Fox Sports Net National Sports Night reported that NASCAR is considering retiring the #3 of Dale Earnhardt(2-19-2001)
UPDATE: #3 Team Owner, Richard Childress announced that, with NASCAR’s cooperation, the #3 that he owns would be placed on a “one year moratorium” but that a black #3 GM Goodwrench car would never again appear in competition. A NASCAR official said the #3’s car owner points from the 2000 season, which are used in the first four races this year to determine provisional starting positions, would transfer to the #29 car. The points Earnhardt earned for RCR in the Daytona 500, where he finished 11th would transfer to the 29 as well(NOL)(2-23-2001)
UPDATE 2: Richard Childress Racing will not run a #3 race car for the remainder of the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and will never again run a #3 black race car. “We’re going to put the number “3” under a one-year moratorium and not run the number “3” on anything,” said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing Enterprises, Inc. “We will never run a black #3 car again. We may run another “3” car again some day because we have 28 years invested in it at RCR but we will never run a black #3 car again. “Junior Johnson made the number “3” famous in his day and Ray Fox made the number famous before that. NASCAR does not retire numbers. They would like to see us keep the number and will work with us to make that happen.”(RCR PR)(2-24-2001)