The question of retiring the No. 3 won't go away
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive
June 8, 2001
9:58 AM EDT (1358 GMT)
CONCORD, N.C. -- To 3 or not to 3. That is the question.
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Marty Smith
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Among the myriad issues still looming over NASCAR in the wake of Dale Earnhardt's death is whether or not Richard Childress should bring back the beloved No. 3 car. By all means, a case could be made either way.
Thousands of readers correspond with me via email each week, many of whom have voiced their dismay regarding the absence of the vaunted black No. 3 Chevrolet.
Of course, those folks are alluding to Earnhardt's absence more than that of the car -- he could have driven the No. 48 Hyundai Excel, for goodness' sake -- but it made me wonder whether having a No. 3 Chevrolet on the racetrack would be therapeutic for the mourning masses.
Once again, valid points abound on both sides of the issue.
Millions of people yearn to see Earnhardt's legacy forever honored with the retirement of the No. 3, but Childress himself has said, "NASCAR does not retire numbers. They would like to see us keep the number and will work with us to make that happen."
Childress announced on Feb. 23 that he had put a one-year moratorium on the No. 3, and would never again run a black No. 3 race car. He did not, however, rule out the return of the number some day.
"We will never run a black No. 3 car again. We may run another "3" car again some day because we have 28 years invested in it at RCR, but we will never run a black No. 3 car again."
While some fans hope for the retirement of the famous number, others have expressed their hopes that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. would take over the black No. 3 and carry on the Intimidator legend.
As far as I know - and believe me, I'm no licensing expert -- Childress owns the rights to the No. 3, so in order for that to happen Junior would either have to leave Dale Earnhardt Inc., and go drive for Childress, or Childress would have to give the rights to the number to DEI.
Either way, Little E has no interest in driving his father's car. However, he has said that if Childress and Teresa Earnhardt decide to bring back the No. 3 and/or the color black, he would be just fine with it.
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Dale Earnhardt drove for RCR for 17 years.
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Why should it be brought back?
The No. 3 car has long been a staple of racing excellence. Junior Johnson made it famous before Big E did. Ray Fox did the same before Johnson came along. Surely, that number will never fall into mediocrity as long as Childress owns it, so seeing it back in competition would do Earnhardt proud.
Furthermore, NASCAR is a history-conscious sport, and the No. 3 is an important link to that storied past. Think about it, if numbers were retired, nearly every number out there would be worthy of retirement. For certain, Richard Petty's No. 43 would be long gone, as would David Pearson's No. 21, Darrell Waltrip's No. 11 and several others for that matter.
The retirement issue might be moot, anyway. A source close to RCR told me last week that Childress desperately wanted to run a No. 3 Chevy in 2002, and Childress has planned an announcement on that front for later in the year.
Why should it be retired?
First off, in my mind the No. 3 will always be Dale Earnhardt, even if someone wins 15 Winston Cup championships while driving the No. 3 car in the future. Earnhardt was everything NASCAR. His relentless pursuit of perfection both on and off the track helped lift the industry to its current lofty status, and for that he should be honored and remembered in a unique way.
Secondly, Earnhardt is the best stock car driver in history. End of story. He earned the right to be the first driver to have his number retired.
To 3 or not to 3. That is the question.
Marty Smith's column appears every Thursday on NASCAR.com. The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer. To provide feedback to Marty, click here.
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