Race Weekend Central

Here Are the 2022 Darlington Throwback Schemes

There’s a lot of new NASCAR things in 2022, including the Cup Series’ Next Gen car. But one feature that returns this season is the annual Darlington Raceway throwback paint schemes from Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Truck series teams.

The celebration is once again held in the spring, May 6-8 on Mother’s Day weekend. As organizations and drivers share their liveries for the races, Frontstretch will keep you updated here. Remember to check this page often as more schemes are revealed.

If a driver isn’t listed, the team hasn’t announced a throwback or it opted not to participate in this year’s throwback theme.

Cup

Ross Chastain

Resembles Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s black No. 1 Coca-Cola polar bear car run at an exhibition race at Twin Ring Motegi in 1998.

Austin Cindric

Similar design as Rusty Wallace’s 2005 Kodak scheme.

Kevin Harvick

Special scheme commemorating Rheem’s 500th race as a NASCAR sponsor. Throws back to October 2011 and 2012, the pink schemes for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Kyle Larson

Resembles Tim Richmond’s No. 0 Pontiac from 1984 in the Busch Grand National Series. Richmond drove for All-Star Racing (before it changed to Hendrick Motorsports in 1985).

Brad Keselowski

Pays homage to Mark Martin’s 2004 scheme when he finished fourth in the standings after earning one win, 10 top fives and 15 top 10s. Both Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing cars honor ones who drove for the team in ’04.

Corey LaJoie

Likened to Marty Robbins’ 1964 No. 777 Plymouth Belvedere.

Chase Elliott

Resembles Jimmy Means’ No. 52 car from 1993.

Aric Almirola

Honors Almirola’s grandfather, Sam Rodriguez, who won three Tampa Bay Area Racing Association Dirt Sprint Car championships. “Slammin’ Sammy” piloted the red No. 03 sprint car in the late 1980s to early 1990s.

Denny Hamlin

Throws back to his own 2016 Daytona 500-winning Fedex Express scheme. Though Hamlin led 95 laps, he ended up winning by a nose over Martin Truex Jr.

Chase Briscoe

Matches the scheme Stewart-Haas Racing boss Tony Stewart ran in the 2001 Indianapolis 500. Stewart pulled double duty that day, finishing sixth in the Indy 500 and third in the Coca-Cola 600.

JJ Yeley

Resembles Clint Bowyer’s 5-Hour Energy car from 2012-2015.

Chris Buescher

Tribute to Matt Kenseth’s livery from 2004; he earned two wins, eight top fives and 16 top 10s en route to eighth in the points.

Kyle Busch

Resembles Ernie Irvan’s No. 36 M&M’s Pontiac at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. M&M’s had a fan vote for its final season of sponsorship with Joe Gibbs Racing and Kyle Busch.

Christopher Bell

Likened to Bell’s No. 4 SiriusXM truck from 2017, the year he won the Truck championship. Bell won five races and earned 15 top fives and 21 top 10s in his second full-time Truck season.

Harrison Burton

Throws back to Harrison’s father Jeff Burton’s No. 99 Exide scheme from 2000.

Joey Logano

Same colors as Logano’s quarter midget from the mid 1990s.

Bubba Wallace

Similar design to Wallace’s 2008 Late Model car.

William Byron

The flames are back! Byron’s throwing back to Jeff Gordon’s famous flames scheme from 2007. Though Gordon finished second in the standings, he still won six races that year, including at Darlington.

Cole Custer

Tribute to Jason Leffler, who won the June 2004 Xfinity race at Nashville Superspeedway- Haas CNC Racing’s first NASCAR victory.

Ty Dillon

Honors Lee Petty with his 1959 Daytona 500-winning livery.

Erik Jones

The other Petty GMS Motorsports car honors Richard Petty, who also piloted this scheme in the 1959 Daytona 500.

Kurt Busch

Honors Bill Elliott, who piloted the No. 94 McDonald’s red and white colors in 1996.

Alex Bowman

Honors Mark Martin, who piloted the No. 6 red, blue and white Valvoline car to the victory at Darlington in 1993.

Cody Ware

Tribute to NASCAR Hall of Famer Mike Stefanik and his Burnham Boilers car from the 1990s in the Busch North Series.

BJ McLeod

Live Fast Motorsports and BJ McLeod Motorsports are bringing back the flames from McLeod’s 2004 Late Model car run at Orlando Speed World.

Daniel Suarez

Dale Earnhardt’s red No. 3 Coca-Cola livery from the 1998 exhibition race at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan.

Xfinity

Brett Moffitt

Throwback to Mark Martin’s Cup rookie season from 1982, in which he earned two top fives and eight top 10s.

Joe Graf Jr.

Buckshot Jones’ No. 00 Georgia Pacific scheme in 2001; he earned two top 10s in six Xfinity races that year.

David Starr

Tribute to SS Green Light Racing’s team owner Bobby Dotter, who drove the No. 08 Hyde Tools car in 1995.

Sam Mayer

Resembles Rick Mast’s Skoal Cup Series paint scheme from the early 1990s. Mast earned nine wins in the Xfinity Series, with his last one coming in 1990.

Sheldon Creed

Sports a Whelen logo on the hood from its early years.

Ryan Vargas

Jeff Gordon’s 1999 blue Pepsi car run in Xfinity. Gordon won at Phoenix Raceway that year in the No. 24.

Justin Allgaier

Honors Dale Earnhardt, who drove the Wrangler blue and yellow colored Chevrolet Monte Carlo in 1984 at Daytona International Speedway.

Josh Berry

Mimics Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s 2002 Looney Tunes/Action Performance No. 8 car. Earnhardt Jr. drove the car, which featured Gossamer on the hood, to victory in the Richmond Raceway Xfinity race that year.

Timmy Hill

Ricky Craven’s Du Pont Busch Series car from the 1990s.

Brandon Jones

Honors Paul Menard, who took this scheme to his lone Cup victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2011.

Austin Hill

Primary sponsor Bennett Transportation and Logistics design from the 1980s.

Anthony Alfredo

Resembles Tom Hubert’s 2002 Hills Brothers Coffee livery. Hubert earned his best Cup finish of 24th at Watkins Glen International in the No. 23 Dodge for Bill Davis Racing.

Jeb Burton

Corresponds to Jeb’s father Ward Burton’s No. 27 Gwaltney’s design from 1992. Ward won at Rockingham Speedway in the Xfinity Series.

Myatt Snider

Tribute to Ken Schrader’s Red Baron No. 90, owned by Junie Donlavey. Schrader won the pole at Darlington in March 1987 and brought home a fifth place.

Patrick Emerling

Honors nine-time NASCAR National Modified champion Richie Evans with an orange-colored scheme.

Alex Labbe

Similar livery as Michael McCrary Sr.’s 1976 Marion Edwards Jr. Memorial race-winning car. McCrary is DGM Racing co-owner Michelle Gosselin’s father.

Josh Bilicki

Sports a similar scheme as the 2006 No. 00 Burger King car driven by Bill Elliott.

Tyler Reddick

Honors NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison with his red and gold livery. Allison won the 1972 Southern 500 at Darlington.

Jeremy Clements

Another throwback to Dale Earnhardt’s Wrangler Jeans car, this time from 1982. Earnhardt won at Darlington that April with Bud Moore as his crew chief.

Ty Gibbs

Resembles Bobby Labonte’s 2002 Interstate Batteries car. Labonte won at Martinsville Speedway that year.

JJ Yeley

Resembles Bobby Hamilton’s pink Country Time car from 1993.

Brandon Brown

Throws back to his first Late Model win at Old Dominion Speedway.

Josh Williams

McLeod’s 2004 Late Model car at Orlando Speed World.

Mason Massey

Tribute to Mason’s father Marty Massey, who drove the red and yellow colors during a dirt Late Model race in 2003.

Stefan Parsons

Similar livery as his dad Phil Parsons’ black and white No. 55 Crown Skoal car from 1998.

Trucks

Hailie Deegan

Sports the same scheme as Bobby Allison’s AMC Matador from 1975. The 2011 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee won three races that year, including both Darlington events, in 19 starts for Team Penske.

Blaine Perkins

Tribute to Perkins’ crew chief Doug George, who piloted the No. 21 Ortho Lawn & Garden Care truck in 1996.

Spencer Boyd

Resembles Michael Waltrip’s Hawaiian Punch scheme that debuted in 1985.

Tyler Ankrum

Similar to Mike Skinner’s No. 5 Toyota Tundra from 2004.

Ryan Preece

Honors former Modified driver Reggie Ruggiero, who earned 44 Whelen Modified Tour wins from 1985-2009. He also finished second in the standings six times in his career. Ruggiero currently works for Stewart-Haas Racing in their shop.

Chandler Smith

A throwback to primary sponsor Safelite’ MobileGlassShop vehicles from before 2013, sporting the white (instead of the normal black) based livery.

Derek Kraus

Throwback to team owner Bill McAnally’s 1990 Late Model car. McAnally won the Late Model championship at All-American Speedway that year.

Danny Bohn

Likened to Darrell Waltrip’s No. 11 Mountain Dew scheme from the early 1980s. Waltrip won 24 Cup races and back-to-back championships in 1981-’82.

Matt DiBenedetto

Resembles Sterling Marlin’s silver Coors Light car from the early 2000s.

Josh Reaume

The iconic No. 3 Goodwrench scheme driven by Dale Earnhardt.

Dean Thompson

Honors Dean Thompson, who won three California Racing Association championships in the early 1980s.

Carson Hocevar

Similar to Travis Pastrana’s Boost Mobile design from 2012.

Akinori Ogata

Another Mike Skinner truck, this time from the mid-2000s.

Kris Wright

NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday’s 2009 VFW scheme returns to the track. Hornaday won four Truck championships overall, including ’09.

Lawless Alan

Similar scheme as Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Department of Defense/DuPont from 2007. Gordon won six races that year and placed second in the standings.

Brennan Poole

Cole Trickle’s car from the movie Days of Thunder.

Stewart Friesen

Honors “Jumpin” Jack Johnson, Northeast Modified racer, who passed away in 2021. Johnson drove the car at Syracuse for Super Dirt Week in 1992.

Chase Purdy

Resembles Darrell Waltrip’s No. 12 from his last Truck start in 2005.

Colby Howard

Similar to J.T. Gordon’s 1965 Chevelle run in the 1970s.

About the author

Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor and involved with photos, social media and news editing. A California native, Joy was raised as a motorsports fan and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.

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Christopher

Throwback Weekend is so tapped out. Retire it for a few years.

C.J.Andrews

Never do that. Ever!

Christopher

When teams start ‘throwing back’ to the likes of Rick Mast, Kenseth’s DeWalt scheme and (last year) Hank Parker Jr. (Truex, #19), themselves (Bell, #20) and Milt Marion (#00) it’s scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Bill B

That’s it? Only four cars participating in the throwback schemes?
I guess the Darlington throwback race has officially jumped the shark.

BTW, is it me or does 2004 seem too recent to be used for the throwback year?

C.J.Andrews

No, it isn’t.
That is crazy.

Matt

I can come up with some good throwbacks
Why not pay a tribute to al unser senior and little Al arie luyendyk and some paint schemes from indycar. Ricky rudds paint schemes when he raced for Kenny Bernstein. How about pay a tribute to the driver’s arrest for Morgan McClure to Kodaks number four. I might agree in the
fact, they should retire throwbacks for a few years then comeback to it. Quite frankly if you think deep and long enough if all the sport wasn’t enough either earlier than or Dare waltrip start the throwback paint scheme thing

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