Being on pole position for the Daytona 500 doesn’t really mean a lot. The high banking of the 2.5-mile Florida super speedway the NASCAR Sprint Cup season-opener runs on means that the stock cars run flat-out around the track. Intense pack racing is the order of the day.

So why has there been so much talk about 23-year-old Sprint Cup rookie Austin Dillon qualifying on pole for Sunday’s race? Because of the big number painted on the side of his car. The number 3. Dale Earnhardt’s number.

Until Dillon took to the track for Daytona qualifying last Sunday, a car using No. 3 hadn't run in NASCAR’s top flight since seven-time champion Earnhardt was killed in a crash on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Earnhardt is one of NASCAR’s biggest heroes, revered for his no-nonsense attitude and no-compromise driving. His all-black No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was instantly recognisable.

Related articles

Following Earnhardt’s death, Kevin Harvick took over the drive at RCR, and to ease pressure on the then-rookie team chief Richard Childress switched the car to No. 29 and changed the colour scheme.

For many NASCAR fans, the No. 3 is synonymous with Earnhardt. And some feel that Dillon using the number is disrespectful, that the 3 should never have been used again. After all, it is Earnhardt’s number.

But, strictly speaking, the No. 3 never belonged to Earnhardt: unlike the system introduced into F1 this year, race numbers in NASCAR are given to teams, not drivers. Childress owned the No. 3, and said recently that it was his and Earnhardt’s intention the number would continue to be used after Earnhardt retired, ideally by one of their relatives. Dillon is Childress’ grandson.

This isn’t a trick to get some easy publicity: Dillon has run No. 3 for the bulk of his career, starting in karts before Earnhardt’s death. He used machines with the No. 3 to win NASCAR’s lower-tier Nationwide and Truck Series titles. And he only decided to use it in the Sprint Cup after talking to his grandfather and members of Earnhardt’s family. Dillon recently said: “Dale was so important in driving that number. But Dale Earnhardt is Dale Earnhardt not because of that number, but because he was a hero.”

Earnhardt’s son, NASCAR racer Dale Earnhardt Jr, has given Dillon his blessing, adding: “I don’t look at the numbers tied to drivers as much as the history of the number. The number is more of a bank that you deposit history into. It doesn’t really belong to any individual.”