Former NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his family were involved in a plane crash last week and had it not been for the first responders, the Earnhardt family would likely be dealing with serious injuries. However, the entire family is safe which led to NASCAR giving the first responders free tickets to Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, according to TMZ.
“We had a great time with our first responder family at the BMS night race!” the Carter County Sheriff’s Office said.
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“A big thank you to NASCAR for giving us and all the agencies that responded to Dale Jr.’s plane crash free tickets!”
On Monday, Earnhardt released a statement to show his appreciation for the love and support he and his family received over the last few days.
“Amy and I want to thank everyone who has lifted us up with phone calls, messages, and prayer since last Thursday,” Earnhardt said in his statement. “We are truly blessed that all on board escaped with no serious injuries, including our daughter, our two pilots, and our dog Gus. With respect to the investigation, we will not be speculating or discussing the cause of the accident. I am thankful for the quick response of my pilots, local law enforcement, emergency personnel, and hospital staff. Lastly, Amy and I continue to be very appreciative of the privacy extended to us to process everything. It has been important to do that together and on our own time.”
The cause of the plane crash has yet to be determined. But what was determined was the plane bounced twice off the runway at the Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Tennessee before crashing.
“The airplane basically bounced at least twice before coming down hard on the right main landing gear,” National Transportation Safety Board investigator Ralph Hicks said via NBC News. “You can actually see the right main landing gear collapsing on the video. The airplane continued down the runway, off to the end, through a fence and came to a stop behind me here on Highway 91.”
Dale, his wife Amy, their daughter, their dog and two pilots were on the plane when it crashed. But thankfully, Dale was the only one to was sent to the hospital for minor cuts and burns.
