“I think we won the Daytona 499 or 4987 a couple of times,” Childress said. “He blew a tire once and we ran him out of gas.”
After years of not winning NASCAR’s race, Childress said the team and Earnhardt never gave up because they knew a victory would come sooner or later.
“If you keep trying long enough, you’re going to win,” Childress said. “We knew sooner or later the odds had to get in our favor. For 20 times you know, those odds had to come in our favor. We just felt good that day”
Daytona International Speedway was the same track where Earnhardt lost his life during the 2001 Daytona 500.
NASCAR not only lost an icon of the sport on that terrible Sunday, Childress lost a good friend as well. NASCAR has moved on, without Dale Earnhardt Senior.
Sunday a special show car was unveiled: a new style Impala SS decked out with a paint scheme similar to the one Earnhardt won the 1998 Daytona 500 with. Included in the scheme was the once familiar number 3. Since the day Earnhardt died, the No. 3 has not been seen on a NASCAR track.
The pain of that loss for Childress has no doubt eased over the past decade; and so perhaps his resolve as well. Childress has often said that it would take a unique situation to bring back the number 3 into the Cup ranks.
That situation may come in the form of Austin Dillion, Childress’s 16-year-old grandson who is now campaigning the number 3 in the late model ranks. He told his grandfather that he wanted to run the number not because it was Earnhardt’s number, but because Childress himself raced the number prior to Earnhardt’s arrival.
Dillion will run the number 3 in the NASCAR Camping World East Series next season. And if his career should lead him into NASCAR’s top ranks, fans may see the famous number on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway once more.
“Well you know, you never say never,” Childress said while leaning against the car bearing the number. “But right now we don’t have any plans.”
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