Dale Earnhardt Inc. didn't have to look very far to find its soon-to-be newest driver.

He shares a last name with organization's founder.

Jeffrey Earnhardt, the 17-year-old grandson of Dale Earnhardt, will compete in the NASCAR Busch East Series next season in a Chevrolet prepared by DEI, said Tam Topham, who fielded cars for Earnhardt last year at Motor Mile Speedway.

An official announcement about the fourth-generation driver's future should come next week at the NASCAR preseason media tour in Charlotte, N.C, his stepmother, Rene, confirmed.

The son of Kerry Earnhardt and nephew of Dale Earnhardt Jr. will share time between Busch East, the UARA Late Model touring series and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series (formerly the Dodge Weekly Series). A handful of Late Model dirt track starts could also be in the cards.

"This week or next week, they're going to try to have everything finalized," Topham said. "His mom and dad and DEI and himself -- they're all working out the particulars."

DEI will field the Busch East entry exclusively; Topham will be under contract with Kerry Earnhardt to oversee the Late Model and UARA operations out of his Wytheville-based TAMCO Motorsports shop.

Jeffrey Earnhardt's 2007 schedule will include up to eight races in a Late Model at Motor Mile as well as the Bailey's 300 at Martinsville Speedway in late September.

The upcoming campaign figures to be busy for the Mooresville (N.C.) High School junior.

"That's what DEI wants," Topham said. "They want me to field him in a Late Model any weekend that it doesn't conflict with a Busch East deal. They want me to make sure that we're racing somewhere at different tracks and gain experience at different racetracks."

Busch East, along with the NASCAR AutoZone West Series, is a regional feeder division for NASCAR's three national series -- Nextel Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck.

Alumni of the circuit includes Kevin Harvick, second-year DEI Cup driver Martin Truex Jr. and Ricky Craven. Earnhardt's entry will don the No. 1, the same digit attached to Truex's doors and the number formerly occupied by DEI's first full-time Cup entry, driven primarily by Steve Park from 1998 to 2003.

Jeffrey Earnhardt's Late Model Stock car will have No. 01.

Topham, a former Late Model regular with a handful of Craftsman Truck Series starts, said that for the second straight season, his driving career will take a backseat to managerial duties.

"My first priority is to commit to Jeffrey and give him whatever I can give to him for the next two years," Topham said.

Last season was Earnhardt's first in a full-bodied stock car on asphalt and it brought modest success. He recorded five top-5 finishes and 11 top-10s in a Limited Sportsman class considered to be Motor Mile's most competitive outside of Late Model Stock.

Earnhardt's only other racing experience came in an entry level class of four-cylinder "Hornet" cars at Wythe Raceway, a half-mile dirt track in Rural Retreat. He was a three-time winner there over two seasons.

The news of Earnhardt's deal with DEI comes just days after Kerry Earnhardt took a full-time position with the company.

The elder Earnhardt will serve as a liaison between the organization's Cup and Busch programs and make cameo driving appearances.