Dale Earnhardt Jr., the NASCAR driver turned NBC Sports analyst, was hospitalized but unhurt after he was involved in a plane crash Thursday.
Earnhardt Jr. was aboard a private plane with his wife, one-year-old daughter and two others when it crashed Thursday afternoon, but there were reportedly no serious injuries. Earnhardt Jr. texted ESPN reporter Marty Smith to say that he and his family were OK following the crash, according to ESPN.com.
Earnhardt Jr. is in his second year as a prominent NBC Sports analyst, covering NASCAR races and a number of other events. The crash occurred a half-hour outside of Bristol, Tennessee, where this weekend’s NASCAR Bristol Night race is being held.
NBC Sports said Thursday that Earnhardt Jr. will not be part of this weekend’s NASCAR coverage from Bristol.
Thursday was not his first brush with danger, as one would expect given his previous occupation. In 2004, his car was engulfed in flames following a crash during a sports car race. He also suffered through the tragedy of losing his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., during the 2001 Daytona 500.
The crash was the second accident involving a sports media figure this week. ESPN MLB analyst Jessica Mendoza was in a car accident last week that forced her to miss the network’s Sunday Night Baseball broadcast.
