"It just gives me chills" - Dale Earnhardt Jr. recounts ghostly encounter after 2004 Sonoma crash

NASCAR veteran Dale Earnhardt Jr. has had a storied career in stock car racing that spanned over 19 years. The now semi-retired Earnhardt Jr. fills has turned his focus to entrepreneurship and working as an analyst for NASCAR on NBC.

As is the case with every driver, their line of work comes with an occupational hazard in the form of crashes. Every race car driver in any genre of motor sport has had at least one crash while they fought at the limit of the car.

Earnhardt Jr. is no exception as the 47-year-old looks back at one particular incident. Earnhardt Jr. recalled his experience in 2018 on his podcast, The Dale Jr. Download after a fan asked him if he had had an encounter with a ghost.

Way back in 2004, Earnhardt Jr. was behind the wheel of a Corvette racecar on Sonoma Raceway when he crashed. He went onto explain what happened and said:

“When I wrecked in the Corvette in 2004 at Sonoma, it caught fire, somebody pulled me out of that car. And I thought that it was a corner worker because I felt somebody put their hands under my armpits and pull me out of the car. I didn’t get out. I don’t have any memory of myself climbing out of the car. And I remember sort of moving like in motion going to lean forward and try to climb out of the car, and then something grabbed me under the armpits, pulled me up over the door bars and then let go of me.”

Eye-witnesses and video of the incident proved that the Kannapolis, North Carolina native climbed out of the car on his own strength. He believes his late father, legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Sr., was the motivation behind his will to stay alive. He elaborated further and said:

“I think he had a lot to do with me getting out of that car. I don’t want to put some weird, you know, psycho twist on it like he was pulling me out or anything, but he had a lot to do with me getting out of that car. It freaks me out today just talking about it. It just gives me chills.”

Watch the video of the incident below:

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finishes in P11 at Martinsville

Dale Earnhardt Jr. made a cameo appearance in the Xfinity Series, racing at Martinsville Speedway last weekend. The former Cup Series driver took to the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro and drove the car to an 11th-place finish.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had all his skills on display when he managed to keep out of trouble in a chaotic race filled with crashes and red flags.