Dale Earnhardt's Wrangler No. 3 - the stuff of legends

Memories in brilliant blue and gold flashed through the minds of NASCAR fans Friday night.

Including mine.

There was Dale Earnhardt Jr., driving a Chevrolet with the same paint scheme and No. 3 once wheeled by his late father, charging to victory in a Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

It seemed so similar to the way the elder Earnhardt drove his Wrangler-sponsored cars that at times it eerily was possible to imagine him in the cockpit.

Not surprisingly, emotions overflowed as Junior took the checkered flag at the track where his famous father lost his life in a last-lap Daytona 500 crash in 2001.

Spectators at the speedway stood, cheered, hugged and pointed hands toward the sky, showing three fingers in tribute to both Earnhardts and car owner Richard Childress.

Viewers watching on television shared the excitement and many, I’m sure, even shed tears.

It was Childress who put Dale Sr. in the No. 3 ride from 1984-87 with the backing of Wrangler, the blue jeans manufacturer.

The combination proved one of the most popular—and successful—in stock car racing history.

Perhaps even more famously, Childress and Earnhardt switched to Goodwrench backing and a black paint pattern in 1988 and remained with the GM company until that sad February Sabbath nine years ago.

Friday’s fast ride down Memory Lane was made possible by a wide-ranging Commemorative effort that included JR Motorsports, Junior’s own operation, Hendrick Motorsports and Teresa Earnhardt, Dale’s widow.

Watching on TV at home in Mooresville, N.C., the town where the Earnhardts also reside, I remembered when Senior went on very special Wrangler rides.

Chronologically:

July 29, 1984 After fuming for days because his driving style had been impugned, Earnhardt mounted a last-lap charge to win in a 10-car charge to the checkered flag.

Earnhardt was furious that some other drivers had been suggesting that he was "stroking," not racing hard, in order to pile up points toward the season’s championship.

"Just because I hadn’t won this year, they were taking shots at me," said Earnhardt, who whipped into the lead in turn three the final time around at the Alabama track. "I’d finished second four times, right on the bumpers of the winners almost, and I was supposed to be stroking. Now that doesn’t make sense!"

He then added, "This is the most exciting race I’ve ever been involved in. There always seemed to be 10 or 12 of us fighting for the lead."

The race produced 68 lead changes, counted only at the start/finish line, among 16 drivers. Both were event records at the time. Fifteen drivers completed all 500 miles, then a NASCAR record.

May 17, 1987 Earnhardt drove to victory in The Winston all-star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, an event with an explosive ending that’s controversial to this day.

Bumping and banging between Earnhardt, arch-rival Geoff Bodine and Bill Elliott eventually produced what has come to be known as "The Pass In The Grass."

As a final 10-lap segment began in the 135-lap special event, contact between the first and second turns shot Earnhardt past leaders Bodine and Elliott.

Elliott and Earnhardt continued to race each other very aggressively. With seven laps to go an angered Elliott forced an equally hot Earnhardt off the asphalt exiting the fourth turn. Leader Earnhardt angled through the grass between pit road and the frontstretch, somehow maintaining control. He came back onto the track still in front. There was no pass, but that’s catchy and it caught on.

Bumping continued after the checkered flag. Charges and counter-charges flew.

NASCAR ordered relatively modest fines and probation for Earnhardt and Elliott. But Earnhardt’s victory stood.

Sept. 6, 1987 Earnhardt drove to his first Southern 500 triumph at Darlington Raceway, prevailing in a furious duel with Richard Petty.

With a heavy rainstorm approaching, Earnhardt grabbed the lead in the classic old race on the 191st lap. Seven laps later the rain hit and on Lap 202 the race was red-flagged. It never restarted.

"Lord, I’ve dreamed of winning this race since I was a little boy," said Earnhardt, buoyant although the 500 was ended 165 laps short of the scheduled distance. "Richard was really strong, but I felt it was our day all the way.

"However, at this place you never know. It’s a tough place to drive and so many strange things can happen.

"The wall just reaches out and rushes at you sometimes.

"Does it diminish the victory by the race being shortened. No way. It’s still the Southern 500 and I’ll take it."

Dale and the jet fighter

As riveting as these recollections of signature victories might be, my fondest memory of Earnhardt and the No. 3 Wrangler car doesn’t trace to a race track.

Instead, the site was the Air National Guard base at Charlotte’s Douglas International Airport.

This, too, took place in 1987.

Earnhardt was on a sensational roll that season, eventually winning 11 races and the third of his seven Winston Cup championships, tying the record of Petty.

Dale’s domination led to a nickname that preceded his most famous one, "The Intimidator."

Fans and members of the media began calling Earnhardt "Top Gun."

This came from an ‘87 movie of that name about hotshot Navy pilots. The film starred Tom Cruise.

Observer sports editors had an inspired idea for a cover photo for a special Coca-Cola 600 section the paper publishes each May prior to Charlotte race weeks.

Sports editor Gary Schwab phoned me.

"Tom, do you think we might be able to get a jet fighter for the cover photo?" Gary asked. "We’ll pose Dale, Teresa and his race car in front of the plane. We’ll have them strike the same pose that Tom Cruise and his co-star, Kelly McGillis, do in the movie’s advertising."

A jet fighter?

"That’ll be tough," I told Schwab.

"The guys at the paper have gone nuts!" I thought to myself.

After thinking about the wild proposal for a few minutes, I phoned Gary.

"I’ll make a couple calls about a plane, but I’m not optimistic," I said.

I then phoned the man with more contacts than any person I’ve ever known—Humpy Wheeler, then president of Charlotte Motor Speedway.

"Why, Tom, coincidentally we have a retired Air Force general assisting us now with Speedway Children’s Charities," said Humpy. "I’ll have him call you."

Within minutes my phone rang.

"This is Gen. Tom Sadler," came a very authoritative voice over the telephone hookup. "When do you want that fighter?"

I couldn’t believe it!

I explained I’d have to contact Dale and propose the idea to him, seeing when he was free if he accepted.

Dale went for it as hard as he ever did any checkered flag.

I got back in touch with Gen. Sadler and the photo shoot was scheduled.

Earnhardt went to the Childress shop at Welcome, N.C. and loaded a shiny No. 3 Wrangler car on an open trailer. He and Teresa then towed it to the Charlotte air base with a pickup truck.

Photographer Davie Hinshaw and I met the Earnhardts and Gen. Sadler there.

As we waited for the arrival of a Georgia Air National Guard jet fighter from Atlanta, we spotted a giant C-5 cargo plane parked several hundred feet away. The awesome aircraft from the New York Air Guard had blown an engine taking off at Charlotte and its crew was waiting for a replacement engine to be flown in.

The airmen from the C-5 saw Earnhardt and his car and walked over to say hello and take a look.

They invited us to tour their plane.

"This thing could hold almost a whole field of race cars!" said Earnhardt.

As we descended from the C-5 Gen. Sadler approached us.

"There was a slight delay in Atlanta," he said. "The fighter pilot just took off."

Earnhardt frowned. It’s a characteristic of most race drivers to be impatient.

"Damn," said Dale. "It’s going to be another hour and a half!"

Gen. Sadler laughed.

"Dale, he’ll be here in 18 minutes," said the general.

Even Earnhardt was astonished.

Turns out it was even less time. Just 15 minutes later a Georgia Air Guard colonel, flying a regular training mission, came taxiing toward where the race car was parked.

Davie Hinshaw got his striking shot.

It has been 23 years since he clicked his camera, but that photograph lives on in Earnhardt lore.

Immediately after Friday night’s 300-miler Dale Jr. stated emphatically that he’d never drive a No. 3 car again. And Childress said he won’t field a No. 3 in the Wrangler colors.

So … It’s so long. A sentimental ending.

Thanks for the memories.