Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he's still VERY sore after surviving a plane crash just 7 days ago -- but he's already getting himself ready to RACE again next week.
"My lower back is bruised up real bad," the 44-year-old NASCAR legend told a fan on Twitter.
"Lots of swelling and I just need that to go down and the pain to chill out."
Of course, Dale, his wife, his 1-year-old daughter, his dog and two pilots were involved in a terrifying wreck last Thursday when their plan crash landed in Elizabethton, Tennessee.