Retired NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., his family and two pilots survived a fiery plane crash Thursday after a hard landing at a Tennessee airport. First responders arrived at the scene to help — and this weekend NASCAR thanked them for taking care of one of its legends with free tickets to the races.
"We had a great time with our first responder family at the BMS night race!" wrote the Carter County Tennessee Sheriff's Office on its Facebook page Saturday. "A big thank you to NASCAR for giving us and all the agencies that responded to Dale Jr.'s plane crash free tickets!"
BMS refers to the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Earnhardt Jr., his wife Amy and baby daughter, Isla, were in the area near the Speedway where he was expected to join the broadcast team to cover a race this weekend.