"I always planned to bring it back": When Richard Childress honored Bill France's advice on NASCAR's iconic No. 3

About 11 years ago, NASCAR team owner Richard Childress revealed that he had plans to return the iconic No. 3 car to the NASCAR Cup Series after NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt's tragic death in 2001. However, he was waiting for an Earnhardt or someone from his family.

The No. 3 became famous under Dale Earnhardt, who won six of his seven Cup Series championships driving for Richard Childress Racing (RCR). The number was retired from Cup competition until 2014. Owner Childress ultimately decided to give the honors to his grandson, Austin Dillon.

"I always planned to bring it back, but it had to be at the right time and with the right person. It had to be an Earnhardt or somebody from my family," said Childress (via autoweek.com).

In December of that year, Childress also recalled a conversation with the late Bill France Jr., former NASCAR chairman, who urged him to bring the number back.

"A few years before we lost him, [the late] Bill France Jr. said to me, ‘You know, Richard, you’ve got to bring that number back someday. If somebody challenges us on it and wants it, you might lose it.’ I told him I knew that, but I was waiting for the right time and the right person. Well, that time is now, and Austin is that person."

Dillon drove the No. 3 Chevrolet in the Cup Series in 2014 for the first time in 13 years. He earned the pole for the Daytona 500 that year. Dillon went on to win the 'Great American Race' in 2018, 20 years after Earnhardt.

The former NASCAR Truck and Xfinity Series championship has had four Cup wins in the No. 3 Chevy, including the Coca-Cola 600 in 2017.

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"That made me pretty proud" - Richard Childress revealed Austin Dillon's preference for No. 3

Richard Childress raced with the No. 3 car in the late 1970s and early 1980s before Dale Earnhardt took over in 1981. Ricky Rudd also drove with it for two seasons in between.

In 2013, Childress also spoke about Austin Dillon and his younger brother, Ty Dillon's preferred numbers.

"When Ty Dillon told me he and Austin wanted to go racing, I said, ‘OK, what number do you want?’ He said he wanted No. 2 since that was the number his father [former driver Mike Dillon] had driven. When I asked Austin, he said he wanted No. 3. When I told him that was a famous number, one Dale Earnhardt had used, he said, 'But it’s your number.' That made me pretty proud," Childress said (via autoweek.com).

Dillon used No. 3 in the NASCAR Truck and Xfinity Series before debuting with it in the Cup Series.