WATCH: Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s iconic number 3 RCR car runs at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

NASCAR: 1000Bulbs.com 500
Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s #3 RCR Chevrolet Monte-Carlo being used as a pace car ahead of the 1000Bulbs.com 500 race at Talladega Superspeedway (Source: Imagn)

NASCAR made its presence felt at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s Richard Childress Racing #3 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, a race car as iconic as the driver, made a run at the uphill section of the prestigious British estate.

Based on the sixth-generation Chevrolet Monte Carlo, the #3 GM Goodwrench race car made its first appearance in the 2000 NASCAR Cup Series season. Earnhardt Sr. used the car in his last season as a full-time driver with RCR, scoring his 76th and final win at Talladega Superspeedway (Winston 500). Since then, the car has been maintained by RCR and has become a permanent part of the team's museum in North Carolina.

Now, on special request by Charles Gordon-Lennox, the 11th Duke of Richmond and the owner of the legendary Goodwood Estate, Richard Childress Racing shipped the iconic #3 race car to Sussex to attend the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

"I was honored to be asked by Lord March (Charles Gordon-Lennox) to have one of legendary RCR black #3 Chevrolets participate in this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed. This is a great opportunity to promote the legacy of Dale Earnhardt not only in the United States but throughout the world." Richard Childress (CEO of RCR) said during an interview with Crash.Net.

Here's a look at an X post by Toby Christie (senior journalist and Editor-in-Chief of Racing America), captioned:

"It’ll never not be cool to see one of Dale Earnhardt’s No. 3 @RCRracing Chevrolets running around the Goodwood festival!"

The arrival of Earnhardt Sr.'s car at Goodwood was posted on the official X page of Goodwood FoS as well.

"The #AmericanMuscle has arrived! Dale Earnhardt’s #3 followed by an awesome Plymouth Road Runner! #FOS #DaleEarnhardt #NASCAR," it was captioned by @fosgoodwood.

With the popularity of NASCAR growing in Europe, this move was likely done to please the fanbase in the region.


A brief look at Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s 2000 NASCAR Cup Series season with Richard Childress Racing

After a series of disappointing NASCAR seasons from 1996 to 1999, Dale Earnhardt Sr. made a strong comeback in the #3 Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the 2000 Cup Series season. The Richard Childress Racing driver dismissed all doubts regarding his form that year.

With two wins, 13 Top 5s, and 24 Top 10 finishes in the season, Earnhardt Sr. managed to finish second in the driver's championship, 265 points adrift of the leader, Joe Gibbs Racing's Bobby Labonte.

Despite the mid-season setback in 2000, the North Carolina-based NASCAR Hall of Famer maintained a positive attitude for next year.

"You don't win championships every year. It's a tough thing to do. But we will be go after it hard again in 2001, and I am confident we have the team to contend for several years to come," Dale Earnhardt Sr. said in a post-race interview.

However, the 2001 season proved disastrous for Dale Earnhardt Sr. as he passed away after a fatal crash on the penultimate lap of the 43rd Daytona 500 race. He was awarded a second-place finish in that race.

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Edited by Luke Koshi
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