NNS: Earnhardt To Drive Wrangler No. 3

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NNS: Earnhardt To Drive Wrangler No. 3

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will pilot a No. 3 Nationwide car at Daytona...

Bob Pockrass | http://www.scenedaily.com | Posted April 29, 2010 Mooresville, NC

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive a No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet in the Nationwide Series race on July 2 at Daytona International Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his stepmother Teresa Earnhardt sat side by side Thursday to announce that Earnhardt Jr. will drive a No. 3 Wrangler-sponsored car in the Nationwide Series race at Daytona in July.

It proved one thing: If there is something that can bring them together, it’s something that honors Dale Earnhardt.

Earnhardt Jr.’s father drove a Wrangler car for several years in Cup prior to landing sponsor GM Goodwrench in 1988, and Earnhardt Jr. will now get to drive one as part of a way to honor Earnhardt’s induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame next month.

It came together as Earnhardt Jr. had some unsponsored races for his JR Motorsports car, and he thought this would be a great way to drive a car for Wrangler, with whom he has a personal services agreement. His sister, Kelley, in her role as JR Motorsports co-owner, took it one step further and got Richard Childress Racing involved as well as Teresa Earnhardt so they could use the No. 3.

Earnhardt Jr. left Dale Earnhardt Inc. after the 2007 season when Teresa Earnhardt refused to give him partial ownership of DEI, which her husband founded.

The Earnhardts and Richard Childress unveiled the car Thursday on what would have been the 59th birthday of Dale Earnhardt.

“Me and Teresa has always had a lot of respect for each other,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Dad always had a way of bringing everybody together. It’s Dale Earnhardt Day. This is a great opportunity … for us to do something together in the good for my father and what he meant for all of us.”

That doesn’t mean there will be more collaborations.

“Let’s get through this one,” Teresa Earnhardt said. “We’re really here to enjoy this program and Dale’s birthday.”

Earnhardt Jr., Kelley, his cousin Tony Eury Jr. and Rick Hendrick co-own JR Motorsports, which fields Nationwide Series cars.

“As long as we keep the goal in mind of honoring our dad, we all tend to overcome whatever it is that we may be holding on to,” Kelley Earnhardt said.

The No. 3 was made famous in Cup by Earnhardt Jr.'s father, a seven-time Cup champion who was killed on the final lap of the Daytona 500. NASCAR has continued to allow Richard Childress Racing to control the No. 3 car, and Childress’ grandson, Austin Dillon, is driving a No. 3 in the Camping World Truck Series this year.

Earnhardt Jr. drove a No. 3 car twice in the Busch Series in 2002.

“I really love the car,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I love being able to take it to the race track and put it in front of the fans.”

Teresa Earnhardt said she didn’t want to reminisce about her husband’s days driving the Wrangler car.

“I’m not going to go into personal feelings,” Teresa Earnhardt said. “I’m just happy that we can celebrate and honor [him]. It’s a very emotional event. That’s why the achievements Dale made were so strong because he had that emotional connection with people. When they see the 3, they immediately think of Dale.”

The announcement was at JR Motorsports, which Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt started in 2005.

“If [my dad] was here, we’d probably all still be together,” Kelley Earnhardt said. “Dale Earnhardt Jr. would never have left DEI. … [But] Dad would have encouraged Junior to continue to branch out. He started Dale Earnhardt Incorporated while he drove for Richard, and I don’t think that [this] would have been no different.

“But we’re not here to talk about what could have been. We’re here to celebrate my dad and honor him on this day.”

Don’t expect to see Earnhardt Jr. driving a No. 3 in Sprint Cup. Childress said Thursday that while he would never say never, he doesn’t anticipate putting it on the track in Cup.

“It’s such a different level [in Cup] than what we’re doing here today,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “We’re just lucky to have opportunities like this. … I’m real happy where I’m at and working with Rick and hopefully that is going to be a long [relationship].”

Eury Jr. will crew chief the car at Daytona and it will have a Hendrick Motorsports engine. Another group of crew members will field the No. 7 car, which Eury Jr. typically serves as crew chief for, at Daytona. RCR will be listed the official owner of the car.

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