Here’s Hoping To The #3 Returning

by Matt Mercer, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I'm the former blogger of The Catfish Show NASCAR Blog and a contributor to On Pit Row. Follow me on Twitter: @mattmercer

September 5, 2008 9:30 pm UTC 3 Comments

It’s time.

It’s time for the #3 to come back to the track, week in and week out.

It’s time that fans move on and embrace the next generation of drivers to identify with.

It’s time to see Austin Dillon full-time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series piloting the #3 Chevrolet.

Oh, I can hear groaning already. I’m ready for it. Fact of the matter is, groan all you want, the weird sort of reverence for Dale Earnhardt isn’t helping NASCAR move on. Nearly everyone else has made peace and moved on. We’ll never forget what Dale Earnhardt meant, but that doesn’t mean we need to be reminded every five minutes that Earnhardt did this and Earnhardt did that. We know what he did in much the same way we know what Richard Petty did, what David Pearson did, what Darrell Waltrip did, what Cale Yarborough did, and so on. I was a big Davey Allison fan growing up and I’m glad the #28 still competes. I wouldn’t like a constant reminder of what happened. The seasons in which Yates ran the #38 and #88 were just… strange. After this many years, it’s time to see the #3 competing again. Honestly, isn’t that something Dale Earnhardt himself would want?

Austin Dillon is a rising star in racing. He’s up there in the East Series points this season and continues getting seat time in late models and an occasional ARCA start. I believe the story goes that he asked his grandfather (Richard Childress, if you didn’t already know) if he could run the number. Childress was cool to the idea at first, worrying about the reaction – but relented when he said he was running it to honor him. Childress made hundreds of starts with the #3 before hooking up with Earnhardt. From most reactions I’ve seen, the results have been positive. I imagine it’ll be a different story if/when Dillon runs the #3 in one of the higher divisions. He’ll drive the #21 at Richmond this weekend, but his full-time car could very well be the #3. I’m hoping it is. Dillon may be able to get away with running the number because of the special circumstance, which is unfortunate. Let other guys build a brand with a number. It’s seemingly blasphemous to not support never running the #3 in NASCAR. I want to break that ceiling because the sport needs to revere history, not live in the past.

Photo credit: Team Dillon Racing

Filed under: ARCA Remax Series, Dale Earnhardt, NASCAR, Richard Childress Racing

Tagged with: #3, ARCA, austin dillon, Dale Earnhardt, East Series, NASCAR, Nascar Legends, Nationwide Series, Richard Childress, Richard Childress Racing

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Joey Logano Officially A Sprint Cup Driver

by Matt Mercer, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I'm the former blogger of The Catfish Show NASCAR Blog and a contributor to On Pit Row. Follow me on Twitter: @mattmercer

August 25, 2008 11:18 pm UTC 3 Comments

It’s been a whirlwind season for young Joey Logano.
(Note: this post also appears on my regular website, www.thecatfishshow.com)

The Middletown, CT native is a talent that rarely comes along. Regular readers know how highly I think about him. This is a guy that won the East Series title at the age of 17. He followed that up by dominating the ARCA race at Rockingham this May in preparation for his Nationwide Series debut, which came at Dover this May. He would go on to capture poles at Nashville and Kentucky, winning in Kentucky in just his third series start. Logano followed up with consecutive runner-up finishes at Milwaukee and Gateway and top-10 runs at IRP, Watkins Glen, and Michigan. The kid’s ready to contend at any level you put him in.

For Gibbs, this meant not going outside of the organization to find a replacement for Tony Stewart in the #20 Home Depot Camry. Why go through that process and deal with possible chemistry issues when the best choice is already there? Logano’s been a teammate to both returning drivers next season, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch this year. Hamlin in particular has taken an active role in Logano’s development, which will only accelerate the learning curve. Logano may actually be on the same level as most drivers in the COT, since he has been the primary test driver for the cars since their inception. I’m going on record right now and saying that Logano wins in 2009 and qualifies for the Chase. I’m that confident in his ability, not to mention the JGR camp and the quality of the team he will inherit.

As for the rest of 2008, Logano is looking at running 6 Sprint Cup races in the #02 – Richmond, New Hampshire, Kansas, Lowes, Atlanta, and Texas, 9 Nationwide races in the #20, as well as the ARCA race at Talladega in order to garner some plate experience before the Daytona 500 this fall.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: ARCA Remax Series, Car of Tomorrow, Daytona 500, Denny Hamlin, Dover International Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing, Joey Logano, Kentucky Speedway, NASCAR, Tony Stewart

Tagged with: ARCA, Denny Hamlin, Dover, East Series, Joe Gibbs Racing, Joey Logano, Kentucky Speedway, Kyle Busch, nashville, Nationwide, Rockingham, Sprint Cup, Tony Stewart