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Team owner, Richard Childress' grandson, Austin Dillon, will renew the No. 3 Chevrolet made famous by the late seven-time NASCAR Champion, Dale Earnhardt, in 2014.
The No. 3 has not been used in the Sprint Cup Series since the death of Earnhardt on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Although Earnhardt drove with the number “3” it is owned by NASCAR and maintained by Richard Childress Racing at NASCAR's pleasure.
Because the number “3” is so closely connected to Earnhardt some old fashioned fans may not agree with the either the revival or the driver.
Speaking of the late NASCAR icon Childress said. "He would want to see this 3. He didn't want to see it ever go away. I know today that he's accepting this highly. I knew him that well."
As for the unofficial popular vote "For every five (negative) calls, we get 95 positive," Childress said. "What we're hoping to do is win those over with the class we're going to bring the 3 back with."
Even Earnhardt's son, Dale Jr. was okay with the announcement. "I'm in favor of it," he said last week. "I'm real comfortable with it. I look forward to seeing it out on the racetrack. It'll definitely stir up some emotions that I'm probably not aware of right now, but I'm expecting it to have a positive influence on the sport and the fans and Austin as well.
The 23-year old Dillon comes with some pretty good credentials even if there might be some to accuse him of nepotism. He came up through the ladder system winning both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series titles in different years. “My grandfather has done a great job of teaching me how to handle certain responses to things, and I think we're going to go forward with it,” Dillon said. “I've heard a lot of good feedback from the fans, and every time I'm at an autograph session I've had someone ask what's going to happen. They are excited and we are, too, at RCR.
“It's what our sport was built on — family and history — and a great opportunity for all of our sport to see this No. 3 back on the track.”
The car has some major sponsorship and will have at least two paint schemes for Cheerios (cereal) and Dow Chemical.
The No. 3 has not been used in the Sprint Cup Series since the death of Earnhardt on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Although Earnhardt drove with the number “3” it is owned by NASCAR and maintained by Richard Childress Racing at NASCAR's pleasure.
Because the number “3” is so closely connected to Earnhardt some old fashioned fans may not agree with the either the revival or the driver.
Speaking of the late NASCAR icon Childress said. "He would want to see this 3. He didn't want to see it ever go away. I know today that he's accepting this highly. I knew him that well."
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| Austin Dillon. (Photo: Richard Childress Racing) |
As for the unofficial popular vote "For every five (negative) calls, we get 95 positive," Childress said. "What we're hoping to do is win those over with the class we're going to bring the 3 back with."
Even Earnhardt's son, Dale Jr. was okay with the announcement. "I'm in favor of it," he said last week. "I'm real comfortable with it. I look forward to seeing it out on the racetrack. It'll definitely stir up some emotions that I'm probably not aware of right now, but I'm expecting it to have a positive influence on the sport and the fans and Austin as well.
The 23-year old Dillon comes with some pretty good credentials even if there might be some to accuse him of nepotism. He came up through the ladder system winning both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series titles in different years. “My grandfather has done a great job of teaching me how to handle certain responses to things, and I think we're going to go forward with it,” Dillon said. “I've heard a lot of good feedback from the fans, and every time I'm at an autograph session I've had someone ask what's going to happen. They are excited and we are, too, at RCR.
“It's what our sport was built on — family and history — and a great opportunity for all of our sport to see this No. 3 back on the track.”
The car has some major sponsorship and will have at least two paint schemes for Cheerios (cereal) and Dow Chemical.