| Jeffrey Earnhardt | |
| Birth Name: | Jeffrey Lynn Earnhardt |
| Birth Date: | 22 June 1989 |
| Birth Place: | Mooresville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Awards: | 2007 Busch East Series Most Popular Driver |
| Total Cup Races: | 76 |
| Years In Cup: | 5 |
| Prev Cup Pos: | 50th |
| Previous Year: | 2019 |
| Best Cup Pos: | 36th (2017) |
| First Cup Race: | 2015 Federated Auto Parts 400 (Richmond) |
| Last Cup Race: | 2019 GEICO 500 (Talladega) |
| Cup Wins: | 0 |
| Cup Top Tens: | 0 |
| Cup Poles: | 0 |
| Total Busch Races: | 172 |
| Years In Busch: | 12 |
| Busch Car Team: | No. 26 (Sam Hunt Racing) |
| Prev Busch Pos: | 27th |
| Prev Busch Year: | 2023 |
| Best Busch Pos: | 30th (2014) |
| First Busch Race: | 2009 Zippo 200 at the Glen (Watkins Glen) |
| Last Busch Race: | 2024 Wawa 250 (Daytona) |
| Busch Wins: | 0 |
| Busch Top Tens: | 6 |
| Busch Poles: | 1 |
| Total Truck Races: | 11 |
| Years In Truck: | 3 |
| Prev Truck Pos: | 38th |
| Prev Truck Year: | 2011 |
| Truck Car Team: | No. 67 (MBM Motorsports) |
| Best Truck Pos: | 38th (2011) |
| First Truck Race: | 2009 CampingWorld.com 200 (Gateway) |
| Last Truck Race: | 2024 North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (Charlotte) |
| Truck Wins: | 0 |
| Truck Top Tens: | 1 |
| Truck Poles: | 0 |
| Total Canada Races: | 1 |
| Years In Canada: | 1 |
| Prev Canada Pos: | 45th |
| Prev Canada Year: | 2016 |
| Best Canada Pos: | 45th (2016) |
| First Canada Race: | 2016 Can-Am 50 Tours (Trois-Rivières) |
| Canada Wins: | 0 |
| Canada Top Tens: | 0 |
| Canada Poles: | 0 |
| Total Arca East Races: | 25 |
| Years In Arca East: | 3 |
| Best Arca East Pos: | 5th (2007) |
| First Arca East Race: | 2007 Greased Lightning 150 (Greenville-Pickens) |
| Last Arca East Race: | 2009 Long John Silver's 200 (Iowa) |
| Arca East Wins: | 0 |
| Arca East Top Tens: | 13 |
| Arca East Poles: | 1 |
| Updated: | August 23, 2024 |
Jeffrey Lynn Earnhardt[1] (born June 22, 1989) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 26 Toyota GR Supra for Sam Hunt Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 67 Toyota Tundra for MBM Motorsports. He is the son of Kerry Earnhardt, grandson of Dale 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.[2] 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.[3]
In 2008, Earnhardt returned to what is now known as the ARCA Menards Series East for another full season. 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.[4] 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.[5] [6]
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;[7] sponsorship issues later limited his schedule with the team.[8]
On April 4, 2013, it was announced that Earnhardt would drive the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports in a one-race agreement for the Nationwide race at Richmond International Raceway.[9] [10]
In the 2013 Charlotte testing for Sprint Cup cars, Earnhardt tested a car for Go Green Racing.[11]
For 2014, Earnhardt moved full-time to the Nationwide Series, driving the No. 4 Chevrolet for JD Motorsports.[12] 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.[13] His car was sponsored by The Great Outdoors RV Superstore for the Nationwide series Zippo 200 race at Watkins Glen International where he finished 21st. 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. When he started this race, he became the second 4th generation driver to compete in NASCAR's top series, with Adam Petty being the first.[14]
After his prior success in racing Can-am and Cyclops created a partnership with Earnhardt[15] and 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 ran and road course races that Boris Said entered, with sponsorship from Can-Am motorcycles. He competed for Cup Rookie of the Year honors.[16] Earnhardt joined BK Racing for the Hellmann's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, driving the No. 83.[17] He returned to BK for the AAA Texas 500, driving the No. 83 in place of an injured Matt DiBenedetto.[18] Earnhardt then made his final start with BK Racing at Homestead, finishing 31st.
After the 2016 season ended, Go Fas Racing announced that Earnhardt would not return to the No. 32 team for 2017, and was replaced by Matt DiBenedetto. In January 2017, Earnhardt announced that he would drive the No. 33 Chevrolet for Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group.[19] The following month, Earnhardt made his CS–TMG debut at the Daytona 500, and in his debut with the team, Earnhardt made NASCAR history by becoming the first-ever fourth-generation driver to compete in the Daytona 500. He started 33rd and finished 26th (which tied his career-best finish up to that point) after being involved in a crash on lap 143.[20] Earnhardt raced the full season except for the road courses. Starter sponsored the early part of the season, while Hulu stepped in to sponsor the majority.
On October 15, 2017, Earnhardt signed a contract extension to remain with CS–TMG for the 2018 season.[21] However, on December 12, Circle Sport Racing and The Motorsports Group ended their partnership,[22] leaving Earnhardt temporarily without a ride.[23] Earnhardt ended up joining the No. 00 StarCom Racing team for the 2018 Daytona 500, marking the 40th consecutive year that a member of the Earnhardt family had driven in the event.[24] [25] Earnhardt also ran the next four races for StarCom and planned to run the full season for the team, but after the fifth race of the season, he and the team parted ways.[26] On May 22, it was announced that Earnhardt would drive the No. 55 for Premium Motorsports in Charlotte's Coca-Cola 600.[27] The week following the race, he announced more races with the team but did not name an exact number.[28] On July 7, Earnhardt finished 11th at the Coke Zero Sugar 400, which was his career best Cup Series finish up to that point.[29] On July 28, 2018, it was announced that Earnhardt would join Gaunt Brothers Racing in their No. 96 Toyota for 14 races, with sponsorship from Xtreme Concepts.[30]
In November 2018, Earnhardt joined Joe Gibbs Racing's for the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, driving the No. 18 Toyota Supra in nine races and sharing the ride with Riley Herbst, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin.[31] [32] At the summer Charlotte race, Earnhardt scored a career-best third place finish, despite sustaining damage from hitting the turn 3 wall on lap 142.[33]
On February 14, 2019, security company and sponsor Xtreme Concepts announced the formation of XCI Racing, which would field the No. 81 Toyota Camry and Supra for Earnhardt at the two Talladega Cup and five Xfinity races, respectively.[34] Although Earnhardt stated that he would like to build with XCI to a full season in NASCAR's premier series in 2020,[35] the team withdrew from the 2019 Circle K Firecracker 250 before Earnhardt announced his departure from XCI and JGR on August 7.[36] [37]
Earnhardt returned to JD Motorsports in 2020 on a 12-race schedule.[38] After running 29 races during the 2020 season, he was elevated to a full-time schedule with the team in 2021 in the No. 0.[39]
On November 9, 2021, Earnhardt announced that he would not return to JD Motorsports in 2022 in order to pursue opportunities to drive for a top-tier team whether it be full-time or part-time.[40] On January 14, 2022, it was announced that Earnhardt would drive part-time for Sam Hunt Racing in 2022. He would drive both of the team's cars, the part-time No. 24 and the full-time No. 26. Earnhardt's sponsor for most of the races in 2021, ForeverLawn, also moved with him from JDM to Sam Hunt Racing.[41] Earnhardt would also drive the No. 35 car for Emerling-Gase Motorsports in the spring race at Phoenix.[42] and the No. 3 car for Richard Childress Racing in the spring race at Talladega. It was the first time that Earnhardt drove the No. 3, the number made famous by his grandfather Dale when he drove for RCR in the Cup Series, in NASCAR and the first time he drove for RCR in NASCAR.[43] He collected his first career Pole award, and finished the race in a career-best second place behind Noah Gragson.[44]
In 2023, it was announced that Earnhardt would run full-time for Alpha Prime Racing in the No. 44 Chevrolet.[45] However after the July race at Atlanta, he would run select races for the team, splitting between the No. 44 and No. 45, and finished 27th in the final points standings with a best finish of eleventh at Daytona in September of that year.
Earnhardt made his amateur debut in mixed martial arts on May 22, 2012,[46] defeating Chris Faison by unanimous decision in Charlotte, North Carolina.[47]
Earnhardt is a fourth-generation NASCAR driver. He is the middle child of Kerry Earnhardt, nephew of Dale Earnhardt Jr., grandson of NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Earnhardt, and great-grandson of Ralph Earnhardt. He has four siblings: a paternal half-sister, Kayla, and two maternal half-brothers, James and David.[48] His older brother, Bobby Dale Earnhardt, retired in 2019 from the ARCA Racing Series.
(key) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)| Year | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group | Chevrolet | 32 | align=center style="background:#EFCFFF;" | 26 | |
| 2018 | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 27 | align=center style="background:#CFCFFF;" | 21 |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | Pts | Ref | ||
| 2009 | Rick Ware Racing | 31 | Chevy | DAY | CAL | LVS | BRI | TEX | NSH | PHO | TAL | RCH | DAR | CLT | DOV DNQ | NSH | KEN | MLW | NHA | DAY | CHI | GTY | IRP | IOW | 100th | 161 | [54] | |||||||||||||||
| Key Motorsports | 40 | Chevy | GLN 24 | MCH | BRI | CGV 31 | ATL | RCH | DOV | KAN | CAL | CLT | MEM | TEX | PHO | HOM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Rick Ware Racing | 41 | Chevy | DAY | PHO | LVS | BRI | CAL | TEX | TAL | NSH | RCH | DAR | DOV | IOW | CLT 35 | CHI | MCH | ROA | DAY 19 | KEN | NHA | NSH | IRP | IOW | GLN | CGV | BRI | ATL | RCH | CHI | DOV | KAN | CLT | TEX | PHO | HOM | 120th1 | 01 | [55] | ||
| 2012 | 15 | Ford | DAY | PHO | LVS | BRI 26 | CAL | TEX | RCH | TAL 25 | DAR | IOW | CLT | DOV | MCH | ROA | KEN | DAY 30 | NHA | CHI | 43rd | 112 | [56] | |||||||||||||||||||
| 39 | Chevy | IND 21 | IOW | GLN | CGV | BRI | ATL | RCH | CHI | KEN | DOV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Go Green Racing | Ford | CLT 27 | KAN | TEX | PHO | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Randy Hill Racing | 08 | Ford | HOM 23 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Go Green Racing | 79 | Ford | DAY 22 | PHO 20 | LVS 26 | BRI 32 | CAL | TEX 22 | TAL 16 | DAR | CLT | DOV 21 | IOW | MCH 31 | ROA 26 | KEN | DAY 33 | NHA 25 | CHI | IND | IOW | GLN | MOH 18 | BRI | ATL | RCH 28 | CHI | KEN 25 | DOV | KAN | CLT 30 | TEX | PHO 20 | HOM | 27th | 339 | [57] | ||||
| JR Motorsports | 5 | Chevy | RCH 17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | JD Motorsports | 4 | Chevy | DAY 30 | PHO 27 | LVS 33 | BRI 32 | CAL 23 | TEX 19 | DAR 20 | RCH 24 | TAL 16 | IOW 23 | CLT 25 | DOV 30 | MCH 25 | ROA 23 | KEN 23 | DAY 33 | NHA 23 | CHI 24 | IND 35 | IOW 31 | GLN 21 | MOH 28 | BRI 12 | ATL 25 | RCH 32 | CHI 30 | KEN 16 | DOV 20 | KAN 29 | CLT 40 | TEX 34 | PHO 40 | HOM 21 | 18th | 586 | [58] | |||
| 2015 | Viva Motorsports | 55 | Chevy | DAY 16 | ATL 32 | LVS | PHO | CAL 28 | TEX | BRI 15 | RCH | TAL 12 | IOW | CLT | DOV | MCH 34 | CHI | DAY | KEN | NHA | IND | IOW | GLN | MOH | BRI | ROA | DAR | RCH | CHI | KEN | DOV | CLT | KAN | TEX | PHO | HOM | 35th | 128 | [59] | |||
| 2019 | Joe Gibbs Racing | 18 | Toyota | DAY 15 | ATL 6 | LVS | PHO | CAL | TAL 26 | DOV | CLT 3 | POC 22 | MCH | IOW | 31st | 187 | [60] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| XCI Racing | 81 | Toyota | TEX 8 | BRI | RCH | CHI 16 | DAY | KEN | NHA | IOW | GLN | MOH | BRI | ROA | DAR | IND | LVS | RCH | ROV | DOV | KAN | TEX | PHO | HOM | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | JD Motorsports | 0 | Chevy | DAY | LVS | CAL | PHO | DAR 23 | CLT 25 | BRI 15 | ATL 21 | HOM 19 | HOM 16 | TAL 14 | POC 16 | KEN 29 | KEN 18 | TEX 12 | KAN 17 | DOV 20 | DOV 29 | DAY 33 | DAR 21 | RCH 24 | RCH 14 | BRI 17 | LVS 33 | TAL 32 | ROV 11 | KAN 20 | TEX 18 | MAR 28 | PHO 32 | 23rd | 417 | [61] | ||||||
| 15 | IRC 38 | ROA 31 | DRC 32 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 0 | DAY 37 | DRC 30 | HOM 22 | LVS 19 | PHO 19 | ATL 19 | MAR 36 | TAL 22 | DAR 31 | DOV 18 | COA DNQ | CLT 22 | MOH 34 | TEX 36 | NSH DNQ | POC 22 | ROA DNQ | ATL 22 | NHA 26 | GLN 25 | IRC | MCH 23 | DAY 20 | DAR 26 | RCH 30 | BRI 25 | LVS 29 | TAL 29 | ROV 20 | TEX 23 | KAN 28 | MAR 22 | PHO 36 | 26th | 325 | [62] | |||||
| 2022 | Sam Hunt Racing | 24 | Toyota | DAY 15 | 31st | 200 | [63] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 26 | CAL 29 | LVS | ATL 13 | COA | RCH | MAR | TEX 19 | CLT 37 | POR | NSH 7 | ROA | ATL 19 | NHA | POC | IRC | MCH | GLN | DAY | DAR | KAN | BRI 12 | TEX 38 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Emerling-Gase Motorsports | 35 | Toyota | PHO 34 | LVS 27 | HOM | MAR | PHO | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Richard Childress Racing | 3 | Chevy | TAL 2 | DAR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Emerling-Gase Motorsports | 35 | Ford | TAL 37 | ROV | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Alpha Prime Racing | 44 | Chevy | DAY 28 | CAL 26 | LVS 29 | PHO 33 | ATL 34 | RCH 18 | MAR 20 | TAL 31 | DOV 37 | HOM 18 | 27th | 272 | [64] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 45 | COA 25 | DAR 26 | CLT 21 | PIR 19 | SON 36 | NSH 27 | CSC DNQ | ATL 23 | NHA | POC 19 | ROA | MCH 24 | IRC | GLN | DAY 11 | DAR | KAN | BRI 32 | TEX 32 | ROV | LVS | MAR 26 | PHO 23 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Sam Hunt Racing | 26 | Toyota | DAY | ATL 8 | LVS | PHO | COA | RCH | MAR | TEX | TAL 37 | DOV | DAR | CLT | PIR | SON | IOW | NHA | NSH | CSC | POC | IND | MCH 21 | DAY 28 | DAR | ATL | GLN | BRI 35 | KAN | TAL | ROV | LVS | HOM | MAR | PHO 35 | 91st | 01 | [65] | |||
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | Pts | Ref | ||
| 2010 | Rick Ware Racing | 6 | Chevy | DAY | ATL | MAR | NSH | KAN | DOV | CLT | TEX | MCH | IOW | GTY 30 | IRP | POC | NSH | DAR | BRI | CHI | TAL 32 | TEX | PHO | 54th | 413 | [66] | ||||||
| 47 | KEN 28 | NHA | LVS 18 | MAR | HOM 26 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | 1 | DAY 7 | PHO 19 | DAR 20 | MAR 34 | NSH | DOV | CLT | KAN | TEX | KEN | IOW | NSH | IRP | POC | MCH | BRI | ATL | CHI | NHA | KEN | LVS | TAL 34 | MAR | TEX | HOM | 38th | 106 | [67] | |||
| 2024 | MBM Motorsports | 67 | Toyota | DAY | ATL | LVS | BRI | COA | MAR | TEX | KAN | DAR | NWS | CLT 35 | GTW | NSH | POC | IRP | RCH | MLW | BRI | KAN | TAL | HOM | MAR | PHO | 75th | 2 | [68] | |||
Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points
| NASCAR Camping World East Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pts | Ref | ||
| 2007 | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | 1 | Chevy | GRE 6 | SBO 20 | STA 12 | NHA 15 | TMP 14 | NSH 4 | ADI 24 | LRP 5 | MFD 5 | NHA 11 | DOV 3 | 5th | 1736 | [69] | |||
| 11 | ELK 16 | IOW 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | 8 | GRE 23 | SBO 7 | GLN 2 | NHA 34 | TMP 5 | NSH 19 | ADI 4 | LRP 18 | MFD 10 | NHA 14 | DOV | STA | 15th | 1416 | [70] | ||||
| 08 | IOW 4 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | Dave Davis | 03 | Chevy | GRE | TRI | IOW 3 | SBO | GLN | NHA | TMP | ADI | LRP | NHA | DOV | 49th | 165 | [71] | |||
(key)
| 24 Hours of Daytona results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Class | No | Team | Car | Co-drivers | Laps | Position | Class Pos. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | GT | 47 |  Rick Ware Racing | Porsche GT3 Cup | Scott Monroe Doug Harrington Maurice Hull Brett Sandberg | 635 | 25 | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | GT | 15 | Rick Ware Racing | Ford Mustang | Chris Cook Timmy Hill Doug Harrington John Ware | 256 | 51 | 38 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||