MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- The sun was riding high in a cloudless blue sky, shining down with an intense brightness. But that was not what was causing onlookers to squint and rub their eyes as they arrived Thursday afternoon at the headquarters of JR Motorsports.

Nor was it the sharp No. 3 Wrangler-sponsored Chevrolet race car wrapped in yellow-and-blue colors, gleaming in the sunlight.

Teresa Earnhardt with Dale Jr. on Thursday at unveiling.

“

Honoring my dad is something we can all come together on, and it's important. ... Focusing on the reason we're doing this, and the reason we announced it on Dale Earnhardt Day, that was enough.

”

-- KELLEY EARNHARDT

Nope, it was the fact that just a few feet away from the car sat a group of NASCAR luminaries -- and, lo and behold, there sat Teresa Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. on stools right next to one another. Sure, it was impressive that to their immediate left also sat car owner Richard Childress and Kelley Earnhardt, who more or less runs JR Motorsports. But once eyes locked on Mother Teresa (we use the term very loosely here) and Junior, former combatants in an ugly split that resulted in Junior driving away from the racing business founded by his legendary father and namesake, it was for at least a moment or two as if nothing else around them even existed.

Had they really pushed all differences aside to make this help make this happen?

The short answer is yes. The car -- accurately described as "bad-ass" by JR Motorsports public relations man Mike Davis -- is a replica of the No. 3 Wrangler car driven throughout much of the 1980s by the late Dale Earnhardt, Junior's father and a member of the inaugural induction class to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

The idea behind the unique joint venture between JR Motorsports, what remains of Dale Earnhardt Inc., and Richard Childress Racing is to honor the elder Earnhardt's induction into the Hall by running the car in a one-time only deal in the July Nationwide race at Daytona International Speedway. Junior also ran the No. 3 that his father drove at Daytona in February of 2002 -- when he raced it to a Nationwide victory not quite one year after his father's death their during an accident in the 2001 Daytona 500.

"The Wrangler car is definitely one of the top 10 coolest cars that have ever been on the race track," Earnhardt Jr. said. "A lot of people identify with it, and I can't think of a better way to celebrate my Dad's induction in the Hall of Fame than to bring the Wrangler colors back with the No. 3 on the side."

A little history

The ball got rolling on this rare collaborative effort when Junior and sister Kelley sat down and started talking about ways to honor their father's induction in the Hall. They first approached Wrangler about putting their colors on the car for the July Nationwide race in Daytona. About a month later, Junior said he walked back into the office to discover that not only was that deal done, but that Kelley also had involved Teresa Earnhardt, who still sits at the head of DEI; and Richard Childress, who still owns the No. 3 number in NASCAR and has been very guarded, rightly so, about letting folks use it.

Soon thereafter, they actually had the car worked up for Earnhardt Jr. to look over. It passed Junior's careful inspection with flying yellow-and-blue colors.

"I think it's a neat idea. I really love the car. I love being able to take it to the race track and put it in front of the fans -- for those who recognize it and for those who will see it for the first time. It should be a lot of fun," Earnhardt Jr. said. (Continued)