#3 to return in 2002? UPDATE: NASCAR.com’s The Buzz is reporting that Richard Childress Racing could be bringing back the #3 Chevrolet. Formerly driven by and made famous by the late Dale Earnhardt, it has not been driven in competition since the seven-time champion’s death in the Daytona 500. Allegedly, the design has already been finished but the #3 will have a different look and design to it than what Earnhardt drove. The design has been rumored to already have been approved by Dale Earnhardt Inc., Chevrolet and Richard Childress Racing. Since the season’s second race at Rockingham, Kevin Harvick has competed in a white No. 29 Chevrolet with Goodwrench Plus on board. If the #3 came back, it wouldn’t be until next year in time for the Daytona 500.(NASCAR.com Buzz)(8-16-2001) UPDATE: Richard Childress did not directly deny plans to revive the #3 at some point for his Winston Cup racing operation. “We’ll be making announcements on the 3 sometime in the near future,” Childress said before Saturday’s Sharpie 500 at Bristol. “I can’t go there right now, but it will be an issue we’ll handle by the end of the year.” The #3 has been inactive since Dale Earnhardt was killed in a crash in the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18. Rumors have circulated about the future of the #3 for the past few months. Childress will field three teams next season and the car number for only one of them, the #30 to be driven by Jeff Green and sponsored by America Online. Kevin Harvick will continue to drive for Earnhardt’s former team in the GM Goodwrench sponsored car now carrying the #29. The third Childress team will be sponsored by Cingular Wireless. No driver or car number has been announced, although Robby Gordon is considered a leading candidate for that ride(That’s Racin’)(8-26-2001)
