Austin Dillon has heard all the talk of him possibly racing Dale Earnhardt’s famous #3 car in the Sprint Cup Series. And he’s fine with that, although he would like it to be when he runs a full Cup season and not a partial schedule. There’s pressure when running the stylized #3 made famous by the seven-time Cup champion, and Dillon doesn’t want to wait a long time between races to feel he has to prove himself as worthy of the Richard Childress Racing number.
Dillon has two career Cup starts [and plans to run the #33 at Daytona and the #51 at Las Vegas]. The #3 has not been used in Cup since Earnhardt’s death in the 2001 Daytona 500. Childress said that 85% of fans want him to bring the #3 back to Cup, but he would only use it for a member of his family or the Earnhardt family. Childress has said he is heavily considering letting Dillon keep the #3 when he goes full-time Cup racing, which he hopes will be next year. Dillon has run the #3 for much of his racing career. (Sporting News)
