A numbers game Earnhardt's No. 3 set for temporary return to the track

When the drivers for tonight's Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway are introduced, there will be an undeniable and deafening roar for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Granted, there generally is for the driver known as Junior, who has been voted by NASCAR's fans the most popular driver for the last seven years.

Tonight, though, is different. Tonight is a tribute to his father, to the sport and the past. Tonight, Junior will drive a blue-and-yellow Chevy No. 3 like his Daddy did from 1981 to '87 on the way to the first of his seven NASCAR points championships.

"It's huge," said Buz McKim, the historian at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte. "It's a historic event waiting to happen."

Longtime NASCAR fan Roger Goodwin concurred.

"I think it's good," said Goodwin, the service manager of North Georgia Tire and Alignment on Battlefield Parkway who has been a NASCAR follower since the 1970s. "He's carrying on the family tradition."

NASCAR has long embraced its tradition, especially at Daytona where the elder Earnhardt was killed in a crash on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

Tonight, Earnhardt Jr. will honor his father by driving a replica of the car as a tribute to his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

"This is a one-time deal," Earnhardt Jr. told The Associated Press on Thursday. "I have no intentions of making it a habit to run special paint schemes with my dad's number every year, and I'm pretty sure this will be the last time I drive the No. 3.

"It's my dad's number. We are borrowing it this weekend to honor him, and I hope the fans remember him when they see this blue-and-yellow car on the track."

Fans such as Goodwin are thrilled, especially since the main connection between drivers and their supporters is the numbers on their hoods.

"I would have to say I have at least 200 (souvenirs with a No. 3 on them)," Goodwin said. "In my office right now, every wall is covered and you can pretty much find a 3 wherever you look."

Car numbers are owned by NASCAR and assigned to teams annually. Richard Childress Racing has maintained the rights to the No. 3 since Earnhardt's death and has left it unused.

The reasons for numbers vary. Denny Hamlin drives the No. 11 for Gibbs Racing, which allegedly secured the rights to that number because it was the football number worn by J.D. Gibbs at William & Mary. When Tony Stewart switched from Gibbs to start his own team, he selected No. 14 as a tribute to his idol A.J. Foyt.

Tonight, however, is about a tribute that many thought may never happen.

"That had been brought up," McKim said of the possibilities of retiring the No. 3. "It had been brought up with the No. 22 when Fireball Roberts died, but NASCAR may be reluctant because they have a finite number of numbers to use."

Whether the No. 3 is retired or not, Earnhardt Jr. said Thursday this is it for his time in his father's car. Goodwin, for one, thinks there are a lot of reasons to reconsider that stance.

"Think about it," Goodwin said, noting that Kasey Kahne is joining Hendrick Motorsports next season and will bring the Budweiser sponsorship with him. "It's costing Richard Childress too much to sit on that number, and think about the hundreds of millions of dollars that a No. 3 Budweiser car would bring about with Dale Jr. driving it.

"I really think that's going to happen, and if it does, sure, I would root for him more in that car."

Staff writer Lindsey Young contributed to this story.

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