The No. 3 will lead the way in the 2014 Daytona 500

  

   DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The No. 3 has found its way to Victory Lane at Daytona again.

   It’s a significant milestone in NASCAR, even if it’s for winning a pole rather than a race.

   And it marks a grand debut for rookie Austin Dillon, who is piloting the No. 3 for his grandfather and team owner, Richard Childress.

   Prior to Sunday, the No. 3’s lone trip to Victory Laneat Daytona International Speedway in a Sprint Cup Series race was Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s lone win in the Daytona 500 to kick off the 1998 season.

   After Earnhardt was killed in a last-lap wreck of the 2001 Daytona 500, Childress mothballed the No. 3, even though he used it for teams in the Nationwide and Trucks series.

   With the fulltime debut of Dillon this season in the Cup series, Childress announced last December he would bring back the No. 3.

   Dillon’s average lap speed of 196.019 mph barely eclipsed that of Martin Truex Jr., who will start alongside Dillon on the front row.

   Dillon and Truex are the only two drivers whose positions are locked in for next Sunday’s Daytona 500.