The No. 3 car wins the Daytona 500, a victory Dale Earnhardt would’ve appreciated

The white slanted number is as sacred as it comes in motor sports. Revered by a legion of fans who identify it as the distinct marking of a man they lionized when he was alive and whose legion has only grown in the 17 years ago since his passing.

Yet as much as the No. 3 may mean to fans of Dale Earnhardt, the number carries even more significance to Austin Dillon, the winner of Sunday’s Daytona 500. Still, many believe the 27-year-old who drives for his grandfather’s team, Richard Childress Racing, doesn’t have the right to claim the No. 3 as his own.

The belief is that was Earnhardt’s number and when he was killed the on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, that number should be reserved for members of Earnhardt’s family or no one at all. No exceptions.

What many don’t realize, however, or simply to choose to ignore, is that the No. 3 was Childress’ long before it became Earnhardt’s. Childress had been using that number for five years as a struggling owner-driver who skimped and saved before Earnhardt joined his fledgling team in 1981.

But it was Earnhardt who became synonymous with the digit. An association forged by six Cup Series championships with that number on the side of his car and a swashbuckling driving stylish that earned him nicknames like “The Man in Black” and “The Intimidator.”

The perception that it was Earnhardt’s number and his alone only crystalized when Childress mothballed the No. 3 upon his good friend’s death. Essentially, the number was retired without it being officially recognized. Many preferred the number never return to the track.

Then after a 13-year absence, Childress brought the No. 3 back when Dillon progressed to the Cup Series full-time. Across the NASCAR landscape, the outrage was loud and Dillon was decried by fans for using a number many thought he didn’t deserve both by lineage and accomplishments.

Never mind the fact Dillon had as much claim to the number as anyone.

Source :- sbnation