13 Years After Dale Earnhardt Tragedy, RCR Took Extremely Bold Step, Risking Ire of NASCAR Faithful

No matter who drives the #3 number, people will always associate it with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. Although the number belongs to Richard Childress Racing, Dale Earnhardt was recognized through that number. So when he tragically passed away in 2001 during the Daytona 500, it was only right for the number to be retired.

However, in 2014, the number resurfaced once again in the NASCAR Cup Series. In other words, the iconic number was back on the Cup Series grid after 13 years. This time, though, the pilot was Austin Dillon, and he has been using the #3 number ever since. The 2014 NASCAR Cup season would be Dillon’s full-time debut, after a handful of appearances since 2011. Dillon raced for Curb Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, and Phoenix Racing for a while. He even had six appearances in the #33 Richard Childress Racing car in 2012 and 2013.

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How has RCR performed since the death of Dale Earnhardt?

Truthfully speaking, the organization has not won a single Cup Series title since Dale Earnhardt. In fact, all six of the team’s Cup Series titles came at the hands of The Intimidator. The good news is that they did enjoy some form of success in the Xfinity Series arena, with five titles and two Truck Series titles.

Two Xfinity titles came from Kevin Harvick and one from Clint Bowyer. A fourth crown came from Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick made it five. Meanwhile, Mike Skinner won the 1995 Truck Series title, with Dillon winning in 2011. It is also noteworthy that Ty Dillon was the ARCA Series champion for the organization.

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Safe to say, in the Truck and Xfinity Series, Richard Childress Racing has been performing well. However, the outfit’s Cup Series performance leaves much to be desired. Now, with the recruitment of Kyle Busch for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, can he be the next big RCR hope?