NASCAR fans believe Dale Earnhardt Jr. will end his career

Channel 9 got a behind the scenes look at NASCAR's most popular driver's road to recovery.

On Wednesday, doctors said Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be out for at least two more races as he recovers from a concussion.

As the racing icon takes even more time away to recover, some believe he might never return, even though he hasn't called it quits yet.

The advice his doctor gave Earnhardt was to trigger symptoms from a concussion he suffered during a race in June, which means going out in public.

"I’m at the grocery store with Amy. She’s getting groceries. This is what my doctor calls exposure,” Earnhardt  explained on Instagram, saying that he's following the doctor’s orders. "I get really anxious, and it brings out my symptom,s and you want that to happen, so here I am, getting exposure."

Earnhardt hasn't raced in more than a month, and Hendrick just announced on Wednesday that the driver will miss two more races.

Earnhardt said he still struggles with his ability to keep his eyes on an object while moving.

As he's recovering, he's giving fans an inside look at treatment for a concussion, an issue for athletes at every level.

Earnhardt's routine includes ball exercises, basketball and the most intriguing, walking backwards through a dark room with disco lights.

Earnhardt has not indicated he wants to retire, but conversation about NASCAR's most popular driver and his future is unavoidable.

Racing expert Humpy Wheeler said Earnhardt has no reason to risk coming back.

"He doesn't need any more money. He doesn't need to race anymore and he's at an age where a driver really ought to think about retirement anyway," Wheeler said.

Channel 9 spoke to race fans at Hendrick Motorsports and they said they are optimistic he will return. But they also said if Earnhardt does retire, racing will live on.

"You know, like NFL losing Peyton Manning. Yeah it stinks for a while, but it'll come back," race fan Will Dewese said.

No official announcement has been made by Hendrick or Earnhardt about his future plans.

Cox Media Group