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NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series
TRUCKS: Return Of No. 3 Invokes Memories, Emotions
After a 10-year absence, the famed black No. 3 returns to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this weekend...
Megan Englehart  |  Posted September 02, 2009   Charlotte, NC
Jay Sauter driving the No. 3 RCR Chevrolet in March, 1999 during practice for the Florida Dodge Dealers 400 NASCAR Truck Series Race at Homestead. (Photo: Robert Laberge/Allsport)

After a 10-year absence, the famed black No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Silverado returns to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this weekend at Iowa Speedway, and with it comes a flurry of reflection and emotion from many associated with the original truck.

Austin Dillon, the 19-year-old grandson of Richard Childress, will make his NCWTS debut Saturday at Iowa Speedway (10 p.m. ET live on SPEED(tm); NCWTS Setup with Krista Voda at 9:30 p.m. ET) in the No. 3 RCR 40th Anniversary Chevrolet Silverado. Mike Skinner drove the No. 3 truck to prominence in 1995, the Truck Series' inaugural year, winning the first race at Phoenix International Raceway and capturing the series' first championship. Skinner won 16 races in two seasons and Jay Sauter earned four additional victories before RCR discontinued the program at the conclusion of the 1999 season.

"I think it's awesome the black No. 3 truck is coming back and it's great that Richard's grandson is driving it," Skinner said. "If it runs like it used to, it's going to be a force to be reckoned with. I tried to talk Richard years ago into bringing it back but he didn't think the sponsorship would come with us. But we probably should have done it."

"When I see Austin, a kid I've seen grow up from the time he was born, have the opportunity to sit in that black No. 3 truck, it is truly special," said Danny "Chocolate" Myers, longtime gasman for Dale Earnhardt and current curator of the Richard Childress Racing Museum "Now look at what Austin is doing. This is big-time auto racing, the Truck Series, one of the premier divisions. Seeing the black No. 3 back is a neat deal for the fans, for Austin and for Richard Childress."

"The significance of bringing back the black No. 3 is obvious and quite special for everyone at RCR and all the fans," said Mike Dillon, Austin's father and RCR's Vice President of Competition. "It was a tough decision and there was a lot of thought put into doing it right. We had the number and thought right now would be the time to do it. It's special because it is Richard's number and because Mike Skinner ran it and won a championship with it."

Despite his immediate success in the No. 3, NASCAR fans didn't initially welcome Skinner with open arms, but he expects Dillon's reception to be a smoother ride than his.


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