Jeffrey Earnhardt (born June 22, 1989 in Mooresville, North Carolina) is the grandson of the late Dale Earnhardt. He is the son of former NASCAR driver Kerry Earnhardt. Jeffrey was signed in 2007 to drive for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. in the Busch East Series.
Racing career[]
Jeffrey Earnhardt is the middle child of Renee Earnhardt and Kerry Earnhardt, grandson of Dale Earnhardt and the great-grandson of Ralph Earnhardt and nephew to Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Earnhardt's first race came in the Hornet Division at Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Virginia. He scored 3 feature wins and finished in the top 5 in division points, winning Rookie of the Year. The following year he moved up to the Sportsman division at the Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Virginia, finishing the season in the top 10 of the division standings. He also competed in the late model season finale at the track as a teammate to RCR developmental driver Allison Duncan.
In 2006, General Motors created a driver developmental search program wherein they looked for individuals they believed to be the stars of the future and invited them to test a late model and a Busch car at 2 different tracks with the best moving on. Jeffery made the final cut.
In 2007, Earnhardt drove a #1 Chevrolet for Andy Santerre Motorsports in the NASCAR Busch East Series. He finished 5th in the 2007 Busch East point standings and won the Most Popular Driver award at the end of the season.[1]
In 2008, Earnhardt returned to what is now known as the NASCAR Camping World East Series for another full season, along with selected Nationwide Series races. Earnhardt was unexpectly replaced in the car at Dover in September 2008, and replaced with by Aric Almirola who won the race.
Jeffrey will drive a limited NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule in 2009 for Rick Ware Racing. His first scheduled event for the team was the May 30th event at Dover International Speedway, but he did not qualify for the race after wrecking in practice, getting loose in the 4th turn and hitting the inside wall. After Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing re-evaluated his options, Earnhardt signed with Key Motorsports and made his series and major-league NASCAR debut at Waktins Glen International on August 7th. Earnhardt had a respectable outing, finishing 24th and on the lead lap. He will also race for the team at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on August 28th and hopes to run seven total races in '09 in preparation for a Rookie of the Year effort in 2010.
External links[]
| Earnhardt Family |
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| Dale Earnhardt | Dale Earnhardt, Jr | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Kerry Earnhardt | Ralph Earnhardt |