What does the average reader of the blog think when they hear the word Darlington? Skill? Riding the wall? ‘The Lady in Black’?

Sure, I’m going to guess that all of those things come to mind at some point. But the first and foremost thing I’d guess would come to the average fans mind would be one thing; Throwbacks

For 10 years now, NASCAR has used their spring trip to Darlington to showcase the sports past on current cars with throwback paint schemes. From Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, even to a Japanese Super GT car made famous by Gran Turismo, throwback weekend has given fans and teams alike a way to harken to the past and appreciate parts of motorsport that came before them.

But as of recent, throwback weekend has seemed to take a backseat for many teams. Here in the 2025 race, six teams in the Cup race abandoned the tradition completely, along with a few teams who fielded cars with no throwback and some with. 23XI has notably phased it out slowly, with Bubba Wallace’s last throwback being in 2022 and Tyler Reddick’s in 2024.

Wallace himself said that he personally thinks it has “run its course” along with other drivers like Chase Elliott & William Byron, both of whom are driving throwback schemes, saying similar sentiments. Wallace did follow up by recognizing the fans’ appreciation for the event, but it seemed to hold little weight.

Byron went on to say that “it’s getting a little repetitive” which is a sentiment in some cases I can agree with, but that all comes down to how far outside the box the teams are willing to go for the weekend.

I can’t help but be disappointed at these takes when I hear them. It jumped out at me how vocally wrong some of these drivers are about the situation. Elliott has said that “we would be throwing it back to my own cars in 2018 soon” at the rate we’re going at.

First of all, that’s not even true as there are hundreds of paint schemes in NASCAR history that haven’t been done as throwbacks (How was there not a single Jimmy Spencer throwback for Wallace?).

Second of all, wouldn’t Elliott fans like to see a throwback to some of his earlier paint schemes? Who wouldn’t want to see that blue SunEnergy1 scheme make a comeback, it’s a call back to his first long awaited win.

These driver comments feel totally tone deaf to the fan concerns in this situation. This isn’t the first time it’s happened, as earlier in the season at Daytona, Christopher Bell was noted saying extra practice is unnecessary and serves no purpose.

Sure, practice for teams with keyed in setups in year four of the gen 7 isn’t super necessary, but various fans would like to see extra practice. This isn’t even discussing how extra practice would help smaller teams. Maybe he meant solely at Daytona? However, fans would appreciate longer practice across the schedule.

I digress. The fact of the matter is that fans really love throwback weekend. This stuff is talked about all year, called back on in future seasons and generates attention to the teams themselves. Fans have made mockup throwbacks, custom diecasts, IRacing schemes, and plenty of other things to commemorate the event. Dale Jr. himself is a huge proponent of the event and has supported it for seasons.

Another aspect of throwback weekend that deserves its flowers is the historical aspect itself. Of course it’s cool to see your favorite paint scheme from your childhood return to the track, but something that’s even cooler are the forgotten guys that throwback weekend showcases.

Guys like Rick Ferkel, a sprint car legend, are showcased on throwback weekend. These grassroots guys deserve their flowers every step of the way and throwback weekend gives them.

An unsung hero in all of this is Kyle Busch (crazy statement, still) who defended throwback weekend, citing the fans’ appreciation for it as being important. I guess you now die a villain or live long enough to see yourself become the hero. Thanks, KB.

So no, I do not think the horse has been ridden to death, nor do I think that it has run its course at all. I would wager the fact that the entire field doesn’t run throwbacks these days is that sponsors don’t want to risk ‘ruining’ their hundred thousand + dollar investment.

To me, that shows they’re looking at purely fiscal things and aren’t taking into account the social media coverage they could get from a good throwback. Return on interest is already low in our sport, why not utilize the one race of the year you can change it?

But anyway, rant over. I don’t think things will really change and with the Hendrick drivers being adamant against the event, I could see them dropping out of it shortly anyway. It’s a shame, but that’s why I was fired up enough to write this piece.

Long live throwback weekend.