An Earnhardt comes to Nashille for Busch East event

By Larry Woody
Jeffrey Earnhardt's grandfather, Dale, was arguably the greatest stock car racer in history.

His uncle, Dale Jr. is NASCAR's most popular driver.

So who's his hero?

"My dad," said Jeffrey, referring to Kerry Earnhardt, Dale Jr.'s half-brother. "He has always been there for me. He sacrificed his own racing career so he could provide for his family. My dad's my hero."

Kerry races on occasion, mostly in lower divisions, but his career never caught fire like his younger brother's.

Jeffrey, 18, is following in the famous family tradition. He drives for Dale Earnhardt Inc., his late grandfather's company, and competes this year in the NASCAR Busch East Series.

The series stops at Music City Motorplex on Sunday for its eighth race on a 13-race schedule that takes drivers to tracks all around the country.

"I'm looking forward to it," Jeffrey said. "I've heard a lot about that track."

The Busch East Series is intended to develop not just drivers, but crewmen.

"They get to experience traveling and competing on a lot of different tracks," said Paul Schaeffer, who oversees the series.

They won't get rich in the process, however. Jeffrey has won about $8,000 this year.

"Getting experience is what it's all about," he said. "My eventual goal is to race in Nextel Cup and this is my first step toward that goal."

Jeffrey has a four-year contract with DEI and is not sure of his plans for next year.

"I guess it depends on how I do this season," he said. "I'm anxious to move up, but I'll do whatever the people at DEI tell me to do."

Jeffrey, who was 12 when his grandfather died in a Daytona 500 crash, has many fond memories of him.

"I member how aggressive he was on the racetrack," he said. "But I also remember things like us going fishing together in a pond on his farm. He was a great man and I'm proud to carry his name to the racetrack."

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