MARTINSVILLE, VA – MARCH 28: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 TaxAct Chevrolet, adjusts her equipment in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway on March 28, 2015 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

Head injuries, from concussions to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), have gained more attention in sports, and leagues are paying out billions of dollars in settlements as they acknowledge the role sports have played in medical issues later in life.

The head injury issue has mostly focused on contact sports like football and hockey, but NASCAR driver Danica Patrick said it has affected her sport, as well, and it has made drivers think more about the consequences of their career after Dale Earnhardt Jr. missed half of last year with concussions symptoms.

Patrick told ESPN that she estimates she’s had at least a dozen concussions from crashes, and after another one, she could decide to retire:

“I’ve had concussions. Every time you crash, you have a concussion on a varying degree,” Patrick said. “When [Earnhardt] said something about having 12 concussions, I’m like, ‘I’m sure I’ve had 12 concussions.’ … It makes you think for sure.

“It makes you pay attention to yourself, and there’s nothing better than having somebody like Dale Jr. going as far as getting out of the car as long as he did, saying, ‘Hey, I have a problem,’ because it makes it more available to everyone else.”

The concussion issue is relatively new to NASCAR, just as it is to all sports. Sports culture has long referred to having a concussion as “getting your bell rung,” brushing them off as non-serious injuries. You can’t see a concussion, so the injury was often not taken as seriously as even a broken arm.

However, we now know that concussions can have a major effect on the brain, and they can contribute to pain, depression and even suicide later in life. It is effecting both current and former drivers beyond Earnhardt, even though the sport has been late to the game in making changes. Patrick said that awareness, coupled with Earnhardt’s willingness to recognize the dangers of his concussions, has helped change NASCAR’s culture.

“I think that we’d like to sweep it all under the rug as drivers like we feel fine and nothing is wrong,” said Patrick, 34. “But it’s our life. If there was someone that told me or, I would hope any other driver, if you have another wreck, you could have a serious problem, then they would [choose to] be out.

“I would be out because I love what I do but I love lots of other things and I also love life. I’m too young to have it be over. It was a good lesson for a lot of people and a good education.”

[ESPN]

About Kevin Trahan

Kevin mostly covers college football and college basketball, with an emphasis on NCAA issues and other legal issues in sports. He is also an incoming law student. He's written for SB Nation, USA Today, VICE Sports, The Guardian and The Wall Street Journal, among others. He is a graduate of Northwestern University.