No. 3 returns to the track at New Hampshire

LOUDON, N.H.

The black No. 3 car is making a comeback.

And so is the sight of it stalking its prey or leading the pack as Dale Earnhardt famously did before his death.

The car's return, though, honors more than Earnhardt. It also pays tribute to Earnhardt's car owner, Richard Childress.

Or as the new driver calls Childress: Grandfather.

Eighteen-year-old Austin Dillon, a rising high school senior, races that car in NASCAR's development series. He is three steps from the Cup series, where Earnhardt made the number famous and Childress used it when he drove in the late 1970s.

While the black paint scheme and the crooked 3 are prevalent at local tracks throughout the country, Childress has not raced that combination since Earnhardt's fatal crash in the 2001 Daytona 500.

Dillon shows signs he could be the one to bring the car back to Cup.

He finished fourth in Friday's NASCAR Camping World East race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to keep his points lead after 5 of 13 races in a series that competes on some tracks the Cup series does.

The rookie leads a field that ranges from development drivers for Joe Gibbs Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. to former Cup driver Steve Park and former motocross champion Ricky Carmichael.

For Dillon, the son of a racer and older brother to another, the No. 3 always has been special because of Earnhardt and his grandfather. When Dillon played youth sports, he often tried to get No. 3 if he couldn't get a number that his father, Mike, raced.

Dillon's bond to his grandfather goes beyond racing. Childress, an avid hunter, watched Dillon shoot his first deer more than a decade ago. Childress took Dillon hunting to New Zealand and British Columbia. Dillon relished the week he and his grandfather spent in a cabin not much bigger than an office breakroom during one hunting trip.

In those intimate settings, Dillon says Childress taught him life lessons.

"The main thing was how I treated other people with respect," Dillon says. "Responsibility and respect is always a big thing with him.

"(I'm) trying to do him proud."

Although he was surrounded by racing - Dillon's father is the vice president of competition at Richard Childress Racing - Dillon's racing career didn't begin until three years ago.

After he got a Bandolero race car, he needed a number. He wanted 3, but sought his grandfather's blessing.

"You know the history of it?" Childress said he told Dillon.

"I know all about it," Dillon said.

"You still want to run it? You might catch (grief)."

"I'll respect it. I know what it is."

Dillon waited for his grandfather's decision. It didn't take long.

"How are you going to tell your grandson no?" Childress said.

Dillon has used the number since, taking it with him as he moved to higher divisions. He graduated from a Legends car to a dirt late model car to the Camping World East series, where the cars are similar to old Cup cars but have about 150 less horsepower.

Dillon's quick rise is surprising since he got a late start. Many drivers begin racing before they lose their first baby tooth.

No problem. An aggressiveness that was evident even when Dillon played soccer - coaches pleaded with him to slow down in games because he wore himself out - has helped Dillon in racing. He adapts quickly to tracks (he was the fastest in practice before Friday's race). He's led races, including the most laps in the season opener. He won that race although he didn't make it to Victory Lane.

He finished second to former teammate Peyton Sellers at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in April. B ut Sellers was disqualified after his car failed post-race inspection, giving Dillon the victory.

"I'm pretty sure we'll be able to go back to Victory Lane by the end of this year," Dillon said.

And wouldn't that be something to see? The black No. 3 back in Victory Lane.