Richard Childress Brings The Number 3 Back To Sprint Cup

I wonder how NASCAR's "Ol'-Boys Club" will take to the news of Richard Childress Racing "un-retiring" Dale Earnhrdt's Number 3 Chevrolet in 2014. Team Owner Richard Childress has announced that Austin Dillon, Childress' Grandson, will compete in The Sprint Cup Series this upcoming season in the Number 3 Chevy. Nobody has raced in Sprint Cup action using the number 3 since Earnhardt's fatal crash at Daytona in 2001. Kevin Harvick had been the pilot of the re-branded Number 29 since that fateful day. With Harvick now moving on to Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2014 season, a car is open in RCR camp, DIllon will drive it, and it will be Earnhardt's Number 3.

Personally, I don't take issue with the decision. After all Childress and Earnhardt have long been documented as close to family as you can get. Childress will call upon his bloodline to resurrect the Number 3 legacy. But, I'm not sure that the NASCAR O.B.C. will be as understanding. To this day at tracks across the country, you will see the Earnhardt Brand proudly displayed...flags, busses, campers, tents, tattoos, window decals, it's all over. The Earnhardt name is a legend is NASCAR, and I have been given the impression that the Earnhardt Brand as a whole, including the Number 3, is as close to sacred as it gets for the O.B.C. After all, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been named NASCAR's most popular driver for a record 11th consecutive time, despite only 4 Sprint Cup victories in the last 9 seasons. His huge following can't be a result of his success, but likely because of his name and its legacy. Meanwhile, the O.B.C. put their hater hats on for Jimmie Johnson and his recent 6-time success. Before Johnson, it was Jeff Gordon taking the boos as both drivers enjoyed success that rivals the longtime beloved legends of Petty, Elliott, and yes, Earnhardt.

Kyle Busch: very skilled driver who is hated for being a young punk that the O.B.C. won't tolerate. Juan Pablo Montoya: disliked because he's not a born-bred American, but now getting cheers for leaving the circuit. Kasey Kahne: young pretty boy who makes money...hated by the O.B.C. Danica Patrick...well, I won't say it, but you know what I hint at. (Good for her there are ladies and horny perverts at tracks each week.) So, how will the Ol' Boys Club take to the whipper-snapper Dillon in "Dale's Number 3." Actually, O.B.C., it's Richard Childress' Number 3.