Dale Earnhardt Jr., Amy Earnhardt and their 15-month-old daughter Isla are are OK after their private jet crashed on the runway at Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Tennessee on Thursday.
In a statement to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, who is also a USA TODAY Sports contributor, the Federal Aviation Administration said:
“A Cessna Citation rolled off the end of Runway 24 & caught fire after landing at Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Tennessee at 3:40 p.m. today. Preliminary indication is that two pilots & three passengers were aboard.”
Dale Jr.’s older sister, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, who co-owns the race team JR Motorsports with him, confirmed on Twitter that the family and the two pilots are OK and were taken to the hospital for further evaluation.
Earnhardt was treated for minor injuries that were described as cuts and abrasions, local new channel WJHL reported.
The eastern Tennessee airport is about 15 miles from Bristol Motor Speedway, where NASCAR is racing this weekend. The first race in the third-tier Truck Series playoffs is Thursday, followed by the second-tier XFINITY Series race Friday and the Cup Series race Saturday. All three are night races.
Dale Jr. retired from full-time racing at the end of the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series season, and he’s now an analyst for NBC Sports, which broadcasts the second half of the 36-race season.
Update: NBC said Dale Jr. is taking the weekend off.
Fellow drivers and people in the racing world were, of course, relieved to hear the Earnhardt family and others on board are OK.
