Jeffrey Earnhardt gets shot in a good car with Gibbs

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) Jeffrey Earnhardt has landed a nine-race Xfinity Series deal with Joe Gibbs Racing for next season beginning at Daytona.

Earnhardt will drive the No. 18 Toyota, undoubtedly the best car he'll have raced to date in his NASCAR career. JGR has more than 150 victories in the Xfinty Series.

Earnhardt is the 29-year-old grandson of the late Dale Earnhardt. His father is Earnhardt's eldest child, Kerry.

Earnhardt has 151 starts across NASCAR's three national series but never with competitive race teams. But his new deal with JGR is similar to one Ryan Preece made. Preece got a shot with JGR and won two races. That developed into a full-time Cup ride in 2019 with JTG-Daugherty Racing.

Earnhardt will be sponsored at JGR by Xtreme Concepts Inc., a security solutions company from Birmingham, Alabama.

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