Earnhardt Jr.

CONCORD, N.C. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been cleared to race at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend after he was medically cleared on Wednesday to compete this weekend, according to ESPN's Mike Massaro.

Earnhardt Jr. suffered a minor concussion and sprained right foot in a wreck Sunday in Dover, Del.

NASCAR's policy of medically clearing a driver was put in place partially because of Earnhardt Jr., who admitted last season he thought he was suffering from lingering effects of a concussion in several races.

Since then, NASCAR has required all drivers to receive written medical clearance from a doctor the sanctioning body approves of before the driver can compete. Earnhardt Jr. received that written clearance on Wednesday.

"My foot gets a lot better every day," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I usually use all of this ice to keep the Budweiser cold, but I've stayed off my feet, kept ice on it, and the swelling and soreness is much less than it was on Monday."

Earnhardt Jr. stressed the fact that Talladega is not a "physical track like Bristol or Martinsville, where your body takes a beating." He also recalled a Busch Series race four years ago when he finished third with a broken collarbone.

Earnhardt Jr. missed an appearance Tuesday at Lowe's Motor Speedway, where he was scheduled to help track officials promote next month's race.

"We understand he's on crutches, but we were hoping he could still come out," track spokesman Jerry Gappens said. "But he needs to stay home and rest, and hopefully he'll be able to compete this weekend."

Earnhardt Jr. is seeking a record fifth consecutive victory this weekend at Talladega. Including the Busch Series event in April, Earnhardt Jr. has won five of the last five races he's entered at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.

According to his Web site, he spent Monday at his Dale Earnhardt Inc. race shop making adjustments to the No. 8 Chevrolet that would allow him maximum comfort in the race car.

Earnhardt Jr. was injured late in Sunday's race, crashing hard into the wall. He was briefly knocked out and taken to a local hospital for evaluation. He finished 37th in the race, and dropped from second to fourth in the Winston Cup standings.

He was evaluated Monday in North Carolina by neurosurgeon Dr. Jerry Petty, and those results were forwarded to NASCAR.

Earnhardt Jr. can become the first driver to sweep both Cup Talladega races in consecutive seasons. The sweep has happened six times, but only Earnhardt Jr.'s late father -- the legendary Dale Earnhardt -- has done it more than once (1990, 1999).

"I love going to Talladega and I've had the luxury to wheel a really, really fast car there every time," Earnhardt Jr. said.

Information from the Associated Press and SportsTicker was used in this report.