The last name Earnhardt has coincided with NASCAR since its infancy. Jeffrey Earnhardt is the only driver with the legendary last name currently scheduled to compete in a national series event in 2025.
Earnhardt’s schedule consists of only three Xfinity Series races with Sam Hunt Racing, two of which have already passed, most recently finishing 19th last weekend at Nashville Superspeedway.
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“You hope to put good runs together to help the case of selling sponsorship,” Earnhardt told NASCAR.com at Nashville. “It’s not easy with just three races, but it helps.
“I love driving race cars. It scratches my itch for that adrenaline rush that I seek. If I could, I’d race every single day out of the week, but it takes a lot of money to do it at a competitive level.”
Longtime sponsor ForeverLawn is continuing to support Earnhardt’s efforts in 2025, and the two sides decided where to compete. Management from the synthetic turf company enjoys superspeedway competition, so Talladega Superspeedway led off the slate. He nearly won in a ForeverLawn No. 3 machine for Richard Childress Racing at Talladega in 2022 after scoring the pole. His No. 24 Toyota blew an engine and finished 32nd during the 2025 contest.
The firm also has business in Nashville, naturally putting the 1.33-mile oval on the calendar.
The final race was an internal debate between Daytona International Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway. Earnhardt prevailed with his option of Bristol, where he will race when the series returns to the track Sept. 12 (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“We had a fast car with Sam [Hunt] last year there and should have had a good finish, and the driver lacked on his part there and put it in the fence,” Earnhardt said. “I wanted to go back to Bristol and get some redemption.”
Since Earnhardt ran the bulk of the 2023 Xfinity schedule with Alpha Prime Racing, he has positioned himself to be more selective with what organizations he races for. Quality over quantity is the same route he opted for in 2019, running seven races with powerhouse Joe Gibbs Racing.
Staying competitive remains a core theme.
“Three races is just enough to stay on the radar,” Earnhardt said. “If you go out and put together good runs, it escalates that. It is important for me as a driver to stay in the tune of things and go out and be competitive.
“Being able to be out there as much as you can is nice. At some point, there has to be some competitiveness there and putting together good runs. That’s why we stuck with Sam’s deal, even though we only had enough money for three races. I felt like it was a better opportunity for us to capitalize on it.”
Earnhardt is on his third stint with SHR, dating back to 2022. Team owner Hunt sees the value that Earnhardt brings to the team.
“[Earnhardt] brings appreciation and perspective that he has because of his age and journey through the sport,” Hunt said. “He is a guy that won’t quit. I love that about him. I think there are opportunities, and even times on the sponsorship side, where there’s no real way forward for him. He’s relentless.
“Everyone likes working with Jeffrey. In a world where some people don’t appreciate these opportunities, he’s a team player, and it’s fun for us.”
Away from the track, Earnhardt has taken advantage of additional downtime. Being an avid outdoorsman, he can be found in the woods hunting, on a lake fishing or participating in his favorite hobby of noodling. To Earnhardt, these activities “keep me sane in this hard battle of trying to find money.”
Earnhardt admits it takes a few laps to shake off the rust once he’s back behind the wheel. Meanwhile, two of his six top-10 finishes in 176 series starts have been driving one of SHR’s cars. Being in the Toyota family is important for the 35-year-old.
“I really enjoy being in the Toyota camp,” Earnhardt said. “I’m not, by any means, one of their drivers, but being a part of the Toyota family and what they have to offer for us as drivers makes my life easier when I do get to the track.
“I think from now on, it has to be good equipment, and you have the chance to go out and run top 10. I’m hard on myself. I like to set the bar high and beat on myself a little bit and strive for more.”
Earnhardt won’t underestimate his ultimate goal: winning. Regardless, he’s helped an upstart SHR team build a notebook for future races.
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Should the right full-time opportunity open up, Earnhardt is hoping to jump at it as he’s lived through this story before.
“It’s constantly turning rocks over and trying to find the almighty dollar that it takes to run out here competitively,” Earnhardt said. “You can continue to cold call, ask, beg and find ways to get [business-to-business] opportunities to where you see value in being involved in NASCAR.”
Earnhardt is open to the challenge, something Hunt appreciates.
“He doesn’t have an ego,” Hunt said. “If you don’t have an ego and tackle it with a good effort and attitude — even if it doesn’t work out the way you want it to — you can put your head to sleep at night and know you did everything and treated everybody right. We just care about him. I think that’s why he’s still with us because we care about him as a person.”
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