NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR drivers creatively pay tribute to the past on throwback weekend

Updated May. 7, 2021 10:50 a.m. ET

By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer

NASCAR will conduct its premier throwback race on a day when it typically would never race.

In a Mother’s Day special at Darlington Raceway, NASCAR has designated the 400-mile affair as the one in which it encourages teams to run paint schemes that mimic previous ones and/or honor past drivers.

NASCAR started the throwback theme in 2015, with the return of the Southern 500 to its traditional Labor Day spot on the schedule.

When NASCAR added a second race to Darlington for 2021 – marking the first time since 2004 that the historic, egg-shaped track has had more than one scheduled Cup event – it had a decision to make when it came to throwback, and it was a relatively easy one.

With Darlington moved to the opening playoff race in 2020, NASCAR had a mixed message of throwback and playoffs. Now it can separate the two, with the throwback in May and the playoffs in late summer. Sponsors like to have their regular paint schemes and logos for the playoffs – having that imagery is key when promoting the sponsorship, both internally and externally – and drivers and teams can focus on marketing their playoff drivers and not sweat over the livery.

"It will be good – I’m glad we actually moved the race," Erik Jones said. "It seemed like last year when we came back, and it was in the fall, and it was the Southern 500 as a playoff race, it just got mired away, and there wasn’t as much focus on the throwback aspect of it.

"It was kind of a bummer for us because we all enjoy it as racers and being part of it."

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Granted, it has turned into a little bit of a scramble for teams this year amid the pandemic, but many of the teams have created decent throwback imagery, including:

– Bubba Wallace paying tribute to Wendell Scott, the only Black driver to have ever won a Cup race.

– Chase Elliott paying tribute to Alan Kulwicki with a scheme from Kulwicki’s 1992 Cup title – a title for which one of his biggest challengers was Elliott’s father, Bill. Corey LaJoie also is paying tribute to Kulwicki.

– Erik Jones running a paint scheme driven by John Andretti for Richard Petty Motorsports. Andretti, who died in 2020 following a battle with colon cancer, won at Martinsville for Petty in 1999.

– Alex Bowman using a scheme run by his crew chief, Greg Ives, when Ives was a young, aspiring driver himself.

– Joey Logano paying tribute to Mario Andretti using a scheme Andretti had during his Formula 1 career.

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NASCAR traditionally has not run on Mother’s Day, and when it started running on that weekend in May 2006 (at Darlington), it would run Saturday night. But the 2021 schedule has this race as a Mother’s Day afternoon event.

For many, the track’s history – its first Cup race was in 1950 – and the challenge of its unique configuration make it a track they enjoy no matter the time of year and no matter the theme.

"You’re racing at Darlington, and it’s a big deal," Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin said. "The Southern 500 has been on various different dates. ... It’s about the venue and the event, not necessarily the date that it falls on."

Some other throwback schemes:

Bob Pockrass has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. Looking for more NASCAR content? Sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass!