(By Greg Engle CupScene.com Editor,NASCAR Examiner)
Posted: Wednesday,June 30th, 2010
When Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced a few months ago that he would compete in a No. 3 Chevy this Friday in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona it was met with roars of approval by millions of NASCAR fans.
The No. 3 was the same number campaigned by his father Dale Earnhardt Sr. for many years and is still recognized by many as a symbol of the years when the legendary Earnhardt Sr. dominated the sport. It’s also a number that has galvanized fans, especially after Earnhardt Sr. lost his life on a last lap crash in the 2001 Daytona 500.
It wasn’t long after that terrible incident that many fans began to call for NASCAR to retire the number; still others hoped that his son Earnhardt Jr. would take over the number and ride at some point in his career.
MOORESVILLE, NC - APRIL 29: Dale Earnhardt Jr. , Co-Owner of JR Motersports, stands with the #3 Wrangler car that he will drive in the Nationwide race in Daytona Friday. (Photo by Mary Ann Chastain/Getty Images for NASCAR/nascarmms)
As it turned out since NASCAR doesn’t actually ‘own’ the numbers on racecar’s the talk of ‘retiring’ the number faded. Earnhardt Jr. did race with the number on a Nationwide Series car and will do so again this Friday, this time with a paint scheme reminiscent of one his father raced with years ago. MORE–>>
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