Jeff Earnhardt set to chase uncle Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Xfinity records with a return to full-time racing
Follow Us
The Earnhardt family
The Earnhardt family legacy in NASCAR is unmatchable. The family has given Hall of Famer to the sport. Dale Earnhardt, the record seven-time cup champion, and his son Dale Earnhardt Jr. defined the NASCAR era’s on and off the field. Now it’s Jeff Earnhardt’s chance to expand the family’s motorsports heritage.
Jeff is Dale Earnhardt’s Grandson and Dale Jr’s nephew. He is the son of Kerry Dale Earnhardt, Dale Sr’s eldest son. Kerry has also raced in NASCAR and has made over 100 appearances in all three national series combined. Jeff, the 4th generation racer from the Earnhardt family, will drive full-time in the Xfinity series for Alpha Prime Racing in the No. 44 Chevrolet.
Jeff will be the main driver for APR in 2023. His primary sponsor for the season is ForeverLawn, an artificial grass producer from Florida. Ryan Ellis and Sage Karam will be Jeff’s teammates in the 2023 season. Both have a part-time schedule with the team, as they did though out the 2022 season. Karam made history for APR last season, finishing P3 in Daytona.
Jeff Earnhardt made 12 Xfinity series starts in 2022 after leaving his full-time role with JD Motorsports, one of the less competitive teams in the series. He drove nine races for Sam Hunt Racing, three for Emerling-Gase Motorsports, and one for RCR. His best season finish came for RCR in Talladega, as he finished the race on P2 after starting on the pole. He scored just two top-10 finishes this season.
APR already had plans to sign Jeff Earnhardt when they started the team in 20202
APR President Tommy Joe Martins and Jeff Earnhardt have been friends for a very long time and are excited to see him race for them in 2023. He said, “We’re so excited to have Jeffrey with us next season. Jeffrey has been a competitor and a friend to me for a few years,”.
Martins revealed that the team already had plans to sign Jeff when they started the group and is ecstatic as all plans came together. He said, “When Caesar [Bacarella] and I started this team last year, we both talked about having Jeffrey at the top of our roster — so to see this all come together for 2023, he and I both feel like we finally got our guy,”.
The Apr opportunity might be the last chance for 33 years old Jeff Earnhardt to make a comeback to the cup series. He needs to awaken his inner Earnhardt and produce a championship-winning season as his uncle did twice. He has run 72 races in the cup series, but none were for a top-tier team. The 2023 season might make or break Earnhardt’s chance to make his family proud.
Also read: Jeff Gordon’s former crew chief labels Jimmie Johnson as the Michael Jordan of NASCAR
Also read: How did NASCAR driver Ryan Newman top the ‘most-searched athlete’ chart in 2020
Stay Updated!
Justin P Joy
(4859 Articles Published)