Jeffrey Earnhardt has been looking forward to making his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut for several months, and the 21-year old got an early education on the toughness of the series after taking one of the hardest hits of the weekend.
JE qualified his #6 Fuel Doctor USA Chevy in the 32nd position and was prepared to come through the pack in true "Earnhardt Fashion" for the running of the CampingWorld.com 200 at Gateway International Raceway.
"We had our truck setup for the long runs. We were able to drive the Fuel Doctor USA truck up to the 19th position by lap fifty and was running great times, before the bottom fell out," stated Earnhardt.
The "bottom falling out" was a mild statement for what occurred on lap 79. Earnhardt was following teammate Brett Butler through turn three, when the #4 of Ricky Carmichael slid down the track and directly into the path of Earnhardt that already committed to driving through the grass on the bottom.
"We had nowhere else to go. Brett went high and I saw him slide, so I went low. I didn't expect Ricky to come down the track that fast, no one did. I drove the truck into the infield grass trying to avoid him and his truck just kept on coming. It ended our day and a great truck to boot!" stated Jeffrey.
Discouraged, Earnhardt walked back to the hauler. "It was a great weekend that ended badly. We had a great truck, a great team and a great sponsor. The fans were awesome and I really love this series. We know that things like this happen, that's racing. We were hoping to run all the laps and finish in the Top 15 and we were on target."
Earnhardt will now get focused on his next start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. "We are not exactly sure which track it will be. I need to get a mile and a half race in the books but have to wait to see the outcome for approval first from NASCAR for this weekend. It's a process and in order to make it a successful career, you have to take the steps. I'm ready!"
