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The NASCAR Hall of Fame and Museum in Charlotte has a "nasty" new summer attraction.The Wrangler No. 3 car that Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove to victory in the Nationwide race at Daytona International Speedway on July 2 was put on display Wednesday in the Great Hall, complete with the tire marks, track grit and victory-lane detritus.
"It's all full of Gatorade and everything," said Hall of Fame historian Buz McKim. "It's nasty. It's red Gatorade so you can see where it is. The car is exactly how it came off the track. As you walk through the turnstiles, it's one of the first things you see."
Dale Jr. drove the car to his first victory of any kind since 2008 and his first win in the Nationwide series, where he infrequently competes, since 2006. It was the first time Dale Jr. ran with his father's car number since 2002. The deal came together through the cooperation of Dale Jr. and his sister/manager Kelley, Teresa Earnhardt and Richard Childress.
"I feel lucky, I feel real lucky," Earnhardt said in victory lane. "I was so worried I wasn't going to win. Because nothing but a win was good enough."
Of his late father, Dale Jr. said, "He would be proud of this, I am sure." Dale Jr. said one of the reasons he helped organize the commemorative run was to honor his father's induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in May as one of the first five inductees.
Winston Kelley, executive director of the Hall of Fame, also has served as a long-time pit road and victory-lane reporter for NASCARs Motor Racing Network radio broadcasts. Kelley was in victory lane after the win and Dale Jr. mentioned during the interview that he'd like to see the car go into the Hall of Fame, McKim said.
He was certainly talking to the right man for that.
"Winston got in touch with Kelley early the following Monday and worked out all the details," McKim said, "and, by golly, here it is showing up at the door the other morning."
McKim said he was asked, "Do you want us to clean it up for you?"
"No, don't touch it!" McKim said. "Leave it exactly the way it is."
The car was unveiled Wednesday in a brief ceremony before dozens of fans by Kelley Earnhardt and winning crew chief Tony Eury Jr.
The car will be on display until Sept. 19, which will allow the car to be refreshed for the next restrictor-plate race at the end of October at Talladega.
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