Dale Earnhardt Jr. tweets thanks for well-wishes and prayers after plane's crash-landing

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. commented publicly Monday afternoon for the first time since his plane crash-landed at a Tennessee airport Thursday.

    Earnhardt Jr., his wife Amy, their daughter Isla and the plane’s two pilots weren’t seriously injured in the crash, which happened at the Elizabethton Municipal Airport as the Earnhardts were flying to the weekend’s races at Bristol Motor Speedway. An investigator for the NTSB said preliminary findings from the investigation into the crash showed that the plane bounced at least twice when it attempted to land.

    It came to rest approximately 1,000 feet past the end of the runway in the middle of a state highway and everyone on board was able to get out as the plane caught fire after the crash.

    In his Monday tweet, Earnhardt Jr. thanked everyone for their thoughts and prayers.

    “Amy and I want to thank everyone who has lifted us up with phone calls, messages and prayer since last Thursday. 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.

    Junior also briefly addressed the crash at the start of his weekly podcast released Monday afternoon but didn’t add much to the statement that he provided on Twitter.

    Earnhardt Jr., who retired from driving full-time in 2017, was set to call Saturday night’s Cup Series race at Bristol for NBC Sports but did not work the race weekend after the crash. Earnhardt Jr. is currently set to broadcast the Labor Day race weekend at Darlington for NBC and is also set to drive for his JR Motorsports team in the Xfinity Series race.

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    Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.

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