Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on a mission. The veteran racer was gifted one of his father’s old racecars, featuring the iconic No. 3 with the Goodwrench black paint scheme. While details about which race the car was driven in are currently unknown, the JR Motorsports co-owner is determined to uncover more details about the vehicle, in a bid to learn more about the Intimidator’s legacy. Almost a quarter of a century has passed since Dale Earnhardt Sr. tragically lost his life at the 2001 Daytona 500, but remnants of his illustrious career still make fans giddy with excitement.

Revealing details about the vehicle, Junior asked the NASCAR community to help him uncover Chevy’s history in a social media post. Will the fanbase manage to discover the origins of the vehicle and its racing legacy? Time will tell.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. seeks help from the NASCAR fanbase

Dale Earnhardt Jr. loves his father’s cars. The North Carolina native has had plenty of chances to drive the Intimidator’s former cars or a likeness of them in the past. In 2006, he drove a replica of the black Chevy featuring silver and red stripes, but the vehicle featured his own No. 8. Four years later, he got behind the wheel of another replica, a No. 3 Chevy at Daytona International Speedway. Describing the experience as “a way to pay tribute to my dad”, Junior relished the special experience of following in his father’s footsteps.

This time around, he doesn’t just have the chance to race in one of Dale Earnhardt’s cars but own it as well. The former owner of the 90s No. 3 Chevy passed away and willed it to Dale Jr. who was ecstatic to own a piece of his dad’s history. Requesting help from the NASCAR community to learn more about the vehicle, the 50-year-old tweeted, “The serial # or identifying numbers on the rollcage are….3 8 10 89. I believe the 8 10 89 is a reference to the date of frame construction. Thought Id share so some of y’all can do your own digging.”

While little is known about the vehicle, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is aware that the Chevy was purchased by Team Ireland owner Martin Birrane in 1991. The discovery was made when exploring the interiors of the car, which featured residue from an old decal where the name Bobby Hillin Jr. was legible. The racer competed for Team Ireland in 13 races during the 1991 and 1992 seasons, which may go on to explain why the iconic car was off the grid for such a long time.

Luck seems to be on the veteran racer’s side though. In a bizarre coincidence, the previous owner had removed the hood of the No. 3 Chevy, which had been safely tucked away in Dale Jr’s uncle’s garage for 40 years. The part was eventually passed on to the 50-year-old, who promptly reattached it to the rest of the vehicle and now owns the complete car just as his father drove it. Explaining his strategy to learn more about the vehicle, Junior said, “I’ll call RCR and ask them about when they sold this car to this person. They should have the numbers on that car and the chassis and the information on what races that chassis ran for Dad.”

Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s car almost had a different color

Few cars in the NASCAR world are as iconic as Dale Earnhardt’s black No. 3 Chevy. It was the reason why fans called him the ‘Man in Black’ after all! The paint scheme, which has since become synonymous with success and excellence on the racetrack almost didn’t happen, according to a recent revelation by Richard Childress. The team owner revealed that General Motors wanted the Intimidator’s vehicle to sport a different paint scheme, an idea that Childress wasn’t on board with. Even though the manufacturer was writing the checks to sponsor the vehicle, the RCR team owner’s stubbornness resulted in one of the most iconic-looking cars in motorsports history.

Sharing the details on Dale Earnhardt Jr’s podcast, Richard Childress said, “The GM Goodwrench brake boxes were blue and white. They wanted that same color blue and white [for the race car]. I took black duct tape and silver duct tape and taped the right side of the car, and put Goodwrench on it with decals and the No. 3. We ended up convincing them that it would show up a lot better on the racetrack as a black car and No. 3 and the Goodwrench being white.”

The rest, as they say, is history. General Motors eventually caved in and approved the white-on-black No. 3 car for Dale Earnhardt. It’s a look the Intimidator approved of as well, even though the racer wasn’t a big fan of a neon tie-dye livery and its matching firesuit that was designed for him for a one-off appearance. Recalling the conversation, Childress said, “He says, ‘I’ll drive that damn car, but I’ll tell you one thing. I ain’t wearing that damn uniform.” Ultimately, the North Carolina-based racer had the final say, going for the standard white uniform instead.