Chase Elliott Reveals Dale Jr. Throwback Scheme

What’s Happening?

NASCAR’s most popular driver released the first throwback paint scheme for Darlington Raceway’s “Throwback Weekend” in May. He will be throwing back to Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s 2014 National Guard paint scheme with UniFirst sponsorship. The paint scheme was first teased on Tuesday afternoon with a then-unknown driver sporting Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s famous skeleton gloves.

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. won 4 races with Hendrick Motorsports in the National Guard #88 car in 2014. This included his second Daytona 500 win and his lone win at Martinsville Speedway in the fall of that year. He also swept the season at Pocono Raceway.
• Throwback schemes have been a part of Darlington race weekends since 2015 when the Southern 500 returned to its traditional Labor Day weekend. Starting in 2021, Darlington gained a race in the spring, and that weekend became the throwback weekend. Chase Elliott ran a throwback scheme honoring his father, Bill, in 2023.
• Fans are very underwhelmed by the scheme reveal. The teaser made it seem to many that Dale Earnhardt Jr. was coming back, but, that’s not happening. Earnhardt Jr. has yet to announce his NASCAR schedule for 2024, but, he has teased that he hopes to race at Bristol this fall in the Xfinity Series.