Keselowski on concussions: Doctors don't get NASCAR

Jeff Gluck | USA TODAY Sports

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Brad Keselowski says doctors should stay out of decision-making in NASCAR.

Keselowski, asked about NASCAR's new concussion policy which takes effect next season, said he's keeping an open mind to the mandatory baseline testing. But the defending Sprint Cup Series champion expressed concern Friday there wouldn't be enough give on the part of doctors who will decide whether a potentially concussed driver can race or not.

"Doctors don't understand our sport," Keselowski told reporters after his qualifying lap at Martinsville Speedway. "They never have and they never will. Doctors aren't risk-takers. We are. That's what makes our sport what it is and when you get doctors involved, it waters down our sport.

"I'm trying to be open-minded to the possibility they can help us, but past experience says no."

On Thursday, NASCAR announced it would implement a mandatory baseline test during the preseason — the University of Pittsburgh's ImPACT test — to save for later in case doctors need to evaluate whether a driver has sustained a concussion during a crash.

Earlier Friday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. — who missed two races last season with a concussion — praised NASCAR's new policy and defended the move. And told of Keselowski's comments after qualifying, Earnhardt reaffirmed his stance that baseline testing was a great move for the sport.

"I understand that drivers are going to be concerned that things can go wrong for them and be incorrectly diagnosed," Earnhardt said. "In my situation, I didn't have a baseline to go off of. I took the test after I was concussed and they had to grade me against the norm.

"… They had to make an educated guess if I needed to be in the car or not. To prevent that from happening, I think it's smart to go get the test."

Earnhardt said the ImPACT test wasn't the kind of test where drivers are quizzed on the capital of North Carolina or made to answer math questions. There are no right or wrong answers, he said, but the results are revealing: When he was concussed, he scored dramatically lower on the test than when he took it after recovering.

The test gives doctors an image on how athletes think and how quickly they make decisions, Earnhardt said. And if someone takes the test, he said, "then you'll see from the doctor's point of view and you'll understand that it's not really (a) need for concern from the drivers' point of view."

"I don't feel more worried about getting a concussion and being held out than I did before (the new policy)," he added.

But Keselowski questioned the lack of a firm number associated with the test and said unless there was a set standard, "it's a waste of time."

"It's just another subjective field for doctors that don't understand our sport," he said. "... This is not the field for doctors. Let them play in their arena and I'll play in mine."

Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck