Jeffrey Earnhardt puts No. 3 on the Xfinity pole at Talladega

Earnhardt, the grandson of NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Sr. and nephew of fellow Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr., posted the fastest average lap speed (182.560 mph) in the final round of Xfinity Series qualifying Friday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Earnhardt, 32, who was third-fastest in the first round, edged his RCR teammate, Austin Hill (182.351 mph), to capture his first career pole.

Earlier this month, RCR announced Earnhardt would make his first start in its famed No. 3 Chevrolet in Saturday’s race.

“I tell you, this is unbelievable, man,” Earnhardt said. “This has been a dream of mine for years to get this opportunity and everything has fallen in place. The good Lord has taken care of us.

“All the guys at RCR – it’s more them than it is me. They’ve proven time and time again they bring fast cars to superspeedways. Not a bad starting spot – we’re going to try to keep her there all race.

“Hopefully, we can put this thing in Victory Lane.”

Cla	#	Driver		Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	3	Jeffrey Earnhardt		Chevrolet	2	52.454			182.560
2	21	Austin Hill		Chevrolet	2	52.514	0.060	0.060	182.351
3	54	Ty Gibbs		Toyota	2	52.551	0.097	0.037	182.223
4	2	Sheldon Creed		Chevrolet	2	52.589	0.135	0.038	182.091
5	11	Daniel Hemric		Chevrolet	2	52.699	0.245	0.110	181.711
6	10	Landon Cassill		Chevrolet	2	52.709	0.255	0.010	181.677
7	6	Ryan Vargas		Chevrolet	2	52.713	0.259	0.004	181.663
8	48	Kaz Grala		Chevrolet	2	52.798	0.344	0.085	181.371
9	18	Dollar Drew		Toyota	2	52.807	0.353	0.009	181.340
10	38	Ryan Sieg		Ford	2	52.993	0.539	0.186	180.703

Ty Gibbs, who had won three consecutive poles, ended up third in the final round after posting the fastest lap in the first round. Sheldon Creed was fourth and Daniel Hemric fifth.

Completing the top-10 are Landon Cassill, Ryan Vargas, Kaz Grala, Drew Dollar and Ryan Sieg.

Jeffrey has competed in all three NASCAR national series – Cup, Xfinity and Trucks – and has been running a partial schedule in Xfinity this season with Sam Hunt Racing. In four starts so far this year, his best finish was 13th at Atlanta in March.

Earnhardt has made 76 starts in Cup, 10 in Trucks and 135 in Xfinity. His best season came in 2019 when he ran five races with Joe Gibbs Racing and finished a career-best third at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“I have to thank Richard (Childress, team owner) for giving me the opportunity to drive the No. 3,” Earnhardt said. “It’s something we’ve been trying to put together for years.”

Earnhardt Sr. won six of his NASCAR record-tying seven Cup series championships with RCR. Earnhardt Jr. also ran three Xfinity in his career with RCR, winning the summer Daytona race in 2010.

Larry McReynolds, who was crew chief for Earnhardt Sr. when he won his only Daytona 500 in 1998, is working as crew chief for Jeffrey Earnhardt this weekend. McReynolds currently serves as a TV analyst for Fox Sports.