There's this mythology of invulnerability in stock car racing right now, which contends that due to advancements in safety technology, it's virtually impossible for drivers to get hurt or killed anymore while racing. Of course that would be fantastic if it were true, but as anyone who's witnessed anything close to the cataclysmic melee we saw at Talladega on Sunday, it patently is not. There's simply no way to ensure safety of the fragile human organism when 850-hp race cars go from nearly 200 mph to 0 in a matter of seconds, or to account for the forces exerted upon drivers' bodies in the course of a completely unpredictable series of impacts, rolls, and richochets. Junior drove himself (and Jimmie!) to the pit lane and was basically coherent following Sunday's massive and violent wreck, but as pit reporters noted at the time, he just wasn't entirely himself. He decided to go get checked by the doc, was diagnosed with a concussion (which most likely originated with a wreck during testing at Kansas August 29), and has agreed to sit out the next two races in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. It's a decision that'll take him out of contention for the championship, following a really strong season of great finishes and even breaking his 143-race winless spell at Michigan in June. With so much at stake, it was obviously a gut-wrenching decision for Junior, but it was the only right thing to do. Here's to a speedy recovery and a triumphant return to continue his comeback streak in 2013. Check out ESPN's take on the story, and see Dr. Jerry Punch's interesting discussion of cumulative head trauma in racing here.