“The Man in Black” is back – sort of. The late Dale Earnhardt’s legacy lies on the racetrack and has refused to die alongside the No. 3 car he crashed in the 2001 Daytona 500. Earnhardt, one of the best and most respected drivers in the history of NASCAR, made No. 3 a sacred number in the world of stock car racing, but even though the number has all but been retired, his son Dale Jr. will soon take it for a lap around the Daytona International Raceway – the last track Dale Earnhardt ever drove – to pay tribute to his father.
Announced in late April, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will swap his typical No. 88 for his father’s number as he takes the No. 3 Nationwide Series car for a spin at the Subway Jalapeno 250 powered by Coca-Cola at the July 2 Nationwide race in Daytona. Dale Jr. will be racing the car for only the eighth time since Earnhardt’s 2001 crash. The car was taken out of an unofficial retirement in 2002, when Junior raced the car twice in the Nationwide Series, and again starting last season, when Richard Childress’ grandson Austin Dillon drove it twice last year and four times this season.
This year, Dale Jr. will step back into the No. 3 car for JR Motorsports, which is also teaming up with Richard Childress Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. for the event. Dale Jr.’s racing in his father’s famed car for the upcoming Nationwide race is sure to sell plenty of <a href=”http://www.stubhub.com/nascar-tickets/”>NASCAR tickets</a> as Earnhardt fans pay tribute to one of the biggest racing legends in history, and even though the deal hasn’t officially been announced yet it’s already making tickets to the Daytona race hot items from <a href=”http://www.stubhub.com/”>StubHub</a>.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his team are expected to make an announcement regarding the July 2 race on April 29, marking a much-anticipated event on the NASCAR scene. News was leaked via Twitter thanks to a tweet by Darrell Waltrip, and it already has racing fans excited more than two months prior to the race.
While Junior fights to preserve his father’s NASCAR legacy by competing in his number during the upcoming Nationwide race in Daytona, he’s not guaranteed a win in the No. 3 vessel. So far this year (as of April 27) in the Sprint Cup Series, No. 88 is currently in eighth place in driver standings. He hasn’t won a Cup race yet this season, but Dale Jr. has notched solid finishes at Daytona (2), Las Vegas (16), Atlanta (15), Bristol (7), Martinsville (15), Phoenix (12), Texas (8) and Talladega (13). He’s still looking for that big win to bolster his 2010-11 career, and maybe he’ll do it in the Nationwide Series this spring in honor of his father.
The Nationwide Series’ 250 race at Daytona will commence July 2 at the Daytona International Speedway, and racing fans can look for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to start his engine in the yellow-and-blue No. 3 Wrangler-sponsored Chevrolet as he pays tribute to his father, the heroic Dale Earnhardt.
[removed]// <![CDATA[
var base_url = 'http://www.articlesbase.com/';var loading_icon = 'http://images.articlesbase.com/point-loader.gif';var loading_wide = 'http://images.articlesbase.com/loadingAnimation.gif';var loading_large = 'http://images.articlesbase.com/ajax-loader-2.gif';var loading_arrows = 'http://images.articlesbase.com/loading_arrows.gif';var loading_dots = 'http://images.articlesbase.com/dots-horizontal.gif';var captcha_url = '/trigger/captcha/';
// ]]>[removed]
[removed][removed]
Jenna Jay wrote this article, which is sponsored by StubHub.com. <a href=”http://www.stubhub.com/”>StubHub</a> is a leader in the business of selling <a href=”http://www.stubhub.com/nascar-tickets/”>NASCAR tickets</a>, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.
[removed]// <);
// ]]>[removed]
[removed]// <![CDATA[ try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-318473-1"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {}
// >[removed]
[removed]// <![CDATA[ (function() { var tabView = new YAHOO.widget.TabView('articles'); })();
// ]]>[removed]
<!– Start Quantcast tag –>
[removed]// <![CDATA[ _qoptions={ qacct:"p-53CbLQg6PHGMA" };
// ]]>[removed]
[removed][removed]
<!– End Quantcast tag –>
