Current and former drivers, fans stand by Dale Earnhardt Jr.

DARLINGTON, S.C. — The Dale Earnhardt Jr. T-shirt is faded and ripped across the bottom but still worn proudly by Tommy Carlson of Columbia, S.C.

Earnhardt Jr., still recovering from concussion issues and, as announced Friday, absent from Sprint Cup racing for the rest of the season, won’t race at Darlington in Sunday’s iconic Southern 500. His fans, however, still make up a significant slice of the speedway population.

They refuse to make the final turn into the garage.

“We were hoping he would be back by now,” Carlson said. “But we’re still here for the 88 car and those guys. It would be great to see it in victory lane again. It will be again, for sure, when Junior is back.”

For the first time since 1979, the Southern 500 field will take the green flag withoutDale Earnhardt Sr. or Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the lineup. Earnhardt Sr. raced in the 500 for the first time in 1978 but missed the ’79 race after being injured in a crash at Pocono Raceway (David Pearson replaced Earnhardt in that race and won it).

Earnhardt Jr. has not missed a Darlington race since his first full-time season in 2000.

Earnhardt's long-term future has been a topic of discussion in NASCAR circles since he revealed his latest concussion-related issues this summer. He hasn’t raced since July 9, and Hendrick Motorsports revealed Friday that he will sit out the rest of this season with a plan to return to driving in February 2017.

source: http://www.usatoday.com/