Austin Dillon, the 19-year-old grandson of Richard Childress, will make his NCWTS debut Saturday at Iowa Speedway (10 p.m. ET live on SPEED(tm); NCWTS Setup with Krista Voda at 9:30 p.m. ET) in the No. 3 RCR 40th Anniversary Chevrolet Silverado. Mike Skinner drove the No. 3 truck to prominence in 1995, the Truck Series' inaugural year, winning the first race at Phoenix International Raceway and capturing the series' first championship. Skinner won 16 races in two seasons and Jay Sauter earned four additional victories before RCR discontinued the program at the conclusion of the 1999 season.

"I think it's awesome the black No. 3 truck is coming back and it's great that Richard's grandson is driving it," Skinner said. "If it runs like it used to, it's going to be a force to be reckoned with. I tried to talk Richard years ago into bringing it back but he didn't think the sponsorship would come with us. But we probably should have done it."

"When I see Austin, a kid I've seen grow up from the time he was born, have the opportunity to sit in that black No. 3 truck, it is truly special," said Danny "Chocolate" Myers, longtime gasman for Dale Earnhardt and current curator of the Richard Childress Racing Museum "Now look at what Austin is doing. This is big-time auto racing, the Truck Series, one of the premier divisions. Seeing the black No. 3 back is a neat deal for the fans, for Austin and for Richard Childress."

"The significance of bringing back the black No. 3 is obvious and quite special for everyone at RCR and all the fans," said Mike Dillon, Austin's father and RCR's Vice President of Competition. "It was a tough decision and there was a lot of thought put into doing it right. We had the number and thought right now would be the time to do it. It's special because it is Richard's number and because Mike Skinner ran it and won a championship with it."

Despite his immediate success in the No. 3, NASCAR fans didn't initially welcome Skinner with open arms, but he expects Dillon's reception to be a smoother ride than his.

"When we showed up with the GM Goodwrench sponsorship on a black truck with a 3 on the door, it created a lot of problems initially," Skinner, driver of the No. 5 PC*Miler Navigator Toyota, recalled. "But as we went along and started running up front and winning races, we created our own identity in the Truck Series. Then all of a sudden, everyone began to view the black No. 3 truck with me in it instead of a black No. 3 car with Dale Earnhardt. We had to create our own identity and once we did that, it worked out really well."

Even if Dillon is accepted as the driver of the No. 3 truck, is there added pressure stepping into a truck that not only won the inaugural NCWTS championship and 20 races, but whose paint scheme closely resembled that of the legendary Earnhardt's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chevrolet?

"I feel a little extra pressure when I'm outside the truck and see the No. 3 on the side and know how much has been accomplished with it," said Austin Dillon, who first took a black No. 3 back to Victory Lane in 2007 in the FASTRAK Late Model Series race at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway with Childress present. "But once I get inside and strap in, the number goes away and it's just another opportunity for me to do my best."

"No, I don't think Austin will have any extra pressure stepping into the No. 3," Skinner said. "Austin is Richard's grandson and they're keeping it in the family."

So, is this a one-off for Dillon or a sign of things to come for RCR in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series?

"It just depends," Mike Dillon stated. "We want to run Austin in more Truck races but finances are the biggest sticking point. If we're able, the Truck Series is where we're trying to look toward going."

And in NASCAR, you can never go wrong with a black No. 3.