NC 3 is a North Carolina state highway approximately 25 miles (40 km) in length. It is numbered after Dale Earnhardt, the late NASCAR legend, who was driving the #3 car when he died at the 2001 Daytona 500. This state highway runs from Kannapolis, Earnhardt's birthplace, to downtown Mooresville. A short section of NC 3 is named Dale Earnhardt Boulevard, a name which was given to the road prior to Earnhardt's death. From Kannapolis to the Cabarrus-Iredell county line, it is signed as Mooresville Road.

NC 3's southern terminus is in Concord, at NC 73. From there, NC 3 travels north through Kannapolis and on to Mooresville. After meandering through downtown Mooresville and switching roads multiple times, NC 3 meets its northern terminus at Main Street (NC 152).

In 1934, NC 3 was signed as a short 1.5-mile (2.4 km) route on Buck Island traveling from U.S. Highway 158 to the Currituck Sound in Currituck County.

On October 23, 2002, Governor Mike Easley signed into law a bill officially reassigning NC 136 to NC 3's current route and vice versa. NC 3 was moved because it was the hometown of the aforementioned Dale Earnhardt who died in the 2001 Daytona 500. Earnhardt drove the #3 Goodwrench Chevrolet and grew up in the Mooresville region. NC 136 now follows the old NC 3 route.