One of the worst kept secrets in NASCAR is finally offical. The No. 3 is back in the Sprint Cup Series.
Austin Dillon will drive a full-season for Richard Childress Racing in the No. 3 car in 2014. The No. 3 replaces the No. 29 car that Kevin Harvick drove since Dale Earnhardt's death at the 2001 Daytona 500. That was the final race that the No. 3 had been used in the Cup Series.
Here's a closer look at the paint schemes. pic.twitter.com/mwCOuiNkGw
— RCR 3 NNS Team (@RCR3ADillon) December 11, 2013
At the announcement, Childress said that he had discussed with Earnhardt during his career the idea of the No. 3 continuing on after Earnhardt's career was over and said knew that Earnhardt was smiling about Dillon in the car.
Dillon, Childress' grandson, has driven the No. 3 in the Camping World Truck Series and the Nationwide Series and has won championships in both. He won the 2011 Truck Series title and the 2013 Nationwide Series title over Sam Hornish Jr. despite not winning a single race all season.
RCR also announced that Dow Chemicals would serve as the sponsor of the No. 3 for 16 races along with Cheerios, the other primary sponsor. Dillon's crew chief will be Gil Martin, who was the crew chief for Harvick last season. Harvick left RCR at the end of the year to move to Stewart-Haas Racing.
Plus the announcement allows us to use this picture again. It's the best ever.


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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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