Jeffrey Earnhardt to run another Dale Earnhardt tribute scheme at Talladega

Jeffrey Earnhardt is set to pay homage to his grandfather for the second time this season.

Earnhardt, the grandson of seven-time Sprint Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt and nephew of Dale Earnhardt Jr., is racing for BK Racing at Talladega. His No. 83 car will be painted black with silver trim like Dale Earnhardt’s famous No. 3 car.

His firesuit will also be similar to the one his grandfather wore. Jeffrey Earnhardt paid tribute to his grandfather’s Wrangler-sponsored car at Darlington in September.

Earnhardt has driven the majority of the season for GoFas Racing’s No. 32. But the team has former Sprint Cup champion Bobby Labonte in the car for Talladega, so Earnhardt will pilot the No. 83 for BK Racing normally driven by Matt DiBenedetto.

DiBenedetto will be in the No. 93 — a fourth car for BK — and will need to qualify for one of four open spots in the field on speed. Earnhardt’s No. 83 has a charter and is guaranteed in the race. In 17 starts this season, Earnhardt’s best finish is 26th.

Jeffrey Earnhardt’s appearance in the race also means there will be an Earnhardt racing at Talladega. A member of the Earnhardt family has appeared in every Talladega race since Dale Earnhardt finished second in the spring race in 1980. Dale Earnahrdt has 10 wins at Talladega in 44 starts while Junior has six wins at Talladega in 33 starts.

Sunday will be Jeffrey Earnhardt’s first race at Talladega and also the first time an Earnhardt has competed in a Toyota. We wonder how numerous longtime Dale Earnhardt fans feel about that.

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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