Dale Jr. strong as No. 3 returns to the track

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The No. 3 car is back and as strong as ever.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. made the highly anticipated return of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet a triumphant occasion Thursday morning at Daytona International Speedway, qualifying the Oreo ride in the top-five for Saturday’s GNC/Live Well 300 NASCAR Busch Series race.

Junior, a two-time Busch Series champion who last graced the series field at Charlotte last May,, coursed the famed 2.5-mile oval in 48.511 seconds at 185.525 mph. His posted time was nearly two-tenths of a second slower than Joe Nemechek’s pole-winning time, but good enough for fourth on the overall speed chart.

Saturday’s race will mark the first of two events Junior will race the Richard Childress Racing Chevy this year, the other being the May event at Charlotte. It will also be the first time a No. 3 car has competed in a major NASCAR event since Dale Earnhardt was killed on the final lap of last season’s Daytona 500.

Junior won the 1998 and 1999 Busch Series championships in the No. 3 ACDelco Chevrolet owned by his late father.