Big news for fans of the Earnhardt family as Jeffrey Earnhardt, the grandson of the legendary Dale Earnhardt, Sr., will slip into a No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet for the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.
RCR made the announcement on Tuesday.
“It’s great to have an Earnhardt back in one of our cars,” said Richard Childress, Chairman and CEO of RCR. “We think Jeffrey is a talented young driver and I’m confident he will run well at Talladega.”
Joining Earnhardt for this effort is his longtime sponsorship partner ForeverLawn.
For Earnhardt, driving the number his grandfather made famous is a true dream come true.
“What a dream come true,” said Earnhardt. “The chance to be behind the wheel of the No. 3 car for RCR, that my pawpaw made famous, has long been a dream of mine and now it’s finally happening. I can’t thank ForeverLawn enough for making my dreams come to reality and for being such a big part of my career. I also want to thank Mr. Childress for making this possible. The No. 3 car is cherished by a lot of people, and I know how much it means to him. To give me this opportunity is something I’ll never forget.”
Earnhardt, 32, has made four NASCAR Xfinity Series starts in 2022, but this will be his first start for Richard Childress Racing. Earnhardt will join teammates Austin Hill and Sheldon Creed, the two full-time RCR NXS drivers.
And Earnhardt will have race-winning equipment as Hill, a rookie in the series, scored the win in the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway.
Earnhardt’s best finish during the 2022 season, so far, was a 13th-place finish at Atlanta last month. Earnhardt’s best-career NXS finish came at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2019, where he finished third.