No. 3's Winston Cup future uncertain
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive
October 26, 2001
5:08 PM EDT (2108 GMT)
AVONDALE, Ariz. -- The No. 3 Chevrolet, which hasn’t graced the track since Dale Earnhardt’s death last February at Daytona, will return to the famed oval in the GNC/Live Well 300 Busch Series event during Speedweeks 2002 with Dale Jr. manning the wheel.
That we know. But the question remains whether or not we’ll see it in the Winston Cup Series any time soon.
Junior doesn’t know for sure. He’s not overly excited about the prospects, actually.
“I don’t know if you could say looking forward to it, but I’m curious as to when it will happen,” he said, decked out in a blue button-down Oreo Racing shirt, complete with flames. “If somebody were to come out next year driving the No. 3 car, I’d be a little bit sad about it.
“But I wouldn’t hold any grudges toward anybody who wanted to run the number. Everybody’s probably, out of respect, gonna wait a few years and if it comes back, it comes back.”
Well, OK. What about retiring it?
“I don’t think so,” Junior said. “I don’t think it’s fair to Richard Petty. They didn’t retire the No. 43 and if there is a number to be retired, that’s probably the one. That ain’t fair. It’s gonna kind of be sentimental.”
What about Junior taking the number? What about the prospects of a No. 3 Budweiser Chevy?
“No. My father really did a lot for the No. 3, but to him and to me as well, the No. 8 has more significance to us,” Junior said. “My grandfather ran the number and my father ran the number for several, several years.
“I know what my father went through and did to get the number so I could use it in the Winston Cup Series, so I’m gonna hang onto it.”
For now, Junior will return to the No. 3 in the Busch Series, where he’ll drive a blue Oreo-sponsored Chevrolet at Daytona and a yellow Nilla Wafers ride at Charlotte. The cars will be built, tested and maintained by RCR, but will be pitted by DEI.
Junior is excited about the opportunity to work with his father’s best friend, and the man dreamed of driving for when he was an adolescent: Richard Childress.
“I’m sure Richard is curious, after watching me grow up all those years, to see what kind of person I am to work with and what kind of driver I am,” Junior said. “This is an opportunity to get know a little more about each other.
“I’ve joked around with (Richard) a lot. I really wanted to drive racecars (when I was younger), and at that time my father wasn’t entertaining being a car owner so when I went home and played with Matchbox cars or whatever, I was driving for Richard Childress. So this is really neat.
"That man’s done so much for my father, so for me to have a chance to drive for him is the most significant factor in this whole program.”
And if he happens to get a win, will it be as big as his rousing trio of Winston Cup victories this season?
“I think it’d be big for a lot of people,” Junior said. “I’m just really excited to be able to go back. I like Daytona, and any opportunity to go around that racetrack is good for me.
"To have the opportunity to work with Richard Childress is something I’ve thought about and wondered if it’d ever happen, and with the circumstances I’ll probably be driving the No. 8 car for years and years and years, but here’s a chance for us to work together.”
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