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Fans Will Demand a 3-Peat

For the NASCAR faithful, the stylized number 3 is venerated like a religious relic, a tangible reminder of the man they worshipped, The Intimidator, Dale Earnhardt, held close by the most fervent as a martyr to the stock car cause.

The 3 is treated with a church-like respect in our otherwise circus-like world. It’s talked about in a quiet, reverential tone, even in the midst of the roar of the grandstand crowd and zoom of the souped-up engines.

But now Dale Earnhardt Jr. has turned that calm conversation into a roiling debate about the future of 3. 

After winning the July 2 Nationwide series race that included all the emotional ties that will forever bind son to father – at Daytona International Speedway, in a No. 3 Chevrolet displaying the glorious blue-and-yellow colors of Wrangler, with Richard Childress listed as the owner, with Teresa Earnhardt’s blessing and sister Kelley Earnhardt orchestrating all the elements  – Junior said no mas.

“I'll never do it again,” said Dale Jr., who looked more relieved than happy.

“I'll never rethink it. I'll never consider it. I think that it's important for everybody to know that that's as concrete as it gets.”

OK, got that?

“It's hard for me,” Junior continued. “It's a balancing act between (the media) and the public and myself and my own feelings. It's such a tough deal. It's real emotional for me preparing for it and putting it together. It's just so damn hard to know how everybody feels about it.

“I'd run the number before in this series, so I didn't really put a lot of stock in the fact that the 3 was coming back like a lot of people did. I didn't approach it that way mentally, where everyone else was thinking, you know, ‘3 is back, Earnhardt's 3 is back.’

“But when I started hearing all that, how everybody was making such a big deal about it, I was like, ‘Man, this is like pressure, man, this is a big deal.’ So I was a little nervous.
 
“I just think it ain't in the cards. This is it. I just knew before the race, and I said it. I felt 110 percent sure before the race, regardless of whether we finished or even started the damn race. So, yeah, I'm so glad we won. It means more to me now knowing that I won't ever do it again that I won.”

Are you hearin’ what Dale is sayin’?

 “You know, we can all just remember this, squash it, finish our lives, you know, do what we got to do, what we need to do, till we get too old to do whatever we want to do.”

“I don't ever want to do it again. And I'll never change my mind, ever.”

These days, that’s as close to a William Tecumseh Sherman  “If nominated, I will not accept; if drafted, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve” door-closing declaration.

Sorry, Junior. It’s not that simple.

I’ve seen signs in the stands and the midway that say it all: “3 Forever.” 

It’s nice that Austin Dillon, Childress’ grandson, has put the number in the winner’s circle in the Camping World Truck Series. But it’s not the same thing and everyone knows it. Perhaps slowly, definitely surely, the public and media pressure will build again. Sponsor support and diecast dollars will be available. The return of Dale Jr. in a 3 is as inevitable as was Dale Sr.’s place in the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame class.

Junior is going to have to deal with it -- and accept the call of history.

Some day, some place, there WILL BE a 3-Peat.

NASCAR Nation just won’t let go of what it revers the most.

[ Next column:  August 9 ]

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(I.N. Sider is the pen name for an independent motorsports business-person who has a quarter-century of professional experience working in almost every major North American racing series. The writer is not an employee of Valvoline or Ashland Inc. The column is intended to inform, entertain, and stimulate thought on the contemporary motorsports scene. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Valvoline or Ashland Inc.)