The return of #3?

[BioGrown12]

Childress consulted with Earnhardt's before using #3: The late Dale Earnhardt's famed #3 will be back on track in the elite Sprint Cup Series next season with Austin Dillon using the number. The move has been long anticipated because car owner Richard Childress has allowed his grandson to use the #3 as he's moved through NASCAR's ranks. Childress said he's consulted with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his sister, Kelley, every time he's moved the #3 to a different level on the track and the Earnhardt family has been supportive. Earnhardt Jr. declined to use the #3 following his father's death, but has raced the number in the Nationwide Series. "I would be worried if I didn't think he'd respect it or not understand the legacy, but he does. I know he does. He appreciates it," Earnhardt Jr. said last week of Dillon using the #3.(Associated Press)(12-12-2013)

What are your thoughts on this?

 

[GTporsche]

A number is just a number. It's Childress' choice to use it considering he's the one with the rights to it through NASCAR.

 

[Sagara-san]

it'll have been 13 years when daytona rolls around..... long enough.

 

[BioGrown12]

I would have to agree with you all. This might be the one thing that jump starts my interest back into the sport.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[dalejr8630]

If I'm ok with it, everyone else here should be ok with it. I just wish the best for Austin, I am a fan. I really hope the shadow of the legacy of the man who piloted that car does not cover Austins success. Im not looking forward to the comparisons. I really hope people let him do his own thing in the car.

 

[The_Twilight]

To me, the #3 means nothing more than any other number. I think it's an interesting point for sure, but yeah, let's roll it out. We don't need a season full of mentioning Dale Earnhardt though.

 

[Quatre47]

To me, the #3 means nothing more than any other number. I think it's an interesting point for sure, but yeah, let's roll it out. We don't need a season full of mentioning Dale Earnhardt though.

Thats going to happen, probably more than just a season too, cant be avoided really.

At the moment I'd agree that its time, it was going to happen eventually, and it looks like they made a good choice to drive it..tho, I may have some different feelings when I see the 3 roll out on the track at Daytona for the first time in 13 years..

 

[dalejr8630]

I agree with what you said Rob. But we've had 4 years of preparation with Dillon. And Jr has drove that 3 around Daytona a few times. I usually end up smiling instead of getting chills or tears when seeing it.

 

[Tiger61378]

I think its going to be good to have the #3 back on the track again. After all, its a number that's associated with not just Dale Sr., but also Childress (it was RC's number in the 70s, and a couple of other drivers ran it before Dale started driving it). Since Austin is RC's grandson, its fitting that he'll be driving that number on track again (kind of like how Jr. was driving the 8, which was the "Earnhardt family" number, or Kyle Petty running the 42 for a while in the early 90s, which was Lee Petty's number).

 

[slyva767]

I would be ok with it as long as Austin Dillon can return it to victory lane. I will hate to see him be like Danica and always in the back driving that number.