Bruce: No. 3 comes full circle for Richard Childress with Austin Dillon’s win

RELATED: Full race results | Austin Dillon gets first win CONCORD, N.C. -- Seventeen years, give or take a month or two here or there. How old was he? He being Austin Dillon, winner of Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Ten. He was 10 years old the last time that oh-so-familiar black No. 3 rolled off the race track and into Victory Lane at Talladega. The year was 2000. Seems like ages ago; sometimes it seems like yesterday, too. That, of course, makes Dillon 27, and a fuel-mileage gamble that paid off handsomely makes him a first-time winner here in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. WATCH: Not even enough gas for a burnout Seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt put the No. 3 in Victory Lane 67 times. Often enough for some fans to come to loathe it, often enough for many more to come to love it. Kevin Harvick, who stepped into the ride following Earnhardt's death in the 2001 Daytona 500, didn't have to shoulder the expectations of the machine so much as he had to live in the shadow of the man. Team owner Richard Childress, out of equal parts pain and respect, put the No. 3 on the shelf. Didn't want to put the burden on his young driver at the time and wasn't sure he wanted to look out and see it circling the track. Instead, Harvick drove the No. 29 and drove it convincingly. Won 23 times and nearly a championship or two before departing to join Stewart-Haas Racing. In the meantime, the No. 3 sat. And sat. And sat some more. How many times was Childress asked the inevitable? When would fans see the 3 on the track once more? Too many to count. Meanwhile, Dillon was growing older and getting comfortable with the number in other series -- winning championships in the Camping World Truck Series (2011) and XFINITY Series (2013). It was the number without the pressure. That all changed prior to 2014 when Childress made the announcement -- the No. 3 was coming back to NASCAR's top series. And Dillon, his grandson, would be behind the wheel. "I didn't want to put just anyone in the (No.) 3 car," Childress explained after Sunday night's surprising victory. "I would have probably never brought it back." The Coca-Cola 600 win was special, he said, for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the celebration of Memorial Day, "such a special day for all the people that have given so much for this country ... to be able to enjoy what we're doing. I'm just honored to be here. ... "When I really got emotional ... when I looked up and saw the (No.) 3 on top of the board and I was standing there doing an interview, that's when I got emotional. It's so special to see that 3 in the winner's circle again." The car number has adorned the vehicles of numerous NASCAR Hall of Famers. In addition to Earnhardt, 10 other Hall of Fame members used the number at some point during their careers. It's identified, though, with Earnhardt. And Childress. And now Dillon. "He doesn't show emotion and pressure but I can tell you ... he knew how much he wanted to win for the 3 fans and he knew how much he wanted to win for our family and everybody involved," Childress said. There was never a question of if he should have brought the car number back to the track, Childress said, only the understanding of the pressure it would bring to one of his Richard Childress Racing drivers. "I wanted to bring it back but it had to be something special. To have my grandson, to put him in it was unbelievable," he said. Dillon became the 10th driver to earn his first career win in the series at CMS. "From the very beginning," Dillon said, "my grandfather has challenged us with everything. He's a true hero also, starting with nothing, and making RCR into what it is today. "He pushed me and my brother to go on hunting trips that I don't think most people would go on. So the toughness has always been there. It came from him and my dad and my mom, all my family members." "Now to be able to deliver a number that is legendary and has stats that are untouchable, just to add to those numbers is something that him and his best friend were able to create, it's very special." RELATED: Austin Dillon's NASCAR statistics He'd been close before, with seven top fives scattered here and there. But no wins. Not in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Not until late in the night on a holiday weekend at a track that was difficult and unforgiving and seemingly ever-changing. "It's probably a great big deal to Austin and RCR," Dale Earnhardt Jr., son of the seven-time champ, said. "Big for that company. "I was glad to see them get it out and get it on the race track and go in Victory Lane, hopefully a few more times." Hours after the fans had departed and the celebration had moved elsewhere, the scoring pylon at CMS remained lit. The No. 3 at the very top didn't look out of place at all.