Jeffrey Earnhardt: Driver, No. 81 XCI Racing Toyota Supra
NASCAR Xfinity Series Overview
Event: Camping World 300 (Round 15 of 33)
Date: June 29, 2019
Location: Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois
Layout: 1.5-mile oval
Jeffrey Earnhardt Notes of Interest
● The Camping World 300 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois is the 15th event of the 33-race NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule and the second with Jeffrey Earnhardt piloting the No. 81 Xtreme Concepts (XCI) Racing entry.
● Earnhardt’s last outing in the No. 81 Toyota Supra for XCI Racing was March 30 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. After starting 14th, Earnhardt finished eighth.
● Earnhardt has made six Xfinity Series starts so far this season. He has one top-five and three top-10 finishes. He has an average starting position of 8.3 and an average finish of 13.3.
● Saturday’s Camping World 300 will mark Earnhardt’s third Xfinity Series start at Chicagoland. Both of his previous starts came in 2014 with a best finish of 24th in the July 19 EnjoyIllinois.com300. Earnhardt also competed in one Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event at Chicagoland in 2017.
● Earnhardt’s third-place finish in the May 25 Alsco 300 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway is his career-best finish across 158 combined starts in the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Gander Outdoors Truck Series. His previous best finish was sixth on Feb. 23 in the Rinnai 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
● Earnhardt’s third-place drive at Charlotte was the latest edition to his list of career-firsts in his first season with Xtreme Concepts Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing. In the season-opening Xfinity Series race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Earnhardt led 29 laps, making him the first driver to put the new Toyota Supra into the lead of an Xfinity Series race. And Earnhardt’s second-place qualifying effort earned him his best starting spot in 152 career starts across the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Gander Outdoors Truck Series. His 29 laps led were more than he had led in 15 previous races at Daytona in the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Gander Outdoors Truck Series. He followed up his performance at Daytona with a sixth-place finish at Atlanta and an eighth-place finish at Texas.
● Comcast NBCUniversal, a recognized leader in the military community, will honor the unique sacrifices and showcase support of United States Armed Forces heroes, past and present, with an array of activation programs during NASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola, an industry-wide expression of respect and appreciation for those who are serving and have served the nation. Fans watching the Xfinity Series race at Chicagoland will see a patriotic red, white and blue Comcast NBCUniversal “Salute to Service” paint scheme adorning the No. 81 Xtreme Concepts Racing Toyota Supra driven by Earnhardt. Also, Comcast NBCUniversal is connecting NASCAR with the local military community. In all, more than 100 local service members with their families will receive grandstand tickets and access to race day activities and events at Chicagoland Speedway.
● Comcast NBCUniversal is proud of its long-standing reputation as a military-friendly and military-ready company. That starts with its commitment to hiring military community members – veterans, National Guard and Reserve members, and military spouses. Comcast hired more than 10,000 military community members from 2015 to 2017 and is committed to hire 11,000 more by the end of 2021. Also, as a thank you for their service, veterans and actively-serving military customers can get a $100 prepaid card and $25 Xfinity coupon by visiting https://www.xfinity.com/military. For more information on Comcast’s military commitment, please visit https://corporate.comcast.com/values/military.
Jeffrey Earnhardt, Driver Q&A
You’re back in XCI Racing’s No. 81 Toyota Supra at Chicagoland. What are your thoughts as we head into this race?
“I’m ready to be back. The time away from the track has been spent preparing for Chicago and the next race at Daytona with Xtreme Concepts Racing and I know we’re going to show up ready to compete at the top of our game. We had a great debut at Texas and everything that I’ve learned in my other starts this year gives us more information and data to apply to these races. I’m really looking forward to getting on track and getting back to it. We’ve come a long way since the start of the season and it’s fun to go out and be able to show that each race.”
Your Toyota Supra features Comcast Salute to Service. What makes this partnership between XCI Racing and Comcast so special?
“I’m really excited to be partnering with Comcast and the military on the Comcast Salute to Service Toyota for Chicagoland Speedway. Our team at Xtreme Concepts Racing feels as though we can’t ever do enough for the men and women that protect us and it’s awesome to be partnered with a company like Comcast that feels the same. We will give the fans at Chicagoland and watching at home on NBCSN something awesome to cheer for. Hopefully, they watch us park it in victory lane.”
Performance Profile
No. 81 XCI Racing Team Roster
Primary Team Members:
Driver: Jeffrey Earnhardt
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Matt Lucas
Hometown: West Carrollton, Ohio
Car Chief: Tyler Paxton
Hometown: St. Charles, Missouri
Race Engineer: Chris Whiteknight
Hometown: Berwick, Pennsylvania
Engine Tuner: Roger Purcell
Hometown: Latham, Illinois
Spotter: Clayton Hughes
Hometown: Thomasville, North Carolina
Over-The-Wall Crew
Front Tire Changer: Adam Hartman
Hometown: Oxford, North Carolina
Rear Tire Changer: Deven Youker
Hometown: North Carolina
Tire Carrier: Josh Shiplett
Hometown: Winder Gap, North Carolina
Gas Man: Brian Eastland
Hometown: New Bern, North Carolina
Jackman: Charles Thacker
Hometown: Huntersville, North Carolina
Road Crew Members:
Truck Driver: Larry Lally
Hometown: Westchester, California
Mechanic: Tim Williams
Hometown: Jamestown, New York
Mechanic: Luis Delgado
Hometown: North Carolina
Tire Specialist: Matt Sauer
Hometown: North Carolina
Backgrounders
● Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with three primary businesses: Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal, and Sky. Comcast Cable is one of the United States’ largest high-speed internet, video, and phone providers to residential customers under the Xfinity brand, and also provides these services to businesses. It also provides wireless and security and automation services to residential customers under the Xfinity brand. NBCUniversal is global and operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures, and Universal Parks and Resorts. Sky is one of Europe’s leading media and entertainment companies, connecting customers to a broad range of video content through its pay television services. It also provides communications services, including residential high-speed internet, phone, and wireless services. Sky operates the Sky News broadcast network and sports and entertainment networks, produces original content, and has exclusive content rights. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.
● Xtreme Concepts Inc., is a worldwide leader in providing turnkey security solutions, training and technology integration to U.S. government, military and commercial clients on a global scale. Xtreme Concepts’ mission is to provide elite military units with a hyper-realistic environment, allowing them to train to their full mission profile with a facility that is able to replicate an unmatched variety of real-world scenarios. This Alabama-based facility is a world-class training site spanning more than 1,500 acres with 3 million square-feet of indoor training space, 31 buildings, 3.5 miles of internal roadways, and more areas equipped for training. Experience is the hallmark and strength of Xtreme Concepts, best exemplified by its motto: “Who we are, Where we’ve been and What we’ve done.” With access to the National Mission Force (NMF) and the Special Missions Units (SMU) of the U.S. military, Xtreme Concepts is the benchmark in the multi-faceted security arena. Xtreme Concepts’ stable of experts has served honorably with these elite units for more than a decade, and because its staff maintains deep ties to the NMF and SMU, clients benefit from immediate access to Xtreme Concepts’ collective experience.