NASCAR: Incredible Earnhardt streak reaches 49 seasons

For the 49th consecutive NASCAR season, an Earnhardt is set to be behind the wheel in 2023, with two set to compete in the Xfinity Series.

Alpha Prime Racing announced that Jeffrey Earnhardt is set to become the team’s first full-time driver since they rebranded from Martins Motorsports ahead of last season, with Earnhardt set to drive the No. 44 Chevrolet throughout the 33-race 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

Earnhardt, the grandson of Dale Earnhardt Sr. and nephew of Dale Earnhardt Jr., hasn’t been designated as a full-time driver since 2021, when he competed for JD Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, but he hasn’t actually run a full schedule since the 2014 season when he competed for the team.

The 2023 season is set to be the 33-year-old Mooresville, North Carolina native’s 15th consecutive season in NASCAR on some level, and it is set to be the 49th straight season with an Earnhardt competing in the sport.

This streak was technically already extended when Dale Jr. announced that he plans to run two races for JR Motorsports, the Xfinity Series team he co-owns, in 2023.

But he still hasn’t confirmed when and where he will compete.

While Dale Sr. wasn’t the first Earnhardt to compete in NASCAR, with his father Ralph competing in select Cup Series races from 1956 to 1964, it was his Cup Series debut in 1975 which began this streak.

After making his Cup Series debut, Dale Sr. competed in the series every year until he was killed in a last-lap crash in the 2001 Daytona 500. He also competed in select Xfinity Series races from 1982 to 1994.

Dale Jr. made his NASCAR debut in the Xfinity Series in 1996 and has competed on some level every year since. He made his Cup Series debut in 1999, and even after retiring from full-time competition following the 2017 season, he has competed in one Xfinity Series race each year.

As referenced above, he is set to double that total in 2023, extending his own streak of NASCAR competition to 28 years.

One another Earnhardt has competed in NASCAR during this streak. Bobby Dale, Jeffrey’s brother, competed in select Xfinity Series races from 2017 to 2019.