Dale Jr. says he wants to see the No. 3 font "retired"

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     Throughout the more than two decades since the untimely passing, Dale Earnhardt Senior fans have praised the No. 3 for its significance to the legacy of  'The Intimidator'. For over a decade, the No. 3 did not return to the track as team owner Richard Childress opted to field the No. 29, No. 31 and the No. 33 instead. All of that changed in 2014 when Kevin Harvick fled to Stewart-Haas Racing and Childress' grandson, Austin Dillon brought the No. 3 back to Cup Series Competition. 

Although Dale Earnhardt Senior got his start in the sport of stock car racing, driving various numbers, like the No. 8, the No. 2, and the No. 15, the likeness of the No. 3 was something near and dear to many fans, and rightfully so. The Earnhardt family and fanbase became wildly upset by Childress’ decision to revive the No. 3 in all of its former glory. Family members threatened lawsuits, and others claimed they could accept the change so be it, team fielded white colored cars. Beyond their attempts, none of that happened, and today Austin Dillon pilots the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro, and often in the color black. 

One key player in the Earnhardt dynasty is the son of Dale Earnhardt Senior, Dale Earnhardt Junior. With a respectable career behind the wheel driving for his father's team, and later Hendrick Motorsports, Dale Jr. has since moved on to the broadcast booth, working for NBC sports. Although he has kept relatively quiet on the subject of his father's number and font, Dale Jr. broke silence this past Sunday.

Dale Earnhardt Junior, using a verified account, answered a question on NASCAR Reddit relating to Kyle Busch's likely move to Richard Childress Racing. "I wish they could retire the current stylized font, then make an entirely new font/design..." Earnhardt told the online post author. 

"I wanna go back to when you saw that number (the No. 3) on a license plate or anywhere, and you KNEW they were 100% Earnhardt Sr." Earnhardt continued.

Richard Childress had once decided not to field the iconic number after Dale Senior's death, though with the rise to fame for his two grandsons (Austin and Ty Dillon) Childress brought significant aspects of the Earnhardt legacy back to life. For a handful of years throwback paint schemes closely resembling, and paying homage to those of Dale Earnhardt Senior were expected for the No. 3 team. Frankly those designs could be just as easily viewed as disrespectful. 

The online post author posed the question (mere speculation) of whether or not Kyle Busch may be in the running to drive the No. 3 car next season. While Austin Dillon is expected to return to the team, the exact details of which car number he will drive for is not publicly solidified. In the aforementioned post, Dale Earnhardt Junior makes a statement. He would like to tolerate Kyle Busch behind the wheel of a No. 3 machine, but not behind the wheel of a No. 3 machine like his father's.

The following is a link to the original Reddit post referred to in this article:

https://www.reddit.com/r/NASCAR/comments/xbnra8/dale_sr_fans_would_you_approve_of_the_3_being/

 

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