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September Students of the Month chosen at Lake Lehman Junior High School

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Williamsport man indicted for drug trafficking, firearms violations

<p>CONCORD, N.C. &#8212; NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr., who missed the final 18 races of last season because of a concussion, has been medically cleared to return next year.</p><p>Hendrick Motorsports announced Thursday that Earnhardt will take part in the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 26.</p><p>Dr. Micky Collins, medical director of the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program in Pittsburgh, in consultation with Charlotte neurosurgeon Dr. Jerry Petty, cleared the 42-year-old driver Wednesday following a test session at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. Petty attended the session.</p><p>&#8220;Dale is one of the hardest-working patients I&#8217;ve ever encountered,&#8221; Collins said. &#8220;He&#8217;s done everything we&#8217;ve 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 we&#8217;ve 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.&#8221;</p><p>Earnhardt completed 185 laps during a nearly five-hour session at Darlington under the guidance of his Hendrick Motorsports crew chief, Greg Ives. In addition to the on-track test, which was observed by NASCAR, the driver has logged more than 15 hours in a racing simulator during his recovery.</p><p>&#8220;I feel great, and I&#8217;m excited to officially be back,&#8221; Earnhardt said. &#8220;I expected things to go really well (Wednesday), and that&#8217;s 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.</p><p>Earnhardt said he would do more testing in January &#8220;to help knock the rust off&#8221; ahead of the season-opening race he has won twice.</p><p>&#8220;When it&#8217;s time to go to Daytona, I&#8217;ll be ready,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Dale Earnhardt Jr. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_Earnhardt-STILLOUT.jpg</photo0><caption0>Dale Earnhardt Jr. </caption0><photoCredit0>Wilfredo Lee | AP file photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Associated Press</p></bylineMeta></div>

Dale Earnhardt Jr. cleared to race again after concussion