Art of Gears
Fansided

NASCAR Numbers That Should Be Retired

By David Castro

12 Feb 1998: Dale Earnhardt #3 in action during the Nascar Daytona 500 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons /Allsport
12 Feb 1998: Dale Earnhardt #3 in action during the Nascar Daytona 500 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons /Allsport /
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NASCAR does not retire numbers. Unlike most other sports leagues that will bestow the honor to those all-time great players, or ones who had a tragic incident, NASCAR keeps iconic car numbers active and on the track.

I never liked this.

HAMPTON, GA – NOVEMBER 03: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been shot in black and white. Color version not available.) Dale Earnhardt, #3 Chevrolet, Lake Speed, #75 Pontiac, Bill Elliott, #9 Ford, and Ricky Rudd, #15 Ford, race through a turn during the Atlanta Journal 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, NOVEMBER 03, 1985 in Hampton, GA. (Photo by Brian Cleary/Getty Images)
HAMPTON, GA – NOVEMBER 03: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been shot in black and white. Color version not available.) Dale Earnhardt, #3 Chevrolet, Lake Speed, #75 Pontiac, Bill Elliott, #9 Ford, and Ricky Rudd, #15 Ford, race through a turn during the Atlanta Journal 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, NOVEMBER 03, 1985 in Hampton, GA. (Photo by Brian Cleary/Getty Images) /

When Austin Dillon was given number 3 by his grandfather, Richard Childress, I was a bit offended. Dale Earnhardt will always be number 3. Earnhardt’s contributions to the sport were huge, he was one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers and he tragically lost his life at Daytona.

Dillon doesn’t deserve the number 3 on the side of his car, no one did but maybe Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Like Babe Ruth, Dale Earnhardt will always be number 3 and like the Bambino he’s an icon and deserve the honor of no one ever using his number again. This is common place in other sports and needs to happen in NASCAR.

This is of course a tricky proposition because NASCAR owns the rights to the numbers and lets teams use them. Of course rules can be altered and its time that they should be.

With that said, what numbers do I want retired in NASCAR?

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