Dale Earnhardt Jr. has long resisted driving the number 3 car in NASCAR like his dad Dale Sr. did. After Dale Earnhardt Sr. was killed in an accident on the last lap of the Daytona 500 in 2001, the questions grew about whether his son would ever drive the #3 car.
Dale Jr. said emphatically at the time that the 3 was his dad’s number, not his. Dale Jr. did run the #3 car in the Busch series (now Nationwide series) twice in 2002 at Daytona and at Charlotte.
FoxSports.com has spoken with sources that say that on April 29th, Dale Jr. will announce his plans to race the #3 Wrangler Chevrolet for JR Motorsports at the Daytona International Speedway Nationwide series NASCAR race on July 2, 2010.
The car will be run in collaboration with Earnhardt Sr.’s former car owner, Richard Childress Racing. Dale Earnhardt Jr. owns JR Motorsports and occasionally drives in the Nationwide series. Examiner.com
Earnhardt Jr. currently has a personal services contract with Wrangler, continuing a family legacy between the brands. Wrangler first sponsored his father for the final race of his 1980 Cup championship season and the following year with Rod Osterlund for the first 16 races.
After four races with James Stacy, who bought the team from Osterlund, Earnhardt and Wrangler moved to Richard Childress Racing and the No. 3 Pontiac for the remainder of 1981.
Despite a two-year separation when Earnhardt campaigned in the Wrangler Ford for Bud Moore, he returned to RCR in 1984 and Wrangler remained the primary sponsor until the end of the 1987 season—a span that included two more Cup championships.
GM Goodwrench took over the car in 1988 and Earnhardt switched to a black car. FOXNews
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