able to use that impact test helps you understand how to treat that particular concussion. I think the protocols and the advances that we have made in trying to protect ourselves are great things. I’m excited about what NASCAR has done. They have really taken this head on. They are talking to the right people. They are talking and involving themselves with the right folks to get the best information to be able to protect the drivers the best way they can.”

INAUDIBLE:
“It will just get better the same way everything else in the sport progresses. Look at the interior of the car for example and how it’s changed. The more information we get from the doctors the better equipped we are to protect ourselves. I feel good about it. I understand some of the drivers concerns, but going through the process myself really helped me understand exactly what everything is there for and how to use it.” F

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF STAYING PATIENT AT MARTINSVILLE AND HITTING YOUR MARKS AND HOW QUICKLY THINGS CAN CHANGE:
“It looks pretty straight forward as far as race tracks go, but there are little things about each corner. The exit of (Turn) 4 is so different than the exit of (Turn) 2. It looks identical, but inside the car they are two different corners. There are some bumps getting into Turn 3 that you don’t really deal with in Turn 1. In qualifying you can overdrive the car and get the front hopping into the center. I don’t qualify well anywhere, but I’ve struggled here as well, but I race great. So, I don’t understand how to sort of marry the two and make both of them great. There is certainly a lot more to it than what you see visually watching a car go around the track as far as the marks, the braking, the lifting and everything that you are doing to get the car down into the corner. It’s a real challenge, but in the race you sort of get in repetition. Qualifying you have to go out there and make it happen with blind faith that the car is going to do exactly what your mind thinks it’s going to do. In the race you can run a lap, no that didn’t really work, let me try this, let me move around and do this. I feel like that is my strength once I’m in the car in the race is I can adjust what I’m doing to get the car to work. In qualifying we struggle with that. It’s definitely a track where you can get in a good rhythm. But, yeah, if you don’t focus on marks and what you are doing you can certainly get yourself in trouble. Guys are all around you, you don’t get a break here. If somebody gets a nose under you, you could get trained and lose several spots over the next few laps.”

HOW MUCH DO YOU HOPE THAT YOUR CELEBRITY STATUS INSPIRES OTHER PEOPLE TO PLEDGE OR DONATE THEIR BRAINS TO RESEARCH AS WELL?
“That would be awesome if it inspires other people to do it. I’ve talked to people within my own family and they have been inspired to learn more. That is a good feeling. I think that is the sort of benefit that the Concussion Legacy Foundation is looking for when someone with some notoriety makes that sort of decision. Hopefully, it does a lot of good. It’s very uncomfortable for me to be in that sort of light in any shape or form. Anytime I get a little too much attention I get a little nervous, but I want to do the right thing. Having gone through that experience in 2012 I’ve been really inspired by what I’ve seen since then from other people. It was a no brainer for me. They don’t need just athletes. They don’t need people that just play sports. They need brains from all over. Again, like I say, hopefully I’m going to live 40/50 more years and the science has progressed so much that they don’t need it. But if they do it’s there.”