Car No. Histories: No. 3

ATLANTA -- From the very start, the No. 3 has been an integral part of NASCAR. Six champions have driven cars bearing the numeral.

Some of NASCAR's greatest families are associated with the No. 3: the Thomases, the Flocks, the Pearsons, the Bakers and the Earnhardts.

None other than Bill France himself was behind the wheel of a No. 3 during the pre-NASCAR races on the beach at Daytona. He finished second in 1938 and 1939, driving Fords and Mercurys.

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Once the NASCAR era got under way, three drivers shared the No. 3 in 1949. Bill Snowden was fifth at Hillsboro, Johnny Rogers finished 36th at Langhorne and Al Wagoner was eighth at Martinsville.

Joe Littlejohn and Jimmy Ayers split time in 1950, with Littlejohn winning the pole at Daytona and Ayers running 22nd at Hillsboro.

Ayers drove a limited schedule in the No. 3 for the next thee seasons, including two top-10 finishes in 1951, switching from Plymouths to Studebakers to Fords to Hudsons.

Lamar Crabtree was 41st in the 1952 Southern 500.

Donald Thomas, Herb's younger brother, drove the No. 3 in the 1954 season-opener, finishing fourth at Savannah. Dick Rathman won three races that season -- Oakland, Willow Springs and North Wilkesboro -- and added four poles, finishing fourth in the standings. He had 25 top-10s in 29 starts.

Danny Letner ran the No. 3 out west that same season, winning the other Oakland race.

Rathmann returned in 1955 to capture three more poles and eight top-10s, including seconds at Jacksonville and North Wilkesboro. Bill Amick won the pole at Phoenix and had two top-10s in three West Coast starts.

Paul Goldsmith began his association with the numeral in 1956 and would win races in each of his three seasons using No. 3. He visited Victory Lane at Langhorne that season, one of five top-10s in eight starts. Tim Flock's only appearance in the No. 3 resulted in a third-place finish at Langhorne.

Goldsmith won three races in 1957, at Greensboro, Raleigh and Lancaster. He added four poles. He then won the final race on the Daytona beach course in 1958, one of two starts.

Scotty Cain and Cotton Owens also used the No. 3 in 1958. Cain was eighth at Riverside, while Owens won a poles at Raleigh and Birmingham and had six top-10s in 10 events.

	Dale Earnhardt

Fireball Roberts added his name to the list in 1959, winning the inaugural Firecracker 250 at Daytona. He was also seventh at Darlington. Cain wound up second at Sacramento in his only appearance.

Bobby Johns took over the No. 3 in 1960 for four races, including a second in the Daytona 500. He had three top-fives. Cain was 18th at Charlotte.

In 1961, Jim Paschal, Junior Johnson and David Pearson shared the ride. Paschal drove the first two races, including a 49th in the Daytona 500. Johnson won the pole at Charlotte and finished second in the race.

But it was Pearson who stole the show in his second full season. He won the World 600 at Charlotte, the Firecracker 250 at Daytona and picked up another win at Atlanta, in just seven starts.

Pearson and Johnson returned in 1962. Johnson won at Charlotte and picked up a pole at Hickory while Pearson had four top-10s in six starts.

Pearson went on to the No. 6 in 1963 while Johnson drove the No. 3 to seven wins and nine poles. He finished 12th in the standings -- mainly because he only made 33 starts. But he made the most of those appearances, running 13 times in the top five.

Johnson shared the ride in 1964 with the Baker family. Johnson won one of the Daytona qualifying races and finished ninth in the Daytona 500. After seven top-10s in 11 races, he moved on to the No. 27. Buck Baker then ran 22 races, including wins in the Southern 500 and at Valdosta. Son Buddy took over at Islip, finishing 20th.

LeeRoy Yarbrough took over the ride in 1965, finishing 27th at Darlington in six races.

Earl Balmer won a qualifying race at Daytona and finished 41st in the 1966 Daytona 500. Then Buddy Baker returned for what would turn out to be a four-year stint, running the No. 3 three times in 1966, including a second at Atlanta.

Baker won at Charlotte in 1967 and posted five top-10s in 11 starts. He ran a busier schedule in 1968 -- 39 races -- including a victory in the World 600 and a third at Darlington. He added four poles and 16 top-fives, winding up 13th overall.

Baker won the pole for the 1969 Daytona 500, finishing fifth in the race. He made four more starts that season before turning the No. 3 over to Jim Vandiver.

Vandiver was second at Talladega in two starts, then ran three more times in 1970, including a 38th in the Daytona 500.

Cale Yarborough drove the No. 3 four times over two seasons, running 33rd in the 1971 Daytona 500 and improving to sixth in the 1972 edition.

Charlie Glotzbach had 12 starts in cars bearing the numeral in 1971, winning at Bristol, collecting four poles and posting five top-fives. In addition, John Soares Jr. was 11th at Riverside in three starts out west.

Soares used the No. 3 three more times, all at Riverside, without cracking the top 20. In 1975, Bobby Isaac drove three races, with a best of seventh at Rockingham.

Then in 1976, Richard Childress switched from the No. 96 and would drive the No. 3 for the next six seasons.

Childress posted 10 or more top-10s in five consecutive seasons, with a best of eighth in the points in 1979. During that stretch, he was sixth at Richmond in 1976, sixth again at Riverside and North Wilkesboro in 1977 and third at Nashville in 1978.

In 1979, Childress was fifth at Rockingham, had three sixth-place finishes in 1980 and was fourth at Riverside in 1981. Late in the season, Childress turned the wheel over to Dale Earnhardt, who had six top-10s in 11 races.

Earnhardt went to drive the Nos. 2 and 15 for two seasons while Ricky Rudd took over the No. 3, putting together back-to-back ninth-place efforts.

In Rudd's first season, he won poles at Martinsville and Dover, ran second at Martinsville and Riverside.

Rudd opened the 1983 season with three straight poles -- at Daytona, Richmond and Rockingham -- finishing with four total. He also won at Riverside and Martinsville, two of his seven top-fives and 14 top-10s that season.

Rudd and Earnhardt switched places in 1984, with Rudd taking the No. 15 and Earnhardt moving back to the No. 3, the numeral with which he would forever be associated.

Earnhardt won at Talladega and Atlanta on his way to fourth in the final standings in 1984, buoyed by 22 top-10 finishes.

He was dominant on the short tracks in 1985, sweeping both Bristol races, plus wins at Richmond and Martinsville.

In 1986, Earnhardt won his second NASCAR championship -- and the first of six in the No. 3 -- by scoring a season sweep at Charlotte, plus victories at Darlington, North Wilkesboro and Atlanta. In addition, Earnhardt had 23 top-10s.

Earnhardt was nearly unbeatable in 1987, winning 11 races, including four in a row and six of the first eight races of the season. He also won The Winston.

He won three more times in 1988, slipping to third in the points, then had five more victories in 1989, winding up second overall.

Earnhardt returned the No. 3 to championship form in 1990, winning nine races, including sweeping both Darlington and Talladega events, winning his first Pepsi 400 at Daytona and capturing four poles.

His fifth NASCAR title came a year later, courtesy of four victories, 14 top-fives and 21 top-10s. He continued to show off his short track skills with wins at Martinsville, North Wilkesboro and Richmond, plus his ability to run up front at Talladega.

Earnhardt uncharacteristically dipped to 12th in 1992, with a lone win in the Coca-Cola 600, but he was back with a vengeance in 1993.

He won six races, including his third Coca-Cola 600, The Winston and the Bud Shootout, had 17 top-fives and 21 top-10s.

He tied Richard Petty's record with his seventh NASCAR championship in 1994, winning at Bristol, Darlington, Rockingham and Talladega. He collected 25 top-10s.

Earnhardt had five more victories in 1995, including the Brickyard 400, which left him second in the points. He won at Atlanta and Rockingham in 1996, finishing fourth overall.

In 1997, he suffered his first winless season since 1981, but still had 16 top-10s on his way to fifth in the final standings.

Earnhardt finally achieved his long sought-after goal of winning the Daytona 500 in 1998, his only victory that season. He finished eighth in the points, then improved to seventh in 1999, thanks to two wins at Talladega and another at Bristol.

In 2000, Earnhardt won at Atlanta and made an incredible run to the front at Talladega in the closing laps to win the 76th race of his career. With 13 top-fives and 24 top-10s, Earnhardt made a strong run at his eighth NASCAR championship, finishing second behind Bobby Labonte.

Hopes were high for Earnhardt heading into the 2001 season-opener at Daytona. Earnhardt finished third in his qualifying race, while cars he owned were being driven by son Dale Jr. and long-time friend Michael Waltrip.

Earnhardt, Earnhardt Jr. and Waltrip swapped the lead over the final 30 laps, with Earnhardt leading for the last time on lap 183. He was running third behind Waltrip and Earnhardt Jr. when he crashed on the final lap.

Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful and the seven-time champion was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.

The No. 3 has not been used since.