The Return of the 3
by Athletic on Feb 11, 2010 7:59 PM EST
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DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 11: Austin Dilon drives the #3 Bass Pro Shops Cheverolet during practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway on February 11, 2010 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)
The number 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Silverado Camping World Truck piloted by Austin Dilon was on the track qualifying for the February 12th Daytona race to open the NASCAR season!
This is not the first time the number 3 Chevrolet Silverado has been on the track since the passing Dale Earnhardt, the truck was in a few events last season.
I don't know about you, but everytime I see any race vehicle with the number 3 on it I get chills and a lump in my throat.
One of the greatest race car drivers in history and the greatest NASCAR driver ever will forever be linked to this great number!
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Oddly enough
whenever I see a black #3 truck I think of Mike Skinner who made his own history with that truck when the Craftsmen Truck Series started back in the 1990’s.
That’s exactly what I was thinking. I even had a little 1/64th scale truck of Skinners GM Goodwrench #3. Dale Earnhardt never raced a Truck. If they used the # 3 in Nationwide I would think of Jr. Not Sr. It’s really only in the Sprint Cup Series that I would think Dale Earnhardt 3. I’m not outraged that the 3 returned. It’s Richard Childress’ 3. Austin Dillon has been using the number 3 in many different series’.
too bad Dale Junior
doesn’t use #3 for his car. And I have a question, now that sbnation connects to Facebook, does this mean I have a facebook page without knowing it?
I don't think he wants to.
He gets compared to his father enough which is really unfair because it is virtually impossible for Dale Jr to be anywhere near as good as him.
Bad pick Peyton "Regular Season" Manning!!!
If he does use it I bet it will be in his last year of racing as a tribute to his dad.
He started with his grandfathers number (8) went to his own (88) so why not finish with dad’s (3).
Hopefully.
Childress is smart and respectful of The Intimidator and won’t let Dillon run that number 3 in sprint if/when he gets there.
"Charles In Charge"
"Defense Wins Championships"
I wish it was like a trophy
Whoever wins the championship, drives the black 3 the next year. Then that team gives it up to whoever wins the championship the next year.
To me, that would be a better way to honor Dale Sr.
"Our O-line is developing, they just don’t show it." From "Buc It" a Bucs fan.
Sounds like a bad idea.
That does not sound like a proper way to honor him.
Absolutely NO ONE should drive the 3. If anyone has to maybe Earnhardt Jr in his final season as a driver. That car and number was so great and has so much history and legacy behind it. It should not be driven by anyone else. Probably not even Jr. but if someone had to it should be Jr.
"Charles In Charge"
"Defense Wins Championships"
though that gives me an idea,
why not have A Dale Sr. memorial race at Daytona? It could be called the Earnhardt 300
Other sports retire numbers
Why can’t NASCAR? Leave it as it is, although I suppose it’s up to Childress, but nobody should ever drive the 3 again in Cup. I also say the 43 should be retired as well.
Go Jets
Go Devils
Other sports retire numbers because no team has 100 players. Only the number 42 is retired for every team in baseball, otherwise, it’s up to the team. Nascar only has 110 numbers (0, 00-09, 1-99) so after a while you’d start retiring numbers, we’ll about 60 different numbers are used every year. How long before we’d run out of numbers for teams? When Gordon retires, there goes the 24, the 3 would be gone. Maybe the 7 for Kulwicki, after a while it would look like an EA sports game out there cause nascar would have to start allowing 3 digit numbers. Kelly Bires driving the 125 chevy, Kyle Busch’s new team the 151 and the 118. That kinda thing.
Um no
I’m talking about only the ultimate cream of the crop. 2 numbers out of the thousands of drivers. No, unless Jeffie wins another two or 3 championships, awfully unlikely IMHO, the 24 shouldn’t be a candidate. As much as it pains me to say this, maybe the 48 might be among the greatest before he’s done. That still leaves 107 numbers and probably another 10 years even before the 48 would be possible. I don’t think there’d be much chance of running out of numbers any time soon.
Go Jets
Go Devils
That starts to get into the debate of who deserves to be preserved in sports history. The arguement for the 3 and 43 is great. But Jeff Gordon did so much for the sport of Nascar. He was a pretty boy from Cali. Jeff was the beginning of the clean cut Nascar we see today. He was a pretty man in an ugly man sport. His 4 championships and 80+ wins should be enough to put him in the same sentence as Earnhardt and Petty. What about Rusty? 55 wins? He only had one championship, but he’s 8th on the all time list. Gordon has more wins than Earnhardt. What about Pearson? 105 wins, but his number 17 is used by Matt Kenseth. The very last Winston Cup Champion. Pearson only won 3 championships. Do we leave him out cause we leave Gordon out? More wins but less championships? It’s all very arbitrary.
I think people remember championships more than wins
That to that is what separates the great drivers from the immortal drivers. I understand Pearson could have won more champoinships if he ran more races but the championship reamins the big prize. (More people know about Petty’s 7 championships than Peason’s wins in head to head matchups against Petty at Daytona in 74 and 76) Earnhardt and Petty are in a league of their own when it comes to this category although they may have company in a few years if things keep going the way they have been going the last few years.
"I have discovered in twenty years of moving around a ball park, that the knowledge of the game is usually in inverse proportion to the price of the seats." - Bill Veeck.
by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Feb 23, 2010 1:25 PM EST up reply actions
To say that 4 championships don’t make you a contender for a retired number though? What if Johnson never wins another championship? FrankG would want the 48 retired. I say, if you think Johnson should be retired, you have to say Gordon deserves it too. Both have 4 championships. Period. Doesn’t matter that Gordon’s were spread out, and johnson’s were in a row.
I didn't say I think Johnson's number should be retired
I think that it should be considered if he gets to six or seven championships, especially if they are in a row. As of right now the only number I really want retired is the #3 since I was a young Earnhardt fan but I’d also argue for 43. I think you can make a good case for Gordon but I’d say no right now.
The #48 team still may have a lot of history to write.
"I have discovered in twenty years of moving around a ball park, that the knowledge of the game is usually in inverse proportion to the price of the seats." - Bill Veeck.
by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Feb 23, 2010 3:18 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
No, I said this
“maybe the 48 might be among the greatest before he’s done.” If he retired today, no, I wouldn’t retire his number.
Go Jets
Go Devils
Yes, it's extremely arbitrary
But then so is individual teams retiring numbers in other sports, Hall of Fame entry, etc., etc., etc. I guess I came on board strong to NASCAR after Gordon’s championships, but I don’t really see that his 4 were that important in the grand scheme of things. Geez, more people hate Gordon than any other driver and would cringe to hear things like Hall of Fame or retiring his number in the same universe.
Again, even all the drivers you mentioned, I believe are still a level below Earnhardt and Petty, so no, none of their numbers would be retired, IMO.
Go Jets
Go Devils
I saw three of Gordon's four shampionships (I started watching nascar in 1996 at the age of 8)
and they came at a time when the sport was transforming. I don’t think Troy J is overstating how important they were, I just think don’t think they are enough to put him into the retired number discussion. Gordon is one of the best to ever do this and his numbers automatically put him in the Hall of Fame before you even start to consider how he helped change things off the track, but I think the idea of retiring numbers needs to be confined to the super, super, elite.
"I have discovered in twenty years of moving around a ball park, that the knowledge of the game is usually in inverse proportion to the price of the seats." - Bill Veeck.
by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Feb 24, 2010 2:27 AM EST up reply actions
shampionships championships
"I have discovered in twenty years of moving around a ball park, that the knowledge of the game is usually in inverse proportion to the price of the seats." - Bill Veeck.
by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Feb 24, 2010 2:27 AM EST up reply actions
I can get behind that. The Super Super elite. But where do you draw the line in the sand? 7 championships are elite. 105 wins, you could make a case for that being elite. What about those who died before they could become elite? Kulwicki won a championship with his own team, He and Davey Allison both looked to be favorites to win championships for a LONG time to come. Do you retire the 7 and 28? Or does death not make a difference?
I dont think you can play the what if game when it comes to retiring numbers
The Kulwicki and Allison deaths were tragic and those drivers should be remembered as nascar greats but you don’t know what they would have accomplished if they were still alive.
David Pearson is a good argument and I’m tempted to say retire his number when I look at his stats but there’s a problem there. Which number do you retire? Pearson won 105 races but they were really split up. (45 in the 21 car, 30 in the 17 car, 27 in the 6 car, and 3 in the 3 car) I think this hurts his legacy. Do you remember Pearson for his championships in the 6 and the 17 or for his classic wins at Daytona against Petty in the 21?
I know the counter argument to this is going to be “well Earnhardt won his first championship in the #2” but lets be honest with ourselves. Earnhardt is connected to the #3 much more than Pearson is connected to the 6, 17, or 21.
"I have discovered in twenty years of moving around a ball park, that the knowledge of the game is usually in inverse proportion to the price of the seats." - Bill Veeck.
by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Feb 25, 2010 12:22 AM EST up reply actions
Sorry can't go with you on that
I’m a huge hockey fan but when I go to the hockey hall of fame or to the boston gardens or the ACC or whatever there will always be retired jersey numbers with people’s names on them that I never heard of before but does that make them less important than the current big name star? No.
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