By Jared Turner Appearing at a press conference Sunday afternoon at Darlington Raceway just two days after his team announced he would miss the rest of the season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. admitted to not being physically up to the task of competing in that night’s race. Junior, of course, has been out of action since mid-July due to the lingering effects of a concussion suffered at Michigan International Speedway in June and then re-aggravated at Daytona on July 4 weekend. If you listened to Junior speak on Sunday, it was obvious that NASCAR’s 13-time most popular driver wants to return to his…

NASCAR Report NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. will not return to competition during the remainder of the 2016 season as he continues to recover from a concussion suffered earlier this year.  Hendrick Motorsports officials made the announcement Friday morning, saying that Alex Bowman and four-time series champ Jeff Gordon would split time in the No. 88 Chevrolet for the remaining 12 races of the season. Gordon is scheduled to drive the No. 88 as Earnhardt's replacement this weekend at Darlington Raceway. "I wish I could return to the No. 88 team this season," Earnhardt said in a release provided by…

By Jared Turner Throughout his roller-coaster NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career, Tony Stewart has earned a reputation as one of the toughest drivers around. But as tough as the driver nicknamed “Smoke” might be, he’s never conquered the track “Too Tough to Tame.” He’ll get one last chance with the running of Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. “I think people underestimate how much we know about Darlington and the history of that track, and how hard it is to win races there,” Stewart said. “I guess that’s why a Sprint Cup win at Darlington is something that’s really important…