Dale Earnhardt Jr to race Aug. 31 at North Wilkesboro

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — For the first time since 1996, an Earnhardt will race a No. 3 car at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will run a No. 3 SunDrop Chevrolet late model Wednesday, Aug. 31, in the CARS Tour race during North Wilkesboro’s Racetrack Revival.

JR Motorsports confirmed Tuesday that the 15-time most popular NASCAR Cup Series driver will sport a green-and-yellow livery, throwing back to the No. 3 SunDrop Chevrolet he drove at the track in 1993, at just age 18.

“I came to North Wilkesboro so many times as a kid. It’s a special place. I never thought I’d get a chance to race around here again,” Earnhardt Jr. said in a news release. “To put this program together with Sun Drop, who sponsored my late model in ’93, I wouldn’t want it any other way. They were with my dad for years and were one of my first sponsors. Seeing the SunDrop Chevy at Wilkesboro again will bring back some great memories for me.”

Dale Earnhardt finished second in the final NASCAR Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro, held in September 1996. That was the last time an Earnhardt raced a No. 3 car at the track.

Dale Earnhardt earned five NASCAR Cup wins, 32 top-10 finishes and a 6.3 average finish in 36 Cup races at North Wilkesboro.

JR Motorsports will be running a special line of Dale Earnhardt Jr throwback merchandise to commemorate the return of an Earnhardt No. 3 to the track and the SunDrop-Earnhardt partnership. More details are here.

The CARS Tour race at North Wilkesboro will go green around 7:30 p.m. ET. The race can be seen on racingamerica.tv and racexr.plus. Carson Kvapil will also drive a No. 8 Chevrolet to fill out JR Motorsports’ two-car lineup.