Dale Earnhardt Jr. won't race No. 3 after Daytona

[July 02, 2010]  DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. plans to make Friday night's Nationwide Series race his last appearance driving the No. 3 car.

Earnhardt's Chevrolet will carry the No. 3 and a blue-and-yellow retro Wrangler paint scheme to honor his father's induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

The car is a replica of the No. 3 Chevrolet the late Dale Earnhardt drove from 1981 to 1987, a time when he claimed one of his seven championships.

Earnhardt Jr. has driven the No. 3 before in Nationwide Series events, but he says this will be his final time.

He said he has "no intentions of making it a habit to run special paint schemes" with his father's number every year.

Earnhardt died in an accident on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

[Associated Press]

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