Richard Childress Racing Car No. 3

Dale Earnhardt in the No. 3 car
Richard Childress (1976–1981)
RCR debuted at the 1969 Talladega 500 as a 1968 Chevrolet numbered 13. Childress himself drove the car, finishing 23rd after suffering axle problems. In 1972, the team came back to run fourteen races with Childress driving again, but didn't go full-time until 1976 when he would begin using the No. 3. Childress earned 11 Top 10 finishes and finished 11th in points that year. Over the next few years, he posted many Top 10s and twice was among the highest Top 10 points earners, but he never was in serious contention to win the championship. In 1981, he decided to end his career before the season ended, and handed his No. 3 ride to the defending Winston Cup champion, Dale Earnhardt, who brought his Wrangler sponsorship with him. By the end of 1981, Childress was in debt of $75,000 which was paid off.

Ricky Rudd (1982–1983)
After posting six Top 10's, Earnhardt left to drive for Bud Moore, and Ricky Rudd took his place for the 1982 season, with Piedmont Airlines becoming the sponsor. Rudd drove the car for both 1982 and 1983 finishing ninth in points both years, and winning twice in the latter. But after the season was over, Rudd was replaced by Earnhardt, with Wrangler back as sponsor (in perhaps an odd twist of fate, Rudd moved to Earnhardt's old ride, the No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Wrangler-sponsored Ford Thunderbird, which actually kept its sponsorship despite Earnhardt leaving.

Dale Earnhardt (1984–2001)
This time, Earnhardt was back for good. Earnhardt would dominate the Winston Cup Series from 1986 to 1994, winning six championships during those years, with crew chiefs Kirk Shelmerdine and Andy Petree, and Goodwrench replacing Wrangler as the primary sponsor after 1987. Goodwrench executives originally wanted the car to be bright blue and white, but Childress convinced the company to run a mainly-black scheme, which would later become iconic. After an injury in 1996 that almost forced Earnhardt to miss a race, Earnhardt's performance began to slow down, and went through 1997 without a victory, causing many to speculate that he was losing his edge. The next year, he won the Daytona 500, breaking a 20 race losing streak, although he had a mostly-unspectacular year other than that. The year after that one, he was able to score wins at Talladega, as well as cause more controversy, after he spun Terry Labonte out to win a race at Bristol. In 2000, he looked like he was finally regaining his old form, winning twice and finishing runner-up to Bobby Labonte in points, and his many fans hoped he was gearing up for his record-breaking 8th championship. However, this was not to be.

Kevin Harvick and the 29 (2001–2013)
Harvick awaiting Happy Hour prior to his win at Phoenix at 2006
Harvick's 2008 Cup Series car
Following Dale Earnhardt's death on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, Childress changed the number of the car from 3 to 29, inverted the original paint scheme, and tabbed his 25-year-old Busch Series driver Kevin Harvick to drive it. Harvick originally was scheduled to drive the No. 30 car part-time before going full-time in 2002; but the death of the seven-time Winston Cup champion rushed Harvick into the spotlight.

In just his third Winston Cup start, Harvick beat Jeff Gordon by mere inches (.006 seconds) to win the Cracker Barrel 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, dedicating the win to Earnhardt. After posting another win at Chicagoland Speedway and finishing in the top-ten in points (Despite missing a race), Harvick won NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honors. In 2002, his infamous temper escalated after announcing on his radio he would intentionally wreck another driver during a Craftsman Truck Series race. Having been put on probation at the time for actions in an earlier-season race, in response, NASCAR benched Harvick for the next race, and Harvick was replaced during that time by Kenny Wallace. Since then, Harvick has won eight races, including the