"To retire or not to retire" - The debate over the #3 still continues
by 4ever3 on Feb 24, 2010 2:22 AM EST
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Before you read this article I want to make it perfectly clear to all of you that I was, and still am, a Dale Earnhardt fan.
With that being said I am approaching this with an open mind and with an unbiased opinion - as much as there is to give anyway.
It would seem that a little ol' fanpost written by our up-and-comer-writer-in-training, Athletic, has sparked a bit of debate about retiring numbers in NASCAR - especially the #3!
Now with me being an avid Dale Earnhardt fan I would love for his number to be retired, but let's think about this for a minute, is this really reasonable?
Yes! And ... well ... no, not really.
You see numbers are owned by the car owners not the driver, unless you are a owner driver like Tony Stewart with his soon to be famed #14.
That famed slanted white number 3 with red trim is owned by Richard Childress, in fact he drove with that style of number before Earnhardt did.
Car numbers are not like jersey numbers. Dale Earnhardt drove cars with numbers of 2, 15, & 3 among others while Wayne Gretzky had the number 99 his whole pro career. There's a difference here. The car number is tied to the car owner/sponsor not the driver where as the jersey number is the other way around, that is why Tony Stewart didn't take the 20 with him when he left JGR, it was owned by JGR and tied in with the sponsor Home Depot.
Now granted just because a number has been tied in with a sponsor doesn't mean it can move when the sponsor leaves, not so. In the last 15 years the sponsor Budweiser has been on cars numbered 11, 25, 8, and 9 because they don't own the number either - its the car owners and they're not giving up those numbers too easily.
I understand that and respect it, and then there is the fact that there are only 110 numbers ( 0-99, 00-09) available to race with because there are no triple digits allowed and if you start retiring numbers then you're eventually going to run out of numbers. Granted it would take a while, but the possibility is there.
So what do you do to honour some famous drivers who drove to fame with a number that eventually became as famous as them making them intrinsically tied to each other like Earnhardt and the #3?
Retire the number I say ... well not the number exactly but the trademarked number style. I think they should retire the version of the number but not the number itself.
So what would happen in Earnhardt's case would be that NASCAR would retire the RCR version of the fiercely thrusted white and red number three that was synonymous with Earnhardt while still allowing the number to be used in a differently designed way other than the RCR version that Earnhardt made famous as he became more famous himself.
Now RCR would still technically own their version of the number 3 that was retired so they could still capitalize on any profit that might be made from it through souvenir/memorabilia sales. And once that version of the number is retired then RCR could still use the number three on their car they could race again. That means that Richard could give the number to his grandson as long as it is a differently designed one compared to the Earnhardt one.
This would hold true for any number being retired whether its Petty's 43, Johnson's 48, or Gordon's 7.
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Why are we going to retire Robby Gordon's #7?
Just kidding, I know you ment Jeff.
This article brings up a lot good points about sponsors as well as history. I’ve already stated my position in the fanpost but I’ll porbably have more on this later.
"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 2:48 AM EST reply actions
Oh I meant #7
for two reasons; an attempt at humour for most, and a reference to former Cup Champ Alan Kulwicki for the fan who has been with the sport for longer than a decade. I mean why not retire his number 7 along with the 28 of Davey Allison, as well as others like the 42, and the 45? Heck the 42 and 45 deserve to be retired more than the 7 or 28 since both Irwin and Petty both died while in their race cars while Kulwicki and Allison both died in aviation accidents either at or near the track.
But Jeff’s number 24 is certainly open for debate on this this subject too.
45 is like the 3. It’s pseudo retired. Petty isn’t letting go of the number since it’s Adam’s and by extention Kyle’s. That’s the problem though. No one remembers that the 28 was Allison’s. They remember it as Ricky Rudd’s, or Dale Jarrett’s or my fav. Travis Kvapil’s. The 7 is now tainted by Robby Gordon. Before him, it was Mike Wallace, and a slew of other guys. 45? Kyle drove that most recently. 42? That’s Montoya now. McMurray before him. I think Stremme drove it one year. Would any of us really been that outraged had Kevin Harvick stepped into the 3 car? He did, kinda, but you could have made the case of “it’s Richard Childress’ number” But it probably would have ruined Harvick’s life. Richard Petty should have stopped using the 43 right after he retired. Since we’ve had, what 10 years of terrible racing in that number? I hoped that Reed was going to bring that car back to the promise land. Now I hope that A.J. can.
LMAO the number 7 is tainted by Robby Gordon lol
Robby certainly has not done that number too proud
Bad pick Peyton "Regular Season" Manning!!!
I would love to see the black 3 back!
I think it would be awesome! I can imagine Dale Sr. looking down from victory lane in the sky smiling on number 3 baby!
Bad pick Peyton "Regular Season" Manning!!!
If he doesnt start perofrming he is in trouble
I dont think he will be resigned. He is over rated and has shown nothing but a marketing tool, just like Danica
live and die blue and orange
They can't fire their cash cow.
Jr brings in the money. In a Nascar world were even Hendrick has trouble finding sponsors, Jr is a golden god. He’s the male Danica Patrick. Mediocre talent, but brings in tons of money.
The big difference between the 3 and any other example you can come up with is that Earnhardt died in the car in the modern era with everybody watching.
I’m ambivalent about whether or not the number should be retired, but I think there is a clear case to be made that it is a particular and unique situation.
Sorry can't agree with you
Petty and Irwin were part of the modern era they both died less that a year before Earnhardt. Earnhardt just died when the new V contract started, but when the others died the TV contract was already inked.
There's no denying though that Earnhardt's situation was completely different.
Both Petty’s and Irwin’s crash happened in practice at New Hampshire and you can’t find video of either accident to this day. Earnhardt’s crash happened on the last lap of the DAYTONA 500 while the two cars he owned were running first and second and Darrel Waltrip was cheering his brother on from the booth.
Watch this and tell me you don’t get emotional all these years later.
"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 12:58 AM EST up reply actions
OK to avoid running out of numbers
NASCAR’s been around for over 50 years. Pick a period of time, 10 years, 20 years, and retire a number based on a owner’s, writers, fan, etc., vote. Even every 10 years, we’re down to 105 numbers now and in about 600 years there will only be enough numbers available for who is in that days race. I doubt NASCAR will be around in 100 years, much less 600. Running out of numbers is a ridiculous argument as long as you don’t go too fast.
Secondly, multiple numbers retired per player. I can’t pinpoint any examples, but I know there have been at least a couple players who have had their number retired from multiple teams and those numbers aren’t the same.
As others had said, you can’t speculate on what they might have done if they raced longer, it has to be based on accomplishments, so, sorry Alan and Davey. Right now, only Dame and Richard should really be considered. None of the other possible candidates mentioned either a) drove the same number long enough with enough success, or b) have stopped driving yet.
Go Jets
Go Devils
I conmpletely agree with this comment
"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 8:25 PM EST up reply actions
conmpletely completely
"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 8:25 PM EST up reply actions
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