Dale Earnhardt Jr. won’t have to bum a plane ride from his racing pals anymore. Notoriously frugal, Earnhardt has joined the ranks of drivers with his own plane, having purchased a Lear 60 twin-engine jet. “I’ve been trying to avoid getting a plane because it’s really expensive, but we got to looking at them and talking about it and it seemed like there were a couple of places where we got stuck and hung up,” Earnhardt said Wednesday. “With your own plane you don’t have to wait on everybody to show up to take off.” Earnhardt always had the option of riding on the Dale Earnhardt Inc. company plane, but because that plane transported team members for both his car and teammate Michael Waltrip, he would have to leave earlier and stay longer. Having his own jet will allow Earnhardt to spend at least another week at home over the course of the season. Last summer, while suffering with burns suffered in a sports car crash in Sonoma, Calif., Earnhardt accepted plane or helicopter rides from some of his driver friends, including Dale Jarrett and Tony Stewart. The Lear 60 seats six passengers comfortably, plus two pilots, and travels at about 520 mph. Earnhardt wouldn’t give specifics on his purchase but said they cost between $5 1/2 million and $8 1/2 million. And that doesn’t include the cost of pilots and fuel.(Tampa Tribune)(1-13-2005)
