Richard Childress to drive No. 3 car at Lowe's

Childress unveils the No. 3 Victory Lap Car

Concord, N.C. (August 12, 2003)

Car owner Richard Childress will drive the late Dale Earnhardt's No. 3 Chevrolet in a prerace ceremony at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Childress unveiled the car Tuesday that he will drive alongside four-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon during the parade laps before the race Oct. 11.
The car will be part of NASCAR's "Victory Lap" tribute to longtime series sponsor R.J. Reynolds' contributions to the sport. RJR is ending its sponsorship at the end of the year.

"It will be emotional," said Childress, who teamed with Earnhardt to win six of the drivers' seven Winston Cup championships.
Childress had difficulty watching a video of Earnhardt's 1993 victories in The Winston and the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's, shown just before he unveiled the commemorative car.

"Just watching the video a while ago with Dale winning the races here in '93, boy, it was hard for me to get up there and talk," he said. "I know it's going to be tough that night."

The special car features Earnhardt's trademark black paint scheme along the bottom with silver serving as the predominate color on the hood, roof and rear deck lid.

The "Victory Lap" logo, honoring Winston, appears on the hood and several other areas of the car.

Childress will drive side-by-side with Gordon, whose No. 24 Chevrolet will have the "Victory Lap" paint scheme representing active series champions.............................

Richard Childress makes some emotional laps in Dale Earnhardt salute