David Green tells Dale Earnhardt Jr. about the time Earnhardt Sr. offered him a ride in his legendary #3 car

As shared in a new social media post, Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently sat down with David Green, who shared a story few fans had heard before—how Dale Earnhardt Sr. once offered Green the chance to drive his iconic #3 Goodwrench car. Dirty Mo Media shared the video on X.

In the clip, David Green recounts a moment from 1997 when he had just agreed to move up to the Cup Series. Shortly after that, he got a call from Dale Earnhardt Sr., who told him to come by.

During the meeting at the Deer Head Shop, Earnhardt told Green that he wanted him to drive the #3 car—one of the most iconic rides in the sport’s history. Earnhardt said he loved Jeff Green, who at the time was a full-time driver in the Busch Series for Dale Earnhardt Inc. However, Earnhardt Sr. was ready for a change and wanted David Green in the car. The post was captioned:

“Dale Earnhardt offered David Green a ride - but he just couldn't take it. 🤯”

Before that meeting, David Green was at a practice session when Dale Earnhardt Sr. told him to take the #3 car out for a lap. Jeff Green was supposed to drive and he didn’t know about the change. When he arrived and saw David by the car, he looked confused—it was clear Dale hadn’t told him.

Despite the pressure, David ran solid laps. Earnhardt asked for his thoughts following which David pitched in his idea.

“If I could take my engine and put it in your car, we’d be bad to the bone.”

Later that day, the #3 car qualified on pole and Earnhardt repeated his offer. David said he had loved driving the car but couldn’t take the seat from his own brother. Looking back, he admitted to Dale Earnhardt Jr. that he’s thought about it many times since, wondering what might’ve happened had he said yes.

The #3 car was the car most identified with Dale Earnhardt Sr., nicknamed the “Man in Black,” thanks to the all-black Goodwrench livery he ran from 1988 until his death in 2001. According to Road & Track, the black paint scheme wasn’t a given. General Motors initially wanted the car to be blue, matching the colors of its Goodwrench brake box branding.

However, Richard Childress, Earnhardt’s longtime team owner, fought for the now-iconic black scheme. To convince GM, the team even built a car that was half blue-and-white and half black-and-silver using duct tape to simulate the look. Childress argued that the black car would look better on track.

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Travel Trouble Hits Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ahead of Mexico City Race

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is dealing with a significant travel issue before the upcoming NASCAR race in Mexico City. Set to serve as a commentator for Prime Video’s coverage of the event at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Dale Jr. shared on X that his flight is stuck in Singapore due to maintenance.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

@DaleJr

LINK

Planned flight to Mexico City apparently is in Singapore stuck in maintenance and I will need to be seeking alternative solutions. 😬😧

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is no longer a full-time racer but remains one of the sport’s biggest names. He won the Daytona 500 twice (in 2004 and 2014) and earned 26 Cup Series victories during his career, 10 of which came at Daytona and Talladega. Dale Earnhardt Jr. also won the Xfinity Series championship back-to-back in 1998 and 1999 and claimed the Most Popular Driver Award 15 years in a row. Now, he is active as both a broadcaster and team owner at JR Motorsports.