According to Wikipedia (take grain of salt now) the number 3 is not owned by RCR racing but they have first dibs to use it again (which I'm sure they will only use if Jr. comes to RCR b/c everyone would be fine with it). Last night on Wind Tunnel on SPEED Dave Despain said Richard Childress is still "paying rent" on the number from Nascar.
sharei thought nascar owned the numbers (shows how much i know) - i only became a fan last year @ homestead :)
so numbers that are no longer used are still maintained by the teams, and monies paid to nascar so no one will snaffle them? Is that how it works?
I'm not sure, on Windtunnel one of the guys said you basically pay rent on the numbers but I've also heard differently. On WTunnel what they were talking about was RCR Racing still owning the number 3 and the only way they'll bring it back is if Dale Jr. leaves DEI and goes there, and wouldn't that be something!!
shareIt works like this. NASCAR owns all the numbers and the teams lease them from year to year. RCR still leases the number every year, so that's what Dave was referring to. NASCAR does not retire numbers. For instance, when Richard Petty retired, many wanted the number 43 retired, but NASCAR said "no." Richard then went to the 44 for one year, then the next year went back to the 43. In this case, with Dale Earnhardt leaving the sport in tragedy, RCR is allowed to lease the number 3, without having to actually use it. There may be a time when it will be used again, but not anytime soon.
shareNascar owns the numbers and rents them out to the teams. RCR pays Nascar to use the number. RCR pays Nascar each year for the rights to the number, but still doesnt use it.
Also Wikipedia is not always the most reliable source for your information.
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