Fourth-generation NASCAR driver Jeffrey Earnhardt will join the Joe Gibbs Racing driver lineup for 2019 to pilot the No. 18 JGR Toyota in nine Xfinity Series races.
“I’ve worked incredibly hard for this opportunity, and I’ve got to thank Xtreme Concepts for making it happen,” Earnhardt said in a press release from Joe Gibbs Racing. “You see the level of expertise Joe Gibbs Racing has and the caliber of equipment they bring to the racetrack every week. As a driver, it’s exactly where you want to be. It’s the best opportunity I’ve had in my career and I plan to make the most of it.”
Earnhardt has experience racing in all three of NASCAR’s national series, primarily for small, underfunded teams. He has competed in 17 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races this year, driving for StarCom Racing, Premium Motorsports, and Gaunt Brothers Racing.
Jeffrey Earnhardt in one of the three cars he drove in 2018
, Jeffrey Earnhardt started the 2018 season as driver of the No. 00 StarCom Racing Chevrolet in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series., Getty Images for NASCAREarnhardt last competed in the Xfinity Series in 2015. He raced full-time in the series for one season the year prior but has run six partial seasons since 2009. His best-career results in the Xfinity Series, to date, were two 12th-place finishes at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2014 and at Talladega Superspeedway the following year.
“From the time we first came to NASCAR in 1992, we’ve always put forth maximum effort to have the best possible results on the racetrack,” Joe Gibbs Racing Vice Chairman and COO Coy Gibbs said. “Our Xfinity Series program is the perfect example of what happens when preparation meets execution. We’ve had both up-and-coming and veteran drivers achieve success in our race cars, and that success has translated to the partners they’ve represented. We think Jeffrey Earnhardt has the talent to win races and deliver strong results for Xtreme Concepts.”