Darlington Raceway’s Throwback Weekend doesn’t just bring back famous paint schemes. Some of the sport’s most legendary drivers make an appearance at the annual alumni event the speedway holds over the course of the weekend.
In 2025, some of those drivers included four-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday Jr., longtime NASCAR Cup Series veteran Casey Mears and 1995 Truck champion Mike Skinner.
Frontstretch caught up with them to see what they’re up to now along with their takes on what’s happening in NASCAR today.
Hornaday last raced in NASCAR competition in the 2015 Cup season. Now, his daughter runs Team Hornaday Development which currently has Landen Lewis as one of its drivers. Lewis has run three Truck races and multiple ARCA Menards Series platform races, including one win in the national division and two in the ARCA Menards Series West. For Hornaday, watching young drivers devolve into incidents such as the NASCAR Xfinity Series race end is akin to playing a race on a simulator.
It’s been 15 years since Geoffrey Bodine last piloted a racecar in NASCAR competition. Winner of the 1986 Daytona 500, the soon-to-be 76-year-old enjoyed the alumni events. It’s no longer drivers competing on track; rather, it’s people getting together to share racing stories.
“You know, when we were competitors, we … didn’t like each other because we had to compete. Now we’re in there having a great time telling stories and just having a good time taking pictures. So what NASCAR’s doing with us retired guys or older guys is great.
“The new racing, pretty exciting sometimes. Martinsville was really exciting, very entertaining. I won a lot of races there and maybe I’m glad I’m not out there now. Because they got a little rough in the Xfinity race, and all of it really. NASCAR’s doing great and we appreciate it and we’re glad we’re here.”
Bodine then regaled with some stories about racing at Martinsville, including the inaugural Truck race there.
With over 500 starts in the NASCAR national series, Kevin Lepage last strapped on a firesuit in 2014. The veteran racer thinks one word in racing has been lost, hence why the racing etiquette, or lack thereof, in the Xfinity race at Martinsville, though Lepage said it’s pertinent in all racing: respect.
“We’ve had some conversations, some of these racers here today are our fellow racers, about how we raced each other. And yeah, we rubbed people, we put donuts on cars, but, you know, we never intentionally tried to dump somebody, especially for a win. And I think somebody posted on Twitter that you win a race and you’re in the championship. I think that’s a good thing that needs to go away.
“Cause these guys are doing so much stuff now to do that. And I don’t know how we can fix it. Except for, regardless of the sponsor, the car number, the car owner, I think a driver needs to be sat out. I think sit him out the first week and if he does it again, you sit him out for a couple of weeks. I think that’s the only attention you’re going to get cause a lot of these young drivers, you know, have financial backing and I think you have to hit them where it hurts where they’re not driving. Regardless of how much money you got. NASCAR sends you home, you’re not racing for a week or two, you’ll probably think about it.”
Skinner is in the history books as the victor of the inaugural Truck race and the first Truck champion. Fast forward 30 years and Skinner has 28 Truck trophies and one NASCAR Xfinity Series one. Tied for the third-most Truck wins, Skinner is blunt about his assessment of today’s drivers.
“You know, they have tools today that we did not have. They have sports psychologists. They can hire coaches, people like myself, Ron does that as well for a young man named Landen Lewis. And they need some coaching from guys that’s made those mistakes, that’s been there and done that.
“And I really feel like how we got here; these kids are talented. God gives you the ability to drive a racecar. The problem is they get in there because their father or their grandfather or somebody can afford to get them there in a good top-shelf ride but they have no racecraft. Once again, God gave them the ability to run fast laps. They can go fast but they don’t know how to pass, they don’t know how to walk through the garage … a lot of them haven’t figured out you need to cut your hair and brush your teeth to do this thing. You’ve got to be a little bit politically correct and you’ve got to represent NASCAR. If you’re not able to do that, it tarnishes the brand.”
Mears made the most recent start out of the alumni group at Darlington. He competed in the 2025 Cup race at Martinsville for Garage 66. He wants to achieve 500 Cup starts; he currently has 490.
Mears only scored one Cup win – the 2007 Coca-Cola 600 – and one Xfinity win, so he was uncertain whether he deserved to be in the same alum group as Hornaday, Skinner and some of the others. After seeing so many fans with diecasts of his racecars, seeking autographs and the overall reaction, Mears felt appreciated ahead of the 2025 Goodyear 400.
A member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Samuel also covers NASCAR for Yardbarker, Field Level Media, and Heavy Sports. He will attend the University of Arkansas in the fall of 2025.