Dale Earnhardt Jr. is no stranger to surviving fiery wrecks in the world of motorsports, especially one fiery wreck in 2004 in a American Le Mans Series race at Sonoma Speedway where his car caught on fire after he wrecked out and it ruptured a fuel line and he suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns after it caught on fire as he tried to get out. But today, it was a different story for the now retired 3rd generation NASCAR superstar as he and his wife Amy and their 1 year old daughter Isla survived a fiery plane crash today as their plane crashed as it was landing at the Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Bristol, TN as the plane ran off the runway. the crash happened as NASCAR was preparing to race at near by Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend starting with tonight's NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series race which kicks off that series' playoffs this week, while the Xfinity Series and the Monster Energy Cup Series are in the final weeks of the regular season as their playoffs start in September. Dale Earnhardt Jr was slated to be at the near by track to call the action this weekend in the Cup and Xfinity Series races at Bristol for NBC Sports' NBCSN.
Dale jr was the only one that was hospitalized with burns, cuts and abrasions but those are minor injuries and not seriously. But other than that, no one else in the plane including the 2 pilots who were flying the Cessna Citation private plane that crashed the airport.
No word yet from NBC Sports on whether or not Dale Jr. will be at Bristol Motor Speedway for the NASCAR races, practice sessions and qualifying for tomorrow and Saturday.
ABC News' report of the plane crash:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/dale-earnhardt-jr-family-escape-plane-crash-tennessee/story?id=65000224&cid=social_twitter_abcn
This is not the first aviation crash involving NASCAR drivers or owners, in 1993, 2 separate aviation accidents took the lives of 2 NASCAR drivers, the 1992 Cup Series champion Alan Kulwicki was killed in a plane crash near Bristol on April 1, 1993 as he was flying on the way to Bristol after a appearance at a Hooters (which was his team sponsor) in Knoxville with executives from the restaurant chain. The other aviation accident that year was a helicopter crash at Talladega Superspeedway where 2nd generation NASCAR driver Davey Allison died a day after crashing his helicopter on July 12, 1993 while he was attending a testing session for his friend and "Alabama Gang" (nickname for a group of NASCAR drivers from Alabama which included members of the Alison racing family) member Neil Bonnet and his son. The helicopter crash also had a fellow race car driver in the helicopter with Davey was Red Farmer, Red survived the crash.
Also on October 24, 2004, members of Hendrick Motorsport owner Rick Hendrick's family was killed in a plane crash near Martinsville, VA was in route to the NASCAR Cup Series race that day, including Rick's son Ricky, Rick's brother John (who was a co-owner of the team), John's daughters and Rick's nieces Kimberly and Jennifer Hendrick Motorsports chief engineer Randy Dolton 7 the team's General Manager Jeff Turner. the plane crash also killed 3 pilots (2 of them were flying the plane, while the 3rd, Tony Stewart's then pilot Scott Lathram was a passenger) and DuPont executive Joe Jackson. NASCAR told HMS drivers to report to the hauler after the race after receiving word halfway into the on-going race that day to inform them of the tragic crash. HMS driver Jimmie Johnson went on to win the race, but their was no post-race celebration due to the tragic plane crash. Rick Hendrick was not on the plane as he was not feeling well that day and stayed home in North Carolina where the team is based.
Also, Roush Fenway (formerly Roush Racing) owner Jack Roush survived 2 different plane crashes, the first on his 60th birthday on April 19, 2002 where the plane crashed into a lake in Troy, AL in route to the race weekend at near by Talladega Superspeedway, in which he suffered numerous injuries from. He was also in another plane crash on July 27, 2010 in Oshkosh, WI in which he walked out of the wreckage, but suffered numerous injuries and lost his left eye due to the crash.
Dale jr was the only one that was hospitalized with burns, cuts and abrasions but those are minor injuries and not seriously. But other than that, no one else in the plane including the 2 pilots who were flying the Cessna Citation private plane that crashed the airport.
No word yet from NBC Sports on whether or not Dale Jr. will be at Bristol Motor Speedway for the NASCAR races, practice sessions and qualifying for tomorrow and Saturday.
ABC News' report of the plane crash:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/dale-earnhardt-jr-family-escape-plane-crash-tennessee/story?id=65000224&cid=social_twitter_abcn
This is not the first aviation crash involving NASCAR drivers or owners, in 1993, 2 separate aviation accidents took the lives of 2 NASCAR drivers, the 1992 Cup Series champion Alan Kulwicki was killed in a plane crash near Bristol on April 1, 1993 as he was flying on the way to Bristol after a appearance at a Hooters (which was his team sponsor) in Knoxville with executives from the restaurant chain. The other aviation accident that year was a helicopter crash at Talladega Superspeedway where 2nd generation NASCAR driver Davey Allison died a day after crashing his helicopter on July 12, 1993 while he was attending a testing session for his friend and "Alabama Gang" (nickname for a group of NASCAR drivers from Alabama which included members of the Alison racing family) member Neil Bonnet and his son. The helicopter crash also had a fellow race car driver in the helicopter with Davey was Red Farmer, Red survived the crash.
Also on October 24, 2004, members of Hendrick Motorsport owner Rick Hendrick's family was killed in a plane crash near Martinsville, VA was in route to the NASCAR Cup Series race that day, including Rick's son Ricky, Rick's brother John (who was a co-owner of the team), John's daughters and Rick's nieces Kimberly and Jennifer Hendrick Motorsports chief engineer Randy Dolton 7 the team's General Manager Jeff Turner. the plane crash also killed 3 pilots (2 of them were flying the plane, while the 3rd, Tony Stewart's then pilot Scott Lathram was a passenger) and DuPont executive Joe Jackson. NASCAR told HMS drivers to report to the hauler after the race after receiving word halfway into the on-going race that day to inform them of the tragic crash. HMS driver Jimmie Johnson went on to win the race, but their was no post-race celebration due to the tragic plane crash. Rick Hendrick was not on the plane as he was not feeling well that day and stayed home in North Carolina where the team is based.
Also, Roush Fenway (formerly Roush Racing) owner Jack Roush survived 2 different plane crashes, the first on his 60th birthday on April 19, 2002 where the plane crashed into a lake in Troy, AL in route to the race weekend at near by Talladega Superspeedway, in which he suffered numerous injuries from. He was also in another plane crash on July 27, 2010 in Oshkosh, WI in which he walked out of the wreckage, but suffered numerous injuries and lost his left eye due to the crash.
