Jeffrey Earnhardt
Fourth generation American stock car race car driver

Jeffrey Earnhardt

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Fourth generation American stock car race car driver
Gender:
Male
Places:
United States of America
Is:
Driver
Birth:
22 June 1989(Mooresville)
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Biography

Introduction

Jeffrey Earnhardt (born June 22, 1989) is an American professional stock car racing driver who is currently a free agent.

Racing career

Earnhardt is the middle child of Kerry Earnhardt, the grandson of Dale Earnhardt, great-grandson of Ralph Earnhardt and nephew of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Earnhardt's first race came in the hornet division at Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Virginia. He scored three feature wins and finished in the top-five 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 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 two different tracks with the best moving on. Earnhardt made the final cut. In 2007, Earnhardt drove the No. 1 Chevrolet for Andy Santerre Motorsports in the NASCAR Busch East Series. He finished fifth in the 2007 Busch East point standings and won the Most Popular Driver Award at the end of the season.

In 2008, Earnhardt returned to what is now known as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East for another full season, along with selected Nationwide Series races. Earnhardt was unexpectedly replaced in the car at Dover in September 2008 with Aric Almirola who won the race. When DEI subsequently merged with Chip Ganassi Racing, their driver development program went into limbo, and Earnhardt was released.

In 2010, Earnhardt drove several races with Rick Ware Racing which qualified him to drive on all NASCAR tracks in the 2011 season. He signed with RWR to drive a full season in 2011 and make his run for rookie of the year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. However, he was originally released from the team after offering his driving services to other truck teams. Earnhardt and Ware later reconciled, citing a lack of communication from both parties. RWR ran Earnhardt in the 24 Hours of Daytona where they finished 12th.

Earnhardt moved to the grand-am Rolex Sports Car Series in 2012, where he raced in the GT class for Rick Ware Racing.

In November 2012, he announced he would be competing for rookie of the year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2013, driving the No. 79 for Go Green Racing; sponsorship issues later limited his schedule with the team.

On April 4, 2013, it was announced that Earnhardt would drive the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports in the Nationwide race at Richmond International Raceway.

In the 2013 Charlotte testing for Sprint Cup cars, Earnhardt tested a car for Go Green Racing.

For 2014, Earnhardt moved full-time to the Nationwide Series, driving the No. 4 Chevrolet for JD Motorsports. During the Subway Firecracker 250 at Daytona, he was replaced by Matt DiBenedetto during the first caution period, since Earnhardt had suffered a fractured collarbone in a motorcycle accident during the week. He would then finish 18th in the point standings and was also released by JD Motorsports after his disappointing season.

Before the 2015 season started, Earnhardt was picked up by Viva Motorsports to drive the season opener at Daytona. He finished 15th in the Daytona race.

Earnhardt made his Sprint Cup Series debut at the 2015 Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway for Go Fas Racing. On September 18, Go Fas Racing announced that Earnhardt would run the majority of the 2016 Sprint Cup Series season, except for restrictor plate races that Bobby Labonte will run and road course races that Boris Said will run, with sponsorship from Can-Am motorcycles. He competed for Cup Rookie of the Year honors. Earnhardt joined BK Racing for the Hellmann's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, driving the No. 83. He returned to BK for the AAA Texas 500, driving the No. 83 in place of an injured Matt DiBenedetto. Earnhardt then made his final start with BK Racing at Homestead, finishing 31st.

After the 2016 season ended, Go Fas Racing announced that Earnhardt will not return to the No. 32 team next year.

MMA career

Earnhardt made his amateur debut in mixed martial arts on May 22, 2012, defeating Chris Faison by unanimous decision in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Images

  • Earnhardt at Music City Motorplex in 2007

  • 2014 Nationwide car at Road America

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series

Xfinity Series

Camping World Truck Series

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

24 Hours of Daytona

(key)