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Dale Earnhardt Jr. receives priceless gift on the anniversary of his father's death

FaceProfileby:Thomas Goldkamp•02/18/25
Dale Earnhardt IROC
Mandatory Credit: Photo By USA TODAY Sports (c) Copyright USA TODAY Sports

Just a few days removed from the Daytona 500 and on the anniversary of his father’s death, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took to Twitter to reveal a new gift he had received.

It was one of Dale Earnhardt’s old cars, featuring the famous No. 3 with the black paint scheme.

Earnhardt Jr. and his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller walked into the garage and checked out the car, giving it a quick once over as a cameraman filmed the action. You can check it out below.

The younger Earnhardt obviously had his own storied career following in his father’s footsteps, and he’s been afforded some remarkable opportunities to represent his father following the deadly crash at Daytona on Feb. 18, 2001.

Many of those opportunities have been the chance to ride in his father’s former cars or a likeness of them.

In 2006, Earnhardt Jr. raced a replica car of his father’s, featuring the black paint scheme with silver and red stripes. He sported his own No. 8 on the car.

In 2010, he’d get behind the wheel of another replica, driving a No. 3 Chevy at Daytona. Though he had twice driven the famed No. 3 in NASCAR’s second-tier series, Earnhardt Jr. hadn’t yet driven the No. 3 at the top level.

Of that experience, Earnhardt said the following:

“This was an idea that came up as a way to pay tribute to my dad,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “The Wrangler car is definitely in the top-10 of coolest cars that have ever been on the race track. A lot of people identify with it, and I can’t think of a better way to honor my dad and celebrate his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame than to bring the Wrangler colors back with the No. 3 on the side.”

Then, in 2017, when Earnhardt Jr. was last slated to race at Talladega, Talladega honored him by gifting him the 1979 Chevrolet Monte Carlo that his father drove to his first career Cup win at Bristol in 1979.

Time will tell what kind of history this particular No. 3 car holds, but Earnhardt Jr. was clearly elated by the gift on the anniversary of his father’s death.