Dale Earnhardt Jr. talks about bringing back the No. 3 and returning to Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JULY 04: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 National Guard Chevrolet, looks on during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 4, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JULY 04:  Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 National Guard Chevrolet, looks on during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 4, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida.  (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – JULY 04: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 National Guard Chevrolet, looks on during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 4, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

The last time the NASCAR Sprint Cup series visited Daytona International Speedway was for the season opening Daytona 500 in February NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second.

The series returns to DIS this week for Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400. Earnhardt has one Daytona 500 win under his belt (2004) along with a single win in the summer race (2001). Thursday just prior to teams practicing for Saturday’s race , Earnhardt met with members of the media and talked about his strategies to win the Coke Zero 400, the possible return of his father’s iconic number 3 to the Sprint Cup series and more.

Below is the full transcript of that interview.  MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.