“My grandfather is my hero,” is what Jeffrey Earnhardt never forgets every time he revs up his engine. However, despite the close family ties, what has curiously escaped the 35-year-old is a legacy the Earnhardt name usually carries. Even as the Xfinity Series arrived at the Daytona International Speedway, the Sam Hunt Racing driver failed to live up to expectations, earning the wrath of the NASCAR verse.

He had a disappointing run, being involved in multiple wrecks.

While Ryan Truex took the win, Jeffrey came in last at the 28th position. And this did not come before he drove many to DNFs. The Daytona race was chaotic. There were so many wrecks that it was hard to keep count. In the last one, close to the end of the race, a multi-car pileup ensued after Earnhardt spun.

And the worst part? Fans are blaming him for the last wreck. What happened was Anthony Alfredo, driving the No. 5 for Our Motorsports, was gradually falling back through the middle lane. Jeffrey Earnhardt, in No. 33, unexpectedly cut in front of Caesar Bacarella to avoid contact with Alfredo. However, he ended up crashing into Bacarella’s car and spinning up the track. This collision ignited a multi-car crash involving several other cars racing on the outside line, taking Anthony Alfredo, Shane van Gisbergen, Jeremy Clements, and Josh Bilicki in the process. Here, look for yourself at what happened and be the judge:

Regardless of whose fault it was, this is not the first instance when Jeffrey’s maneuvers didn’t end well for others. In Lap 1 Turn 3, the driver triggered another wreck with a bump draft, spinning Clements. Other drivers involved in the wreck were Austin Hill, Gus Dean, Blaine Perkins, Ryan Ellis and Akinori Ogata. Soon after, the #33 driver even apologized on his team radio.

Earnhardt has always been one to own up to his mistakes, even if it isn’t his fault. Back in the 2017 Coca-Cola 600, the driver’s No. 33 broke dropping fluid and debris on the track. Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski, who were hot on his heels, made contact due to the mess, ending their races. However, despite it not being his fault, the driver reached out to both of them.

“Jeffery sent me a text after the race and he just apologized. And I told him, ‘Man it’s not your fault. It’s just one of those incidents where I was just in a bad spot, he had a parts failure that was not his doing and I get it. I understand that stuff like that happens. I appreciate him reaching out and taking the time and effort to do that. It meant a lot to me just because I thought it showed a lot about his character and the kind of person he is,” Elliott had revealed in a post-race conference.

Perhaps this also shows how serious Dale Earnhardt’s grandson is about preserving the good name. “One of the biggest things for me in my career is to be able to continue that legacy my grandfather built,” he said. “I know how much that meant to him, and I definitely want to try to keep that going as long as possible,” he had once said.

But despite these factors, fans have never been fond of him. And this time, too, they were quick to climb on the hate train by drawing comparisons with the Intimidator himself.

Fans are not impressed, yet again

Jeffrey has time and again been compared to the great Dale Earnhardt. Fans don’t even see an ounce of this in his grandson, Jeffrey, making him a target for mockery. A fan after the last crash wrote, “Jeffery Earnhardt. Looks like Dale, drives like Teresa.” Notably, Teresa Earnhardt is Dale Earnhardt’s third wife and perhaps one of the most hated people in NASCAR.

After Dale Earnhardt’s death, Teresa refused to give Dale Jr and his sister Kelley Earnhardt a share in the now-defunct Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Reportedly, Junior wasn’t even paid for three months when he was driving for the team, leading to a screaming match with his step-mother. Y’all haven’t paid me! You’ve breached my contract! It became bitter,” the veteran had revealed. Later, when Junior left the team amidst the growing animosity, Teresa even refused to let the driver take the #8 with him to Hendrick Motorsports.

The 65-year-old has always been fiercely protective of her late husband’s assets. It got to a point where she wouldn’t even give Dale Jr a piece of land that his father used to own. The property in question is a 100 acre plot that The Intimidator had planned to build a house in. But that’s not all.

She even locked up Dale Earnhardt’s Deerhead Shop, within the DEI campus. Inside the shop was Earnhardt’s office and, most importantly, a cedar closet containing the late icon’s driving uniform from the 70s, Dale Jr and Kelley’s military school uniforms and other important stuff.

“Apparently, the day Dad died, they locked the doors, and nobody has been in there since. I believe that no one has probably set foot in there, and Teresa’s made absolutely sure that that’s the case,” the CARS tour owner revealed. So, it’s understandable why comparing Jeffrey Earnhardt to Teresa might raise eyebrows.

Another fan echoing the same emotion wrote, “Jeffrey doing Jeffrey things. Oof.”

One social media user even took the sarcastic route and wrote, “Jeffery, we want you to go back out there, and hit the pace car.” Interestingly, the driver has worked with more than ten teams throughout his career, but is yet to see much success. Some fans often critique him by saying that just being an Earnhardt doesn’t mean you can race! “Jeffrey showing tonight why he’s not on a ride full time.” 

It’s not like the driver hasn’t ever had a full-time ride. Back in 2o17, he participated in the NASCAR Cup Series with Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group—his only full-time stint in the tourney—finishing 36th. However, he went to StarCom Racing the very next season. Then, in the Xfinity Series, he drove two full-time schedules in 2014 and 2021 with JD Motorsports, finishing 18th and 26th, respectively. The team extended his contract for the next season, but Earnhardt announced he would not be returning in a bid to pursue opportunities with a better team.

However, even though he does not have a full-time contract, he’s got a very marketable name. It all thanks to Dale Sr, but capitalizing on it isn’t wrong. A fan on the same note said, “He may not have talent, but he has a marketable last name. And that is what matters.”

Well, it seems fans have given their verdict. Now it’s upto Jeffrey Earnhardt to prove them right or wrong. What do you think is going to happen?