Jeffrey Earnhardt will drive the No. 55 Chevrolet Camaro for Viva Motorsports, CATCHFENCE.com has confirmed. An announcement is expected Monday afternoon.
Earnhardt, the son of former NASCAR driver Kerry Earnhardt replaces driver Jamie Dick who will strengthen his ownership responsibilities with the team’s NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) program. Dick, 25, is one of the youngest owners in NASCAR.
The Mooresville, North Carolina native will compete in the season-opening race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on February 21. An exact number of races for Earnhardt to pilot the No. 55 Chevrolet Camaro is still being finalized.
Last week, the China Grove, North Carolina-based team announced sponsorship from Fronius USA, a leader in welding technology for multiple races for the upcoming season, including the Alert Today Florida 300. Additional sponsorship for the team is still pending.
The 25-year old Earnhardt has 66 NASCAR XFINITY Series starts to his credit, including a 12th place finish at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway last August. 2014 was his first full year of any competition inside NASCAR’s top-three national series. He drove a second entry for JD Motorsports with Gary Keller as a teammate to Landon Cassill en route to an 18th place finish in the championship standings.
Viva Motorsports will make their 45th career XFINITY Series start at the “World Center of Racing.” Jamie Dick’s 12th place finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in 2013 is the team’s best finish to date. The team began their tenure in 2011.
The move has the combination to see Earnhardt deliver. Steadily Viva Motorsports and Dick’s primary sponsor Viva Auto Group have funneled through three years of competition to upgrade their equipment and produce solid results. Earnhardt’s tenacity is his motivation to do well on the track. For sure, the growth of Viva Motorsports should pay dividends for both, especially at superspeedways, where Dick showed speed and finesse in the NXS season-opener last February.
While JD Motorsports with Gary Keller provided an opportunity for Earnhardt to race every week, the lack of resources and funding hampered the fourth-generation driver from showcasing his talent.
Now, an influx of management ideas, continual enhancements and resources within the Viva Motorsports program will pave a path that could see the grandson of Dale Earnhardt Sr. showcase his skills many believe he’s been unable to exploit.
Earnhardt will become the fourth different driver for the organization joining Dick, Ross Chastain and David Starr. Mark Setzer will return as crew chief.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
