Highway
numbered in honor of NASCAR's Intimidator
A 28-mile thoroughfare through Iredell and Cabarrus counties
was renamed N.C. 3 yesterday -- on 03/03/03 -- in honor of the
late NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt, who drove the No. 3 car and
lived in Cabarrus County.
The road sign unveiling took place at the headquarters of Dale
Earnhardt Inc. in Mooresville, which fields NASCAR Winston Cup
teams for Dale Earnhardt Jr., Steve Park, and Michael Waltrip.
In October, Gov. Mike Easley signed legislation renumbering
N.C. 136 in Cabarrus and Iredell as N.C. 3, in honor of Earnhardt,
nicknamed the Intimidator, who died when he crashed during the
Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February 2001.
The stretch of road had its number swapped with the former N.C.
3, which was in coastal Currituck County.
And the triple-three date chosen for the sign unveiling? Just
the result of scheduling conflicts -- and nothing more, said N.C.
Board of Transportation member Frank Johnson of Statesville.
"It may be astrology, it may be spiritual, but I think
it's just a coincidence," he said.
Kathryn Wellin and Jaime Levy