Five best paint schemes for NASCAR's throwback weekend at Darlington
NASCAR Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski.
The spring race weekend at Darlington Raceway is NASCAR’s annual throwback event, where teams and drivers will honor the legends of auto racing’s past with special paint schemes.
There’s plenty of good ones to choose from between all three of NASCAR’s top series, so let’s take a look at five of the best.
5. Brad Keselowski
Keselowski went a bit outside the box with his throwback, honoring the Castrol TOM’s Supra ride from Japan’s Super GT series.
With Castrol as his sponsor, Keselowski had a choice between this car as well as ones driven by Casey Atwood in the NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity) and NHRA legend John Force. He picked the Supra, and it’s a sleek look.
4. Parker Retzlaff
Xfinity Series driver Parker Retzlaff will be paying homage to the legendary Harry Gant on Saturday by replicating his iconic Skoal Bandit paint scheme with everything minus the sponsor.
Gant won four consecutive races in 1991 with this scheme, so perhaps it could bring Retzlaff some good luck as he searches for his first victory.
3. Chase Elliott
NASCAR’s current Most Popular Driver throws it back to its former Most Popular Driver, honoring one of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s most iconic wins in the 2014 Daytona 500.
It’s a full-circle moment for Elliott, who drove for Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series that season and won the championship as an 18-year-old rookie.
2. Kyle Larson
From one Hendrick Motorsports driver to another, Larson upstaged his teammate by giving Terry Labonte’s legendary Kellogg’s Corn Flakes scheme a modernized twist.
Though still sponsored by HendrickCars.com, the car is otherwise identical to the one Labonte made famous during the 1990s. It was one of the most iconic schemes on the grid during its time, and is sure to run up front on Sunday. Yet one driver still managed to upstage it.
1. Shane van Gisbergen
There was an obvious route for van Gisbergen to take with his throwback, and the New Zealand native didn’t disappoint, paying tribute to another driver who crossed over to NASCAR from Australia’s Supercars series.
Marcos Ambrose was a two-time champion down under, winning the Supercars title in 2003 and 2004 before moving to the states a few years later. He ran this paint scheme when he earned his only two NASCAR Cup Series wins, both at Watkins Glen International, including this thrilling finish in 2012.
These five vehicles, as well as the rest of the fields in NASCAR’s Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series, will all take to the track between Friday and Sunday.
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