NASCAR Driver Will Use Legendary Grandfather’s Colors

Austin Dillon and American Ethanol are going old school on September 6, at Darlington Raceway in the Southern 500. The American Ethanol team will shed its traditional green and black design for one that harkens back to the day when Dillon's grandfather, Richard Childress, circled NASCAR's tracks in a classic number 3 red and white Chevrolet.

In what is shaping up to be one of the biggest events of the NASCAR racing season, the throwback race will feature historic paint that many fans will remember.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Childress, the famed race-team owner, raced the number 3 before his sidekick Dale Earnhardt Sr., made it eternally famous and infamous.

Jon Holzfaster, chairman of the National Corn Growers Association NASCAR Advisory Committee and a farmer from Paxton, Nebraska, tells us,

For this race, the number 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet will shed its green-and-black design for the first time in five years. The different paint should draw the attention of fans, especially because of the connection to Austin's grandfather. And the red, white, and blue makes perfect sense for this American made fuel.

Dillon, the past NASCAR Xfinity and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion will be looking for his first career win at the track in NASCAR's premier series.