By alley - Feb 18, 2017, 9:06 PM ET

Earnhardt tables contract talks for 'couple of months'

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has waited a long time and diligently worked his way back to his No. 88 Chevy after taking half of 2016 to recover from concussion. And he still feels he has a few years of racing left in him. So even though he's in a contract year, those discussions are simply going to take some time.

"I told (team owner) Rick [Hendrick] I'd like to get a couple of months under my belt to get confidence in my health," he told a group of reporters Saturday. "When I got hurt last year and what I saw it put the company through, how I saw it frustrate certain aspects of the company, it put a strain on our relationships. Our [sponsors] were worried about my future.

NASCAR expands concussion protocol

"Rick and everybody was worried. I don't want to do that again. So I want to get some races under my belt and get confidence in my health before I can commit to him. I don't want to make any promises I can't deliver on.

Making his first competitive laps since July 9, 2016 on Saturday, Earnhardt said he was not nervous to be back behind the wheel.

"Just trying to put as many laps as I can behind me and get further and further into this deal to where the events from last year become more of a distant memory and don't define me as who I am so much anymore," Earnhardt said after clocking in 11th fastest during practice.

The subject of Earnhardt's contract was discussed both prior to and after Earnhardt decided to end his 2016 season early to focus on his recovery. Hendrick confirmed at the time that he and Earnhardt "talked about years beyond next year" just around the Daytona summer race, and in the context of what he was going through, Hendrick was supportive of Earnhardt's decision to take things slowly.

"We want him for a long time," Hendrick said in July. "He's kind of an iron man – he doesn't want to let the team down, he doesn't want to let his fans down. We need him for the long pull. He wants to be in the car."

Fast forward to Saturday at Daytona, and Earnhardt's approach is still understandably measured.

"I used to try over the last year or two to put a number on it and say this is when I'm going to retire. This will be the year, the day, the age. I've decided that maybe it's best that I don't considering my health. I can't really try to put a date on it because I don't know what's going to happen to me going forward."

Whether soliticed or not, Earnhardt has heard several opinions on how he should proceed. Richard Petty appeared on Fox Sports 1's "Race Hub" and said he was "disappointed" to hear Earnhardt would be making a return to competition after another concussion, which

Earnhardt took to mean

was The King looking out for his well-being.

At last month's test at Phoenix, Earnhardt got additional perspective from Carl Edwards, who shocked the NASCAR world just days earlier by announcing his retirement and citing the sport's potential health dangers as one motivating factor for stepping away from full-time racing.

"He said, 'Man it was a real easy decision to make when I didn't worry about anyone else or worry about how it affected anyone else,'" Earnhardt said. "That's the hard part for me. There are so many moving parts to what we have going on. There's a lot of elements, and it's not an easy decision to say when is the time to hang it up.

"There was a lot of time in there during the recovery where there were days I was 90 percent sure I wasn't going to drive again. ... I had to decide for myself if I wanted to drive anymore. I'm not going to race because any other reason than I want to be out there. I don't think it's smart for any other reasons."