TALLADEGA, Ala.: At a track that has been dominated by the Earnhardt family legacy for decades, Jeffrey Earnhardt came 0.131 seconds shy of leaving his legacy at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway earning a runner-up finish in Saturday afternoon’s Ag-Pro 300.
Less than two weeks ago, Richard Childress Racing shocked the Xfinity Series scene by adding a third team at the 2.66-mile superspeedway with Earnhardt driving the beloved No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro in his fifth Xfinity Series race of the season.
Earnhardt and his Larry McReynolds led No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team had to first qualify for the event – without the lack of owner points, Earnhardt had to beat at least eight cars by his qualifying speed to guarantee him into the show.
Earnhardt though did that with ease.
Being the first car to qualify on Friday afternoon, he whipped his No. 3 ForeverLawn Chevrolet Camaro to a top-five time in the first round and bettered his qualifying time in round two to earn his first career Xfinity Series pole in his 136th career start.
At the start of the race, Earnhardt lost the lead in the race to outside pole sitter Ty Gibbs and despite having one of the fastest race cars in the field, Earnhardt would work his way back into the lead until lap five and controlled the field for 10 laps until Ryan Ellis spun in Turn 2 on Lap 14.
Despite his best efforts, Earnhardt was unable to keep his race car inside the top five and slipped in the running order to finish Stage 1 in 20th.
Although Earnhardt was still equipped with a well-handling No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro, the support that he needed to draft back to the front did not arrive until the end of Stage 2 where Earnhardt finished eighth.
In Stage 3, he continued to hover inside the top-15 but in the last NASCAR overtime, Earnhardt who was restarting eighth pulled a silhouette blaze through the field – a family trait that his grandfather Dale Earnhardt Sr. would have been proud of.
By the white flag lap, he has climbed three positions to fifth. Slicing and dicing his way through the top-five, Earnhardt passed Ryan Sieg, Riley Herbst and AJ Allmendinger by Turn 3 then set his sights on leader Noah Gragson in the No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports.
Earnhardt was able to get to the rear bumper of Gragson’s car but ran out of time and settled for a career-best runner-up finish and his second top-five of his Xfinity Series career.
After the race, Earnhardt explained what he needed to win the race.
“Just a push there at the end,” the son of former NASCAR driver Kerry Earnhardt explained. “Everyone spreads a part. It’s really hard to build a run by yourself without someone at the back. Unfortunately, our teammates got wiped out early.”
Even without the checkered flag, Earnhardt was thankful and felt blessed to have an opportunity to race for Richard Childress Racing and to be in a competitive car at one of his favorite NASCAR venues.
“I’m living a dream here,” he said. “I’m so thankful to get this opportunity. So thankful for ForeverLawn to allow me to come do this. Super Pufft and Dalstrong. All the fans. RCR for building this amazing race car. We were fast all weekend long.
“We just fell a little short there. I hate it. “Congrats to Noah. He’s good at plate races.”
Currently, the Talladega Xfinity opportunity was a one-race deal, but Earnhardt seemed hopeful it may lead to something more this season or in the future.
“Fell a little short but hopefully this will lead to a lot more to come in the future and we’ll be able to come and give them a run for their money.
“Just very thankful to even be here. I’ll forever be grateful for this opportunity.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
