Teresa doesn't think the 3 will run again.

BobbyFord

BobbyFord

Secret Agent Man
Contributor
Joined
Apr 6, 2005
Messages
73,377
Points
1,033
Location
Southern California.
[DEI Team owner] Teresa Earnhardt doesn't believe anyone -- including her stepson, #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- will bring the #3 the late Dale Earnhardt made famous back to Cup racing."Contrary to popular belief, everyone cannot be replaced," Teresa Earnhardt said. "Legends live on forever. I don't think the #3 will ever be driven by anyone else." The rare public comment from Teresa Earnhardt comes from a one-hour television show, "NASCAR Five Years Later," that will air tonight on Speed Channel at 8:00pm/et. The #3 has not been used in the Cup series since Earnhardt's death. NASCAR controls car numbers and assigns them to team owners on an annual basis. Richard Childress has maintained control of the #3 since Earnhardt's fatal crash. Earnhardt Jr., who drives the #8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company his father formed and his stepmother now runs, said again recently he would like to drive the #3 before the end of his Cup career. "I really think that'll happen," Earnhardt Jr. told NASCAR.com. Earnhardt Jr. said his desire to drive the #3 does not mean he has any short-term plans to leave DEI. At the Speedweeks media day on Thursday, Earnhardt Jr. said he'd like to run DEI one day. "I'd love to take over at DEI," he said. "Teresa and I will talk about that when the time comes, but that's not in the near future." Earnhardt Jr. started JR Motorsports, which owns a team that plans to run in the Busch Series this year.(Thatsracin)(2-14-2006)
 
Well, who knows????? Maybe one day, if Jr. can show he CAN drive and be the consistant, competitive driver he would like to be...................perhaps the Black "3" might be a possibility??? JMHO, but I feel Jr will NEVER quite march in his father's footsteps.
 
The famous #3 is is real money maker. If and when merchandise sales fall, you can be sure it'll be on the track again. Certainly for special races. Just wait and see. IMO
 
Here goes Teresa again. This woman makes so much money based on that number and I just don't think that she thinks it will ever end. Just as the old number 43 has been passed on to another driver, one day the number 3 will also be passed on. I'm sure there are fans here who never saw the kind Richard Petty drive in a Cup race, but those of us who watched him race in many races will attest, it took many years of other drivers at the wheel of that car to get used to the fact that Richard wasn't driving that car. Once STP was no longer a sponsor, it was easier to make the change, but still, to this day, there are those of us who will always associate the number 43 to Richard Petty. I believe the same is true for the old #3 and always will be. However, if and when Richard Childress allows, and I do believe that NASCAR will give Richard this privlidge, someone else to drive a car with that number, things will not change. AND once that is started, it will be go the same way as the #43. When that happens, the value of the #3 will certainly change. Teresa definately doesn't want that to happen.
 
I don't believe Teresa will have much say-so in the matter. She might own the slanted 3 , but not the #3.
 
It is not Teresa's choice. When the timing is right we will see the #3 on the track again. I am probably in a minority but the driver means more to me than the car number, but then again that is only the way I feel.
 
Amazingly I was lucky enough to see Richard Petty race...not much of a race, but I got to see him. I even got to see Dale Earnhardt race, but I was only arond 10 at the time and had no clue what that meant or how important these figures were or would become. Whoever said that someone will drive the 3 when the merch stops selling hit the nail right on the head.
 
Childress expresses desire to retire No. 3
By David Newton, NASCAR.COM
February 16, 2006
03:11 PM EST (20:11 GMT)


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Richard Childress says there is no dispute between him and the widow of Dale Earnhardt about what to do with the No. 3 that was driven by the seven-time Cup champion.

Teresa Earnhardt, in a rare interview with SPEED Channel for a tribute on the fifth anniversary of Earnhardt's death at Daytona International Speedway, said it is her preference to retire the number.

Her comment came less than two weeks after Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he hoped to drive the No. 3 for Childress late in his career.

"Contrary to popular belief, everyone cannot be replaced,'' Teresa said. "Legends live on forever. I don't think the No. 3 will ever be driven by anyone else.''

Childress, who pays NASCAR for the right to the number that Earnhardt drove to six championships for Richard Childress Racing, said retiring the number is his first preference.

To do that, NASCAR would have to break its long-standing tradition of not retiring numbers.

"We're all going to work together on it,'' Childress said before Thursday's 150-mile qualifying races. "We all want to see it retired, but if it's not I will do what I have to make sure that [somebody's in it].

"The biggest thing is she and I are on the same page as far as wanting to see it retired. But if it's not, if an Earnhardt wants to drive it, if I decide I want my grandsons to drive it, we'll make those decisions when the time comes.''

When Childress says an Earnhardt, he doesn't limit it to Earnhardt Jr.

"Dale's got some grandkids out there, and one of them is going to be a great little race driver,'' Childress said. "What happens if he comes along one day and says I want to drive my granddads car?

"What happens if Taylor [Earnhardt's daughter with Teresa] some day decides she wants to drive? That option should be left open. But all of our first options is to retire it.''
 
UPDATE Childress wants to retire the 3: NASCAR team owner Richard Childress said he agrees with Teresa Earnhardt and hopes NASCAR will retire Dale Earnhardt's #3. NASCAR never has retired a number.(Dallas Morning News)(2-18-2006)
 
Just an interesting fact: I read on a website somewhere where they were talking about the top 10 merchandise sellers in Nascar last year. It was something like this...

1. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Tony Stewart
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. ....
6. Dale Earnhardt
7. ....
8. ....
9. ....
10. ..

I can't remember the others, but these caught my attention... especially since Earnhardt is STILL 6th and he's been gone for 5 years. wow...
 
That really doesn't surprise me. If you can remember when Richard Petty finally retired, his stuff was still selling and did so for many years. It'll take another five years or so for that #3's stuff to finally subside, but as long as there isn't anyone else driving that number, his stuff will continue to sell. AND that could be one of the biggest reasons that Teresa would like to see the number 3 retired.
 
I think the three will run again, but it won't happen till later. I am thinking around 2008 or 2009
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom