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iK9 adds to canine presence in NASCAR with Jeffrey Earnhardt

By Wesley Coburn

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 16: Jeffrey Earnhardt, driver of the #18 iK9 Toyota, drives next to Cole Custer, driver of the #00 Jacob Companies Ford, during the NASCAR Xfinity Series NASCAR Racing Experience 300 at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 16: Jeffrey Earnhardt, driver of the #18 iK9 Toyota, drives next to Cole Custer, driver of the #00 Jacob Companies Ford, during the NASCAR Xfinity Series NASCAR Racing Experience 300 at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /
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Canine security company iK9 and Jeffrey Earnhardt are significantly contributing to the NASCAR world of dogs.

Canine security company iK9 is significantly stepping up the presence of canine brands within the NASCAR world this season, partnering with the latest racer in one of the sport’s first families in Jeffrey Earnhardt.

Security company Xtreme Concepts entered the world of stock car racing around the middle of the 2017 season with Jeffrey Earnhardt in the top-level Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving for the underdog Gaunt Brothers Racing in the No. 96 Toyota Camry.

Jeffrey is a fourth-generation NASCAR racer, the great grandson of Ralph Earnhardt, the grandson of Dale Earnhardt and the nephew of Dale Earnhardt Jr. His cousin Karsyn Ellege is making a name for herself in the world of dirt racing.

Jeffrey has a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, a hunting dog named Bama, who is featured on his Instagram fairly often. Bama has his own account @bama_ik9.)

This season Earnhardt is driving a partial schedule with powerhouse Joe Gibbs Racing in the Triple-A level Xfinity Series, piloting the No. 18 Toyota Supra in nine races, all with Xtreme Concepts’ company iK9 adorning the car, as they’re sponsoring a significant chunk of the season at 24 of the 33 races. Cup drivers Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin will also drive the car, while NXS regular Brandon Jones will have his No. 19 Supra in iK9 colors for two races as well.

Additionally, Earnhardt will drive the No. 81 Supra in five more Xfinity races for XCI Racing, a new company under the Xtreme Concepts banner, and the two Cup races at Talladega Superspeedway, not far from Xtreme Concepts’ home base of Birmingham, Alabama.

In the Cup races Earnhardt will pilot the No. 81 Camry, and in both series XCI Racing will have support from JGR to filed competitive cars.

iK9 trains canines for detection and security work, similar to trainer Jeff Franklin‘s Cobra Canine.  For more information, see their website for details.

As the iK9 website states, they are “dedicated to providing world-class canine services to the working dog community.”

“We are taking a very deliberate and methodical approach to becoming a NASCAR team,” Xtreme Concepts founder Landon Ash said in a press release, stating that their eventual goal is to become a full-time Cup team.

Ash added that they hope to “take what we learn this season and apply it to next season.”

For more on dogs in racing, see our overview of the canine side of the NASCAR world, which also includes Chase Briscoe‘s relationship with Nutri Chomps treats.

In the first race of the season last Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, Briscoe was a respectable 12th while Earnhardt finished a decent 15th in the 38-car field after both drivers ran up near the front most of the day.

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