NASCAR goes back in time with Darlington throwbacks

The NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, and Camping World Truck Series will continue what has become an annual tradition whenever they visit Darlington Raceway: Throwback Weekend. Since the return of the Southern 500 to Labor Day weekend in 2015, NASCAR has encouraged teams to switch to historic liveries while the broadcast has also followed suit. For 2021, the celebration switches to the spring Goodyear 400 weekend on Mother’s Day.

The reason for the change was not explained but it is likely due to the Southern 500 being a playoff race, so the throwback weekend being at Darlington’s other event will balance out the track’s two rounds. Nevertheless, many teams are joining the festivities.

The most common theme is basing paint schemes on those of past drivers. While some went for NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees like Michael McDowell nodding to Bill Elliott and Chase Elliott to fellow Hooters-sponsored champion Alan Kulwicki; Anthony Alfredo is also running a Kulwicki throwback. Michael Waltrip and the late John Andretti are honoured by multiple drivers with the former by Truck drivers Derek Kraus and Danny Bohn, and the latter by Quin Houff and Erik Jones. A more international choice comes from James Davison, whose #15 is based on fellow Australian and Supercars legendary driver/team owner Dick Johnson during his brief stint in NASCAR in 1990, while Akinori Ogata honours fellow Japanese driver Kenji Momota‘s 1995 truck.

Alex Bowman and Ryan Preece are giving shoutouts to their crew chiefs Greg Ives and Trent Owens, both of whom raced in the past. Josh Williams‘s #92 honours team member Rusty Crews, who passed away prior to the 2021 season. Family members are also subjects of celebration: Jeb and Harrison Burton will pay tribute to their fathers Ward and Jeff Burton, while Colby Howard honours his father Rodney and Ryan Ellis‘s car is based on that of his grandfather Vic.

Various drivers’ liveries are tributes to focal moments in their own careers. For example, Kyle Larson‘s #5 is based on his childhood kart and Ryan Blaney‘s #12 is black-and-red and resembles his super late model from 2010/2011, while Martin Truex Jr. is going for a more recent example as his #19 is painted after his Furniture Row Racing days. At the Xfinity level, A.J. Allmendinger‘s #16 is a throwback to his lone Cup victory at Watkins Glen in 2014. Erik Darnell, who makes his return to NASCAR for the first time since 2012 and first Truck start since 2008, throws back to his paint scheme from that year.

Others go outside the stock car world like Joey Logano, whose #22 honours Mario Andretti‘s maiden Formula One victory in the 1971 South African Grand Prix. Ryan Newman‘s #6 is sponsored by Kohler, hence his throwback being to the company’s 1976 SCCA National Championship-winning cars. Another sports car tribute comes from Hailie Deegan, whose #1 truck takes pages from Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby‘s Ford GT that won the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, part of a larger story that was popularised by the 2019 film Ford v Ferrari, while Jade Buford‘s #48 emulates the 1970 All American Racers Trans-Am car of the legendary Dan Gurney.

Kyle Busch and Daniel Suárez go down the sponsor road as their throwbacks acknowledge M&M’s and Camping World, respectively. Justin Haley‘s Xfinity car is modelled after the #32 Go FAS Racing Cup car that marked sponsor LeafFilter‘s first foray into NASCAR.

Rather than history, Truck driver Tyler Ankrum chose to take a page out of entertainment by running a scheme modelled after the titular character’s car in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby; the popular Will Ferrell movie and other stock car racing films like Days of Thunder have often spawned tribute schemes. Joe Graf Jr. is following suit, though with a non-sports movie as his #07 is based on the DeLorean from Back to the Future.

Some teams opted not to use throwbacks like Chris Buescher and two of the three pole-sitters Brad Keselowski and John Hunter Nemechek. Noah Gragson and Matt Crafton did not run throwbacks in 2020’s races and will do the same this year. Wood Brothers Racing, who fields the #21 for Matt DiBenedetto, will save their throwback for the Southern 500 instead.

In a more heartfelt throwback skip, as the Cup race is on Mother’s Day, Cole Custer opted to have his #41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford honour team owner Gene Haas‘s mother Margaret; the car features flowers and photos of the older Haas, along with a letter from her children. Haley’s #77 Cup car combines both by being a Robert Pressley throwback that includes the names of mothers of Spire Motorsports and Fraternal Order of Eagles members.

Others seem to miss the mark or show little effort in celebrating the weekend. The #47 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. features Tide sponsorship, which provided an avenue for tributes to other “Tide Ride” drivers like Darrell Waltrip, Ricky Rudd, and Ricky Craven. Although JTG Daugherty Racing labelled Stenhouse’s scheme as a throwback to Craven’s #32, it was widely ridiculed as it bears virtually no similarities to the intended tribute outside of colours and sponsor.

Cup throwbacks

Number	Driver	Team	Throwback
00	Quin Houff	StarCom Racing	John Andretti’s 1990s RCA
1	Kurt Busch	Chip Ganassi Racing	N/A
2	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	N/A
3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Fireball Roberts
4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Harvick’s first Cup car in 2001
5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Larson’s first kart
6	Ryan Newman	Roush Fenway Racing	Kohler Generators’ 1976 SCCA National Championship
7	Corey LaJoie	Spire Motorsports	Alan Kulwicki’s Zerex
8	Tyler Reddick	Richard Childress Racing	Marty Robbins
9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Alan Kulwicki’s Hooters
10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Mark Martin’s Winn-Dixie
11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Julius “Slick” Johnson
12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Blaney’s 2010/2011 super late model
14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	A.J. Foyt’s 1986 NASCAR
15	James Davison	Rick Ware Racing	Dick Johnson’s 1989/1990 NASCAR
17	Chris Buescher	Roush Fenway Racing	N/A
18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	M&M’s 80th Anniversary
19	Martin Truex Jr	Joe Gibbs Racing	Furniture Row Racing
20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	N/A
21	Matt DiBenedetto	Wood Brothers Racing	N/A
22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Mario Andretti’s 1971 South African Grand Prix
23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Wendell Scott
24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Neil Bonnett’s Valvoline
34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Bill Elliott’s 1985 Coors
37	Ryan Preece	JTG Daugherty Racing	Trent Owens’ 2003 truck
38	Anthony Alfredo	Front Row Motorsports	Alan Kulwicki’s 1985 Hardee’s
41	Cole Custer	Stewart-Haas Racing	Margaret Haas tribute
42	Ross Chastain	Chip Ganassi Racing	Hut Stricklin’s 1993 McDonald’s
43	Erik Jones	Richard Petty Motorsports	John Andretti’s 1999 STP
47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	JTG Daugherty Racing	Ricky Craven’s Tide
48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Greg Ives’ late model
51	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing	Darrell Waltrip’s Superflo
52	Josh Bilicki	Rick Ware Racing	Lennie Pond’s Burger King
53	J.J. Yeley	Rick Ware Racing	N/A
77	Justin Haley	Spire Motorsports	Robert Pressley
78	B.J. McLeod	Live Fast Motorsports	Joe Weatherly’s 1963 Darlington winner
99	Daniel Suárez	Trackhouse Racing Team	Camping World’s 55th Anniversary

Xfinity throwbacks

Number	Driver	Team	Throwback
0	Jeffrey Earnhardt	JD Motorsports	Dale Earnhardt’s 1996 Summer Olympics
1	Michael Annett	JR Motorsports	Darrell Waltrip’s 1979 Gatorade
2	Myatt Snider	Richard Childress Racing	Grandfather’s car driven by Jimmie Lewallen
02	Brett Moffitt	Our Motorsports	N/A
4	Landon Cassill	JD Motorsports	N/A
5	Matt Mills	B.J. McLeod Motorsports	N/A
6	Ryan Vargas	JD Motorsports	Mark Martin’s 1994 Valvoline
7	Justin Allgaier	JR Motorsports	Dale Earnhardt’s 2000 Daytona 500
07	Joe Graf Jr.	SS-Green Light Racing	DeLorean from Back to the Future
8	Josh Berry	JR Motorsports	Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s 2001 Pepsi 400
9	Noah Gragson	JR Motorsports	N/A
10	Jeb Burton	Kaulig Racing	Ward Burton’s 1995 MBNA
11	Justin Haley	Kaulig Racing	Kaulig Racing’s first Cup race as sponsor (2014)
13	Matt Jaskol	MBM Motorsports	Mike Skinner’s 1991 Glidden
15	Colby Howard	JD Motorsports	Rodney Howard’s late model
16	A.J. Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	Allmendinger’s 2014 Watkins Glen-winning car
17	J.J. Yeley	SS-Green Light Racing	Matt Kenseth’s 2012 Valvoline
18	Daniel Hemric	Joe Gibbs Racing	Red Farmer
19	Brandon Jones	Joe Gibbs Racing	Todd Bodine’s 2006 truck
20	Harrison Burton	Joe Gibbs Racing	Jeff Burton’s Holiday Inn
22	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	N/A
23	Tanner Berryhill	Our Motorsports	N/A
26	Brandon Gdovic	Sam Hunt Racing	Kyle Petty’s Hot Wheels
36	Alex Labbé	DGM Racing	Kenny Wallace’s 1994 Red Dog
39	Ryan Sieg	RSS Racing	N/A
44	Tommy Joe Martins	Martins Motorsports	Rich Bickle’s Dial 10-10-345
47	Kyle Weatherman	Mike Harmon Racing	Richard Petty’s 1981 STP
48	Jade Buford	Big Machine Racing	Dan Gurney’s 1970 Trans-Am
51	Jeremy Clements	Jeremy Clements Racing	Dale Jarrett’s 2006 UPS
52	Gray Gaulding	Jimmy Means Racing	N/A
54	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing	Dale Jarrett’s 1992 Interstate Batteries
61	David Starr	MBM Motorsports	Richie Evans
66	Timmy Hill	MBM Motorsports	Rusty Wallace’s 2004 Duraflame
68	Brandon Brown	Brandonbilt Motorsports	Dale Jarrett’s 2002 UPS
74	Bayley Currey	Mike Harmon Racing	Bobby Allison’s 1981 Tuf-Lon
78	Jesse Little	B.J. McLeod Motorsports	N/A
90	B.J. McLeod	DGM Racing	Ken Schrader’s 1985
92	Josh Williams	DGM Racing	Rusty Crews
98	Riley Herbst	Stewart-Haas Racing	Tony Stewart’s 1999 Home Depot
99	Ryan Ellis	B.J. McLeod Motorsports	Vic Ellis

Truck throwbacks

Number	Driver	Team	Throwback
1	Hailie Deegan	David Gilliland Racing	1966 Daytona 24 Hours Ford GT
2	Sheldon Creed	GMS Racing	Jason Leffler’s ASE
02	Kris Wright	Young’s Motorsports	Ron Hornaday Jr.’s Goodwrench
3	Jordan Anderson	Jordan Anderson Racing	Mark Martin and Larry McReynolds 1982
4	John Hunter Nemechek	Kyle Busch Motorsports	N/A
04	Cory Roper	Roper Racing	Bobby Hamilton 2005
6	Norm Benning	Norm Benning Racing	N/A
9	Codie Rohrbaugh	CR7 Motorsports	N/A
10	Jennifer Jo Cobb	Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing	N/A
11	Spencer Davis	Spencer Davis Motorsports	Darrell Waltrip 2004
12	Tate Fogleman	Young’s Motorsports	Father Jay Fogleman’s Pro All Stars/X-1R Cup car
13	Johnny Sauter	ThorSport Racing	N/A
15	Tanner Gray	David Gilliland Racing	N/A
16	Austin Hill	Hattori Racing Enterprises	Mike Stefanik
17	David Gilliland	David Gilliland Racing	N/A
18	Chandler Smith	Kyle Busch Motorsports	Safelite’s original MobileGlassShop vehicle design
19	Derek Kraus	McAnally-Hilgemann Racing	Michael Waltrip’s NAPA
20	Spencer Boyd	Young’s Motorsports	Jack Sprague’s Con-Way
21	Zane Smith	GMS Racing	Glen Wood
22	Austin Wayne Self	AM Racing	Tony Raines’s Pennzoil
23	Chase Purdy	GMS Racing	Davey Allison 1981
24	Ryan Reed	GMS Racing	N/A
25	Timothy Peters	Rackley WAR	Bobby Hamilton
26	Tyler Ankrum	GMS Racing	Ricky Bobby from Talladega Nights
30	Danny Bohn	On Point Motorsports	Michael Waltrip’s Country Time
33	B.J. McLeod	Reaume Brothers Racing	N/A
34	Akinori Ogata	Reaume Brothers Racing	Kenji Momota 1995
38	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ricky Benton’s late model
40	Ryan Truex	Niece Motorsports	Marquis throwback
41	Dawson Cram	Cram Racing Enterprises	Camping World throwback
42	Carson Hocevar	Niece Motorsports	Johnny Benson’s 2002 Valvoline
44	Bayley Currey	Niece Motorsports	Mike Stefanik
45	Erik Darnell	Niece Motorsports	Darnell’s Northern Tool
51	Corey Heim	Kyle Busch Motorsports	N/A
52	Stewart Friesen	Halmar Friesen Racing	Tim Richmond’s Folgers
56	Timmy Hill	Hill Motorsports	Kenny Irwin Jr.’s 1997
75	Parker Kligerman	Henderson Motorsports	N/A
88	Matt Crafton	ThorSport Racing	N/A
98	Grant Enfinger	ThorSport Racing	N/A
99	Ben Rhodes	ThorSport Racing	N/A