Austin Dillon has a lot of pressure going into his rookie NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season behind the wheel of the historic No. 3 Chevrolet. In the 56th annual Daytona 500, Dillon will make his 14th start in the series.
“It’s great. To be able to work for a company, every time I cross the railroad tracks in Welcome, North Carolina, it’s special,” said Dillon. “I’ve enjoyed being a part of RCR.
The other day it was really awesome to be able to be part of the kickoff luncheon. The guys were fired up. I think it’s a new life at RCR.”
Dillon is very modest about racing the No. 3 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this season. He had many alternate numbers picked out such as No. 2, No. 21, No. 33 and even No. 41 but all of those were taken. Dillon left the idea to bring back the No. 3 in the Cup Series to his grandfather, and other people who were associated around the number for a very long time.
“I think Dale was so important in driving that number. He was the guy that made that number what it is today,” said Dillon. “But like I said earlier, Dale Earnhardt is Dale Earnhardt not only because of the number, but because he was a hero and created so many things for this sport. The number for me, hopefully I can continue the legacy that it has and keep on moving on with it.”
On a Race Hub episode yesterday afternoon, Earnhardt Sr.’s mother, Martha, said on the telecast that she has mixed feelings of seeing the iconic number return, because she was told it wouldn’t ever make a come back. However, she later said that she understands it was Richard’s number when he raced.
The day Earnhardt died, Dillon was sent up into a barn with his brother and some of his friends to hang out after the race ended. His mom then came to get him and his brother to take him over to the Richard Childress race shop for a bible study.
In 2013, Dillon made his first ever Daytona 500 start driving in Circle Sport Racing’s No. 33 Chevrolet for car owner Joe Falk, even though it was a RCR effort. He started in the eighth position and went on to finish in the 31st spot. Dillon goes into next week still looking for that first career top-10 finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.
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