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Jeffrey is the 29-year-old grandson of legendary Dale Earnhardt, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, and has accumulated more than 150 starts in all three NASCAR-Cup, Xfinity and Trucks national series. He signed a nine-race contract with Joe Gibbs Racing and started with a start on the front row for the Supra. He then led the first 29 laps before falling back to 15th.
"There were a lot of summits for us in Daytona," says Earnhardt. "We went out and did what I knew we would be able to do, it was a race in the lead and a race in the lead.
"It was a great way to start the season and Daytona is a special place for me, which makes it a little softer. Whether for first place qualifying or for those extra points in the first two stages, I really feel that this is just the beginning of what will be the best season I've ever had. since a long time. "
Earnhardt admits that his lack of experience in the front race proved costly at the end of the race.
"We did not lead the last one and that's the most important," he says. "We made adjustments because I felt like I was complaining about being too free, and we ended up being too tight and we just had a little trouble afterwards.
"Dude, I hurt everyone's buttocks. Just a lack of experience. I am going to improve it.
It's an unlikely alliance, between a Earnhardt and a Toyota, maybe even more when you know that the Supra is not even available in showrooms yet. But Toyota felt the second-tier NASCAR series was the perfect place to announce its return to the forecast.
"We think we're attracting a lot of attention," said Ed Laukes, vice president of Toyota's marketing efforts group in the United States. "It's been 22 years since we had Supra, and people were asking for his return, and we worked very hard to get it back, and now it's back.
"This is a very exciting time for us at Toyota, a very exciting time to welcome us to Daytona."
Jeffrey Earnhardt, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Supra iK9, Brandon Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Juniper Supra, Noah Gragson, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro Switch
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Photo by: Logan Whitton / NKP / LAT Images
Jeffrey Earnhardt, Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota Supra iK9 stop at the booth
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Photo by: Logan Whitton / NKP / LAT Images
Brandon Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Supra Juniper, Austin Cindric, Penske Team, Ford Mustang MoneyLion and Jeffrey Earnhardt, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Supra iK9
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Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / LAT Images
Jeffrey Earnhardt, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Supra iK9 and Justin Haley, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet Camaro LeafFilter Gutter Protection
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Photo by: Russell LaBounty / NKP / LAT Images
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota Supra Rheem stop at the stand, Sunoco
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Photo by: Logan Whitton / NKP / LAT Images
Jeffrey Earnhardt, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Supra iK9 Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Supra Rheem Brandon Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing, Juniper Supra Toyota Justin Haley, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet Camaro LeafFilter Gutter Protection
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Photo by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / LAT Images
Justin Allgaier, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro BRANDT Professional Agriculture and Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Supra Rheem
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Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / LAT Images
Jeffrey Earnhardt, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Supra iK9
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Photo by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / LAT Images
Jeffrey Earnhardt, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Supra iK9
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Photo by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / LAT Images
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Supra Rheem
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Photo by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / LAT Images
Supra is clearly Toyota's "halo" car, as highlighted by its 60-second ultra-stylish "pinball" ad during the Super Bowl halftime show – one of the most expensive advertising slots you can buy anywhere in the world. The launch of Supra at the Detroit Auto Show also featured its heaviest hitter, including world chef Akio Toyoda and even his star of the FIA World Endurance Championship, Fernando Alonso.
He then created even more hype by auctioning Barrett Jackson's number one chassis, generating $ 2.1 million for a charity. This project does not lack efforts or marketing money.
The big question, of course, is whether Ford brings his Mustang to play with the Chevrolet Camaro Series Cup, is not it logical that the Supra also come in Cup in the future?
"Everyone is asking for that," smiles Laukes. "We talked about it for a while. Unlike other manufacturers, we are still in the automotive sector and we plan to stay in the automotive sector for a while.
"Camry and Corolla are still part of our business. So at this point, we have no plans to bring Supra to the Cup, but you never know. "
The next opportunity will be the much vaunted NASCAR Gen-7 car in 2021. Builders are heavily involved in concept planning – there have been a ton of meetings throughout the weekend at Daytona among all NASCAR players – come more like Supra in general? Could NASCAR ever divert one of its non-truck divisions from the "traditional sedan"?
It would surely be as likely as an Earnhardt leading to Daytona in a Supra …
Toyota GR Supra Racing Concept
Photo by: Motor1
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