NASCAR continues its tradition of commemorating its past with another throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway. This year, the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Craftsman Truck series teams honor grassroots racing in NASCAR.
The Darlington races will once again run on Mother’s Day weekend, May 10-12. As each team reveals its paint scheme for the events, Frontstretch will keep you updated here. Be sure to check back to this page as more schemes are announced.
If a driver isn’t listed, the team decided not to participate, or it hasn’t simply been announced yet.
Cup
A classic Busch Light logo from the 2000s is featured on Chastain’s No. 1 at Darlington.
Dillon will drive the black and gold No. 3 that pays tribute to Dale Earnhardt, who piloted these colors in 1998.
Berry will run a livery likened to crew chief Rodney Childers’ 1998 Late Models car.
Larson’s No. 5 resembles former Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte‘s Kellogg’s car from his 1996 championship-winning season.
The No. 6 car of Keselowski has a similar design as the Castrol TOM’s Toyota Supra GT that debuted in 1995 in the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship.
LaJoie’s No. 7 has a similar design as his 2012 No. 07 car in which he won his first ARCA Menards Series East race at Bowman Gray Stadium.
Elliott’s No. 9 throws back to Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s 2014 Daytona 500-winning car.
Briscoe honors his family roots with a throwback to his father Kevin Briscoe and grandfather Richard Briscoe‘s sprint cars.
Parnelli Jones‘ red, black and white colors and design from 1969 will ride on Grala’s No. 15 at Darlington.
Truex won the 2016 Southern 500 with a similar paint scheme as his No. 19 car.
Bell’s No. 20 car celebrates DEWALT’s 100th anniversary with a special logo and scheme.
Wood Brothers Racing is running a special scheme for Darlington called the Leonard Wood Special. Burton’s No. 21 will be black with mud splatters on the bottom edges on each side. The number’s design will look the same as it was in 1953, and “driver Glenn Wood” will be just below the window.
The flames are back on Byron’s No. 24, only this time it’s resembling Jeff Gordon‘s Firestorm scheme from 2009.
Hemric’s No. 31 commemorates Black’s Tire Service’s 95th anniversary with throwback colors and logo.
The No. 34 is sporting a classic Long John Silver’s logo and branding from the 1970s.
Gilliland’s remembering his roots with a special design and colors similar to his No. 98 CARS Tour Late Model car from his first win in 2015.
Preece’s No. 41 will have the same livery that was on his 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified championship-winning car.
Both Legacy Motor Club cars will honor the Petty family, with the No. 42 running a scheme likened to Lee Petty‘s Dodge from 1956.
Jones’ design is honoring Richard Petty and his white and teal 1959 Plymouth.
Reddick’s No. 45 is similar to the No. 29 of Tim Richmond, who drove the car at Daytona International Speedway in 1982, winning the Daytona 500 consolation race.
Stenhouse’s No. 47 is a tribute to Mark Martin‘s Oscar Meyer/Kraft No. 6 run at the 2004 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway
Bowman’s No. 48 sports one of the most iconic paint schemes, honoring seven-time champ Jimmie Johnson‘s car from the early 2000s.
Smith is honoring another driver who piloted the No. 71, Dave Marcis, with this paint scheme of white numbers and letters on a red background.
The No. 77’s scheme is based off a vintage police car.
Suarez honors fellow Mexico native Adrian Fernandez, who piloted a red and green Quaker State No. 5 NTT IndyCar Series car in 2004.
Xfinity
Johnny Sauter‘s 2006 No. 00 Xfinity car, featuring black stripes on an orange background, is the basis for Custer’s throwback scheme this year. Custer’s crew chief, Jonathan Toney, was an engineer on Sauter’s team.
Jan Leaty’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour car, in which he won the 1996 Spring Sizzler at Stafford Motor Speedway, is the inspiration for Emerling’s No. 07.
Cram’s No. 4 design is based off of Prolube owner Paul Wireman’s street stock that Wireman still competes in.
Allgaier’s No. 7 is a rather unique throwback, as it’s resembling a 1949 REO fertilizer truck, one of the first trucks BRANDT used.
The No. 8 of Smith will pay tribute to TMC Transportation’s first motorsports entry with Mike Brooks‘ 1980 sprint car run at Knoxville Raceway.
Jones’ No. 8 has the same style as Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 from 2018.
Deegan’s No. 15 throws back to the Intimidator, Dale Earnhardt, with a very similar layout as his yellow and blue No. 15 from 1982.
Creed’s No. 18 will have the same red, orange and yellow Toyota scheme that was on off-road racer Ivan Stewart’s truck.
Another sponsor’s throwback is aboard Hill’s No. 21 with a design that resembles Bennett’s trucks from the 1980s. It also has some gold accents and a stripe to honor the company’s 50th anniversary.
Nemechek returns to Sam Hunt Racing, piloting the No. 26. The design has a vintage look of Toyota Racing, with red, orange and yellow on a black background.
Perkins’ No. 29 resembles Cale Yarborough‘s 1988 orange and white Hardee’s car. The numbers and sponsor logo on the quarter panel even match the yellow-orange gradient on Yarborough’s car.
The SKOAL bandit meets the Funkaway bandit, as Retzlaff throws back to Harry Gant‘s green and white No. 33 from 1991 in which he won four consecutive races in September.
Finchum is honoring Kevin Harvick with a design likened to Harvick’s No. 29 white and red Goodwrench car from 2001.
Another sponsor throwback is on the No. 39 of Ryan Sieg for this weekend. SciAps has an older logo on the car (which also has flames on a black background). It also resembles Sieg’s super late model from 2008.
Honeyman’s sporting a similar scheme to Kyle Petty‘s No. 42 Mello Yello car run in the 1990s.
The No. 43 of Ellis will have the iconic neon green and yellow colors and design, similar to Cole Trickle’s car in Days of Thunder.
Poole’s throwback scheme is a classic, resembling Kyle Petty‘s Hot Wheels car from 1997.
Kligerman’s No. 48 pays tribute to Big Machine Racing team owner Scott Borchetta with a similar design as Borchetta’s No. 98 Super Truck run at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
The black and gold colors of Robert Pressley‘s No. 59 will also adorn Clements’ No. 51, as will sponsor Alliance.
Another driver is paying tribute to his roots, as Chandler Smith is sporting a layout like his No. 26 super late model car from 2017.
Bilicki is throwing back to Allgaier’s No. 51 from 2014, CircleBDiecast’s first sponsorship in NASCAR.
The No. 97 of van Gisbergen is similar to Marcos Ambrose‘s black and yellow No. 9 from 2011 when he won at Watkins Glen International in Cup and at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Xfinity.
Herbst is honoring his family’s racing roots with the red color of Jerry Herbst’s off-road truggy (has features from a truck and a buggy). It also has Terrible Herbst on the rear quarter panel and Riley’s dad Troy and uncles Ed and Tim on the name rail.
Trucks
Sanchez’s No. 2 commemorates Drive for Diversity’s 20th anniversary.
Thompson’s No. 5 truck honors Flyin’ Ryan Partridge, who piloted a No. 48 truck at Irwindale Speedway.
The No. 11 truck of Heim honors Cale Yarborough‘s 1974 Southern 500 car.
Tanner Gray is throwing back to his own NHRA Pro Stock championship-winning car from 2018.
Taylor Gray’s No. 17 is a tribute to his crew chief Jeff Hensley’s family racing team; Mark Green piloted the No. 63 Superflo car with tiger stripes in 2000 in the Xfinity Series.
Ankrum’s No. 18 is likened to Russ Wheeler’s car from the 1990 movie Days of Thunder.
Eckes’ truck sports a similar scheme as Brownie King‘s 1957 Chevrolet, run in the 1950s and 1960s.
The No. 22 honors Maggio’s former Late Model team owner, Eugene Leicht Sr., with a purple, black and white scheme and similar number font as Leicht’s No. 2.
Holmes’ No. 32 honors NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison with a similar scheme as Allison’s No. 22 car from 1969.
Ricky Schlick’s No. 24 Legends car is the inspiration for Alan’s No. 33, sporting green flames on a black background.
Riggs’ No. 38 resembles his father Scott Riggs‘ RC Cola truck from 2000.
Currey’s No. 41 is a nod to the late Charles “Chuck” Efaw, Niece Motorsports General Manager Cody Efaw’s father. Chuck ran the white, black, yellow, orange and red ZERO dirt Late Model in the 1980s.
Dye’s No. 43 sports a scheme Kyle Petty ran in 1989.
Moffitt’s No. 46 truck has the same design and colors as Bobby Hamilton‘s No. 43 STP 25th anniversary scheme from 1996.
The No. 52 is sporting a patriotic red, white and blue paint scheme similar to what Jimmie Johnson ran in 2010 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
A Buck Baker throwback is on tap for Boyd this weekend. The No. 76 has a classic red and white design similar to the car Baker drove in 1949.
ThorSport’s honoring Menard’s partnership with the team for over 20 years.
Wood will carry the same scheme as Tim Flock‘s No. 91 Hudson Hornet from 1952.
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 watching motorsports 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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That’s some good throwback paint schemes and I like it.
where is Chris buescher good thing by the way nice job!