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Grandson to honor Dale Earnhardt in Darlington throwback weekend

jeffrey earnhardt throwback paint scheme at Darlington

Jeffrey Earnhardt, grandson of NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, will honor his grandfather during Darlington Raceway’s upcoming second annual throwback weekend.

The fourth-generation racing member of the Earnhardt family will drive a Ford Fusion for Go Fas Racing in the Bojangles Southern 500 Sprint Cup race on Sept. 4 -- televised live on NBC -- that will carry a special paint scheme similar to the type his late grandfather drove in the 1981 Winston Cup season. The car will be sponsored by CorvetteParts.Net.

“Sometimes things just fall together at the right time,” Go Fas Racing owner Archie St. Hilaire said in a media release. “When we were going through the process of which paint scheme to run for this year’s race at Darlington, the idea of a tribute to Dale Earnhardt’s 1981 season stood out to all of us above the rest.

“Throw in the fact that we get to have Jeffrey showcase his family’s heritage and pay tribute to his grandfather as well, that’s just icing on the cake.”

Dale Earnhardt was one of the most popular and successful drivers in NASCAR history. He is tied with Richard Petty for most Cup championships (seven each), earned 76 wins, 22 poles, 281 top-five finishes and led 25,684 laps. He was posthumously inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in its inaugural class of 2010.

“I’m pretty excited to have the famous yellow and blue paint scheme in honor of my grandfather for this year’s Southern 500,” Jeffrey Earnhardt said. “My grandfather ran this paint scheme in 1981, when he started the season as the No. 2 car driving for Rod Osterlund.

“When Richard Childress purchased the team halfway through the season it became the famous No. 3 car, so you have that 32 connection, so it’s pretty cool to have the chance to bring it back this year. I know we’ll have a lot of fun with it, and hope the all the great fans enjoy it as well.”

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