Dale Earnhardt Jr.?completed a test session Wednesday at Darlington Raceway and suffered no concussion symptoms, clearing him to race at the start of the 2017 NASCAR season.I feel great, and Im excited to officially be back, Earnhardt said in a Thursday news release. I expected things to go really well yesterday, and thats 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.Dr. Jerry Petty, a Charlotte, North Carolina, neurosurgeon, attended the five-hour test. Dr. Micky Collins, medical director of the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program in Pittsburgh, cleared Earnhardt on Wednesday night. NASCAR requires a board-certified neurologist or neurosurgeon with at least five years of experience in treating sports-related head injuries to clear a driver after a concussion.Dale is one of the hardest-working patients Ive ever encountered, Collins, considered an authority on the treatment of concussions, said in the news release. Hes done everything weve 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 weve 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, will drive Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 in a NASCAR test at Phoenix International Raceway, open to one car from each organization. NASCAR created a rule this year that allows a driver coming back from injury to test a car, as long as there are no data acquisition systems that would give the team an advantage.Earnhardt and team owner Rick Hendrick have scheduled a teleconference for 11 a.m. ET Friday to discuss the drivers return.Earnhardt missed the final 18 races of 2016 because of a concussion suffered in June at Michigan International Speedway, the effects of which he said he did not start to feel until about a month later. He had battled nausea, balance and vision issues, which did not begin to significantly clear until August.He has spent more than 15 hours in a racing simulator during his recovery. He said last week that before his concussion he would get sick in the simulator, but that he had not experienced those symptoms recently.Earnhardt said the decision in August to not race again this year helped him recover, because he stopped stressing over when he would get back in the car.You worry about your health, Earnhardt said Friday at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Awards. You worry about the issues youve got are permanent or when they are going to get better and how.Anxiety is a huge factor with concussions and can be a major problem with people trying to recover. ... Every day, I was in some sort of discussion about my future, and my doctor told me I couldnt get well until I dropped all that and didnt think about it. I thought, How am I supposed to not think about that? Thats the most important thing in my life.Earnhardts first race back will be the Feb. 23 qualifying race for the 2017 Daytona 500. He will not participate in The Clash preseason event.?Alex Bowman, who along with Jeff Gordon substituted for Earnhardt this season, will drive in that event.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 [sponsor] Nationwide was 100 percent on board.Im really grateful to him and Jeff for what they did for our team, and Im glad Alex is getting another run with us.Earnhardt, who has 26 career Sprint Cup wins, has one year left on his Hendrick Motorsports contract.Darryl Kile Jersey . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. Yuli Gurriel Jersey . -- If Henry Burris has his way, he will be the starting quarterback to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back to the Grey Cup next year. https://www.cheapastros.com/583o-josh-reddick-jersey-astros.html . Pedro scored from a pass by Lionel Messi in the 33rd minute and added two more goals in the 47th and 72nd after Valdes saved his second penalty in four days following his stop in Wednesdays 4-0 over Ajax in the Champions League. Wade Miley Astros Jersey . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Jim Umbricht Astros Jersey . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months.Chelsea Ladies boss Emma Hayes believes women’s football must grow in this country before there can be a debate about equal pay in the game.The equal pay debate has been brought sharply into focus by the complaint filed by five senior members of the US Womens National Team against their federation for wage discrimination. The US Womens National Team attracted Americas highest football audience in history last year Despite four Olympic titles and three World Cup wins, including last years showpiece which was watched by 23 million people in America - the highest television audience for a football match in US history - the women earn less than half than their male counterparts. FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Wednesday that the matter is far from straightforward and called for the debate to be taken very seriously. Gianni Infantino wants FIFA to look into how much female footballers get paid. But Hayes - who guided Chelsea Ladies to the league and FA Cup double last season - says commercialisation of the womens game is key before we can have the similar conversations in this country.Its about taking one step at a time, she told Sky Sports News HQ. Chelsea Ladies Special One with the Womens FA Cup trophy at Wembley I think its a convversation that needs to be linked side-by-side with commercialising the womens game and if that happens, and there is growth and there are more revenue streams, Im sure there will be more pay for women in all sports.ddddddddddddThere has been huge progress post the 2012 Olympic Games. The lasting legacy of that is womens sport and I think we will continue to see more investment but it is step-by step.The important part is womens sport is here to stay and at a club like Chelsea that is very much the case. World Player of the Year Carli Lloyd is one of five US players who have file a wage discrimination complaint We have 22 full-time players here who are thriving and able to represent the club because of the opportunities that have been afforded to us and we are very grateful for that.Last week, Australias female cricketers were handed a pay rise by their board, with seven of those confirmed to take part in this summers inaugural Kia Super League in England. Australia won the Womens Ashes in England last summer New Zealand captain Suzie Bates will also play in the competition this summer but says the womens game must be better promoted in her homeland before female players can seek parity with their male counterparts.I guess we cant really demand too much until weve proven to be a success, she said. Suzie Bates says the womens game must develop before equal pay becomes a reality But I think once the womens game on its own starts attracting crowds and TV numbers then I think we will be able to demand more of that revenue.The more its on TV, and the more its promoted in the media, the more opportunities there are for that.I can see the argument but in New Zealand at the moment we havent done the work to promote the game to increase its profile, but in Australia and in England they have done that really well and they are getting people watching.Also See:SportsWomenLatest Show NewsLatest NewsSportsWomen Video ' ' '