Austin Dillon said Thursday he ‘d be honored to drive the late Dale Earnhardt’s iconic #3 in the Sprint Cup Series. Dillon is the grandson of Richard Childress, who owns the rights to the number and uses it for Dillon in the Nationwide Series. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has also used the number before in the Nationwide Series, but the #3 has not been in a Cup race since Earnhardt’s 2001 death. ‘I ‘d be excited to run it,’ Dillon said at Daytona International Speedway. ‘I still would love the approval of my grandfather and the guys. Seeing more fans each and every week come up to him is the best way to do it – the more people coming to him wanting to see it.’ Dillon picked up his first career Nationwide victory last week at Kentucky, and Childress said after the win he ‘d be open to moving the number up with his grandson. But he ‘d want the number to have a different style from how Earnhardt had it designed, and he ‘ll only ever let an Earnhardt or a Dillon use the number. Ty Dillon currently uses the number in the Truck Series.(ESPN.com/Associated Press)(7-6-2012)
