Dale Earnhardt Jr. visits UPMC, Steelers practice facility

Dale Earnhardt Jr. met with concussion experts at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center on Tuesday, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Earnhardt Jr. missed the last two NASCAR races because of a concussion.

Earnhardt's visit, which primarily was with concussion expert Micky Collins of UPMC, was arranged by Dr. Jerry Petty, who accompanied him to Pittsburgh. Petty consults with NASCAR and the Carolina Panthers. Petty chose to keep Earnhardt from racing last week in Charlotte and this week in Kansas after he developed two concussions in a span of six weeks.

"You can't layer concussions," Earnhardt said last week. "It gets extremely dangerous."

According to Petty, Earnhardt could be back in his race car next Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.

NASCAR's most popular driver also visited the Steelers' practice facility and met coach Mike Tomlin while he was in the area. The Steelers' Twitter feed said Earnhardt, who is a Washington Redskins fan, was a "surprise lunch time guest."

Earnhardt's 2,128 points ranks last in the 12-driver field for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. He is 86 points behind leader Brad Keselowski.

Earnhardt has been average in The Chase. His best finish was 11th, which came at the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 30. He finished 13th at the Sylvania 300 in Loudon -- the first race in The Chase -- and 20th at the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500, which was his last race before sitting out because of the concussion.

The veteran driver snapped a 143-race winless streak on June 17 when he won the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.