The late Dale Earnhardt’s iconic #3 will return to NASCAR’s premier devision next season with Richard Childress Racing and Austin Dillon.
Earnhardt won six of his seven championships at RCR with the number, which has not been used since his death in the 2001 Daytona 500.
Dillon, the grandson of Childress, has already taken the #3 to the NASCAR Camping World Truck and Nationwide Series championships during the last three years.
The 23-year-old Dillon’s full-time graduation into the top class comes with backing from Cheerios and Dow Chemical.
“My grandfather and everyone at RCR have done a great job of not pushing me too quickly into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series,” said Dillon.
“I feel like I’ve been able to spend adequate time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series preparing for this next step in my career.
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“I am thrilled to be making this move with partners like Dow and Cheerios, along with some long-time partners who have supported me and RCR throughout my career.
“I am truly grateful and looking forward to this opportunity.”
Dillon is one of two new additions to RCR’s Cup squad in 2014 alongside Stewart-Haas refugee Ryan Newman.
Paul Menard will continue in his RCR Chevrolet, while previous team-mates Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton have moved to Stewart-Haas and Michael Waltrip Racing respectively.
Burton, whose MWR deal is only part-time, was one of 30 Sprint Cup drivers that completed a test program at Charlotte Motor Speedway this week.
The drivers ran a series of short mock races utilising different aerodynamic and engine configurations as NASCAR attempts to improve the quality of racing on intermediate circuits.
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