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FW: 2010 MMSHoF inductees announced-----Original Message----- From: Allan Brown <speedways@comcast.net> Sent: Wed, 09 Jun 2010 10:44:34 Pacific Daylight T... READMORE |
Paul McMahan takes WoO win at Eldora Paul McMahan had racked up six Top-Five finishes in his last eight starts heading into the finale of Outlaw Thunder by Goodye... READMORE |
New Paris braves cold, Thirteen Feature No doubt about it, the weather was cold with temperatures in the low 40's and a stiff wind swirling through the 1/4 mile spee... READMORE |
Galesburg Speedway Red Flagged The Galesburg Speedway did not open last weekend as scheduled and it’s unlikely the race track will open this Saturday becau... READMORE |
Ron Flinn Hospitalized Reports out of Crystal Motor Speedway this morning are that Ron Flinn has been hospitalized due to a coronary issue. Accordi... READMORE |
Action to begin at Spartan SpeedwayIf the grandstands along the front stretch of Spartan Speedway look a bit higher than normal, well, they are. The speedway p... READMORE |
Auto City postpones due to Cold Although the weather was picture-perfect for testing on Thursday afternoon, Mother Nature brought us cold and windy condition... READMORE |
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It seems like it was only yesterday, the image is so strongly recorded in my mind, the No. 4 of Sterling Marlin and the No. 3 of Dale Earnhardt getting together and the Intimidator's Chevy ending up against the wall in what looked like another relatively innocent "plate race incident".
But this one turned out to be anything but innocent and every race fan knows how the story ended.
Every year since, at some point and time during Speedweeks you'll hear someone say "they should retire the No. 3".
This year isn't any different, as Jim McCoy from Bump-Drafts.com writes :
He’s been gone almost nine years to the day, but his memory is still as alive as when he was haulin’ the mail to seven Cup titles. The emotions- pro and con- regarding Ralph Dale Earnhardt are just as fresh today, as they were when he walked among us.
Wisely, Richard Childress- the owner of Earnhardt’s ride- pulled the number from the car immediately following the driver’s death at the 2001 Daytona 500. When young Kevin Harvick climbed into the cockpit next week, he did so in a car bearing the #29. They also reversed the paint scheme, so Harvick was driving a predominantly white car. It was a wise gesture of respect, and it quickly put from people’s minds any comparisons between anyone in that car and the memory of a giant among greats.
You can read the rest of his blog post : http://bump-drafts.com/2010/02/04/retire-the-3-a-good-question/
Personally, I'm against retiring the number. It is just not a practice I want to see started. If they retire the No. 3, then logically, they should retire the No. 43. I mean come on, Petty is the King. And the path just gets slippery and steeper from there.
Dale Earnhardt was more then just the No. 3. Heck, it wasn't even his only number. It wasn't his first number. He won a championship in another number. Earnhardt was more then just the No. 3
The man is going into the Hall of Fame. His memory will live forever in NASCAR lore.
Leave the number alone.
