Former NASCAR driver Ted Musgrave told Dale Earnhardt Jr. about a near-death experience during a flight to Talladega Superspeedway. He recalled their plane clipping trees on landing, but luckily, the captain was able to steer them out of danger.While Musgrave raced against Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the NASCAR Cup Series during the 2000s, his greatest success came in the Craftsman Truck Series. He collected 17 victories and captured the 2005 championship. The plane story came up after Dale Jr. mentioned his own flight scare with Mark Martin, who was Musgrave’s former teammate at Roush Racing (now RKF Racing).In an episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Ted Musgrave said:“We had a plane full, and we're going to Talladega to test. We took off out of Greensboro, I believe, with everybody, and it was foggy, kind of rainy down there in Talladega. We made an approach coming in to land.“I heard the alarm go off. It's like 200 feet or whatever. Still can't see anything. I said, ‘This ain't right.’ So at the last minute, I looked out the window, we started hearing some ‘bang bang bang bang.’ It was treetops. We were hitting the treetops of the trees of the wings and everything. Luckily, Captain Ron throttled up real hard... pulled us up out of there.”After recalling that the FAA grounded their plane because of the damage, Musgrave concluded by saying:“That was the scariest and closest to death I think we've all been.”Dale Earnhardt Jr., meanwhile, had his own infamous plane crash in 2019. He was traveling to Bristol Motor Speedway for a broadcasting gig with NBC Sports when his Cessna Citation skidded off the runway and burst into flames. Thankfully, everyone on board—including his wife Amy and their daughter Isla—were safe.“We are truly blessed”: Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s statement after plane crash in 2019Following the Bristol race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. had released a statement thanking everyone—including his pilots and hospital staff—for their support and efforts. He and Amy said they felt “truly blessed” that no one was seriously injured in the incident.The former Hendrick Motorsports driver said (via NASCAR):“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.”Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s plane crash in 2019 - Source: ImagnAccording to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the crash was caused by the pilots attempting to land despite being on an unstabilized approach, rather than initiating a go-around. Investigators also found that the pilots failed to deploy the speedbrakes, which contributed to the aircraft overshooting the runway.The incident happened two years after Earnhardt Jr. retired from full-time NASCAR racing. He remained in the sport as a TV analyst and co-owner of JR Motorsports. His Xfinity Series team currently fields Sammy Smith (#8), Connor Zilisch (#88), Carson Kvapil (#1), and reigning series champion Justin Allgaier (#7).