Hello. This is my first column on Catchfence so I wanted to update our fans and readers about what’s been going on behind the scenes and what we’ve been doing in preparation for the 2013 season.
Our plans for the 2013 season are to be in a full time Nationwide ride and be real competitive. Obviously nothing is set in stone. It’s getting towards the end of the season and people are starting to lock down deals and talk to sponsors. We’ve been in contact with some very, very good sponsors that could potentially be really important and help us be successful throughout my career. It is looking very good but I just can’t divulge anything yet. And we’ve had some really good momentum going ever since we put that good run together at Daytona. We just ended up with some bad luck and didn’t get the finish we deserve.
This has been a really good year for building that momentum, getting attention in the media and gaining fan support. That has definitely helped to bring sponsors in and catch people’s attention, to show people I want to be here and be the real deal. It’s going to take the right amount of dollars, the right team, the right crew and right crew chief. The whole puzzle has to be put together. That’s what we’re working towards for next year, especially in the last few weeks we’ve really started gaining ground and had some really good conversations with potential sponsors that I feel are going to lead to a lot of success next year and in more years to come. So the skies are looking a little brighter for 2013, I guess you could say, but as we all know nothing is set in stone until I’m out there on the track driving the race car. So next season is definitely looking to be a very positive year for me and my company.
Some fans have asked some questions so I wanted to answer a couple as best I can. One question asked was if someone offered me a really good, full time Truck Series ride would I consider that as my first full time season?
My answer: For me personally, I definitely would rather be in the Nationwide Series but obviously we all want to continue to take that next step forward to the next level to eventually be in the Cup Series. But, I’m a race car driver and I’m looking to race as much as I can. I feel as a driver I need a lot of seat time and wherever I can get that is where I’ll go. So if it was a good, quality Truck team that’s definitely something I would consider but I personally feel I would do better in the cars for whatever reason. As a driver I feel more comfortable in the cars, but, the Truck Series is exciting racing. The fans love it and I’ve really enjoyed every truck race I’ve been in. We’ve had some strong runs. We had a seventh place finish at Daytona, and we had a real good run going at Martinsville and we ended up getting taken out but we definitely had a lot of fun in that series. If it was an opportunity to be in a quality truck for a full season with the opportunity to compete for a championship then that’s a step forward. That would progress my driving ability and my career. Of course you never count any opportunity out but like I said my goal is to be in the Nationwide Series.
Another question asked was if I go along on all the trips to meet with potential sponsors?
My answer: Yes. Obviously when it comes to reaching goals you have your heart and soul set on you do whatever it takes to achieve it. That’s what I found out through the MMA fighting I did. If you really have the desire to win you will do whatever it takes. Through all the discipline aspects of the MMA side of things I was able to carry that over to what I truly want to do and that’s racing. The traveling is exhausting, it’s wears you down pretty bad when you’re on the road for a month at a time. It’s an emotional as well as a physical exhaustion. You start to miss family and you start to miss friends. It wears you out and we’re not the biggest funded group out here so we’re driving all over the place, 13 hour drives and it physically wears you out but like I said if you want it bad enough you do whatever it takes to make it happen. That’s where we’re at and I’ll move mountains to seal a deal if I have to. At the end of the day when you put that much work into it it’s going to mean a lot more to you. You’re going to appreciate everything you have a lot more and that’s how I was raised. When I first started racing I had to beg my parents to let me race. It took me going out and finding a car, the sponsors and how I’m going to get the car to the track before they would agree to let me go do it. And all the hard work really does pay off at the end of the day. It also shows everyone else how bad you want it.
The past couple of years I’ve been hustling. Ever since my deal with DEI fell apart I had to fend for myself. I felt like I had a lot of proving to do to people to prove racing is what I really want to do. I feel like in the past few years I’ve really started to show people that. I definitely know that my family sees it. People within the sport have commented about how they’ve noticed all the hard work we’ve put in to this to prove I want to race. Like I said when it’s something you want to do you have to put everything aside and do whatever it takes. And my Grandpa was one to do that, whether it was right or whether it was wrong, when it came to family he knew he wanted to be a race car driver and couldn’t be a great family man at the time and he went off and raced. It depends on who you ask, but as I said whether it’s right or wrong, he knew what it was going to take to be a champion and that’s what he made sure he did. You have to fully commit to whatever sport it is to be the best and do whatever it takes to make it happen.
If you ask someone who doesn’t follow racing at all what is something you know about racing they always say Earnhardt. That’s unreal and it’s unreal what he and Dale, Jr. and my Dad and Kelley have done to create such a legacy with the Earnhardt name. It feels really good to be a part of it, to hear the stories the fans tell and people high up in NASCAR that have been around forever tell. Grant Lynch, the President of Talladega Speedway has become a real good friend of mine and he knew my Grandfather really well and the stories he’s told me are really neat and unreal to hear.
I’m not sure how much I can speak about additional runs this season but I can definitely tell you that I’ll be at Homestead for the last race of the season. We’ve got Tobacco Free Florida on board again with sponsorship there but I’ve got a pretty good feeling I’m going to be on the track more before then. It’s not 100% but I can just about guarantee it will happen. That’s some good news for us and like I said we’ve been in contact with some good people and working on putting some sponsorship stuff together for next year but we’re also working to get sponsorship together to run at least 3 more races total this year which will allow me to run for Rookie Of The Year next year. I definitely want to get all the seat time I can this year and be ready for next year.
In my next column I’ll try to answer more of the questions fans ask on my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyEarnhardt). Be sure to stop by and keep up with what we have going on. Check out Jeffrey Earhardt Athlete there and follow us. Also check out my website at www.jeffreyearnhardt.com
Thanks for reading.
