Every 2025 NASCAR Throwback Weekend Paint Scheme (So Far)
What’s Happening? Darlington’s Spring Throwback weekend is one of the highest-regarded modern traditions in NASCAR. Once, and sometimes twice a season,…
NASCAR Throwback Weekend 2025 is in the books! While some drivers soared, others walked, talked, and drove their way into our losers list for this past weekend, so who are the biggest losers from NASCAR’s throwback weekend?
What’s Happening? Darlington’s Spring Throwback weekend is one of the highest-regarded modern traditions in NASCAR. Once, and sometimes twice a season,…
Okay, so there’s a lot of confusion here. Lamar Jackson, the Baltimore Ravens’ quarterback, is pursuing Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 8 trademark, claiming it is “highly similar” to his own. For clarity, this is JRM No. 8, used from 2018 to 2024, not the DEI or, as JRM calls it, Syleized No. 8, associated with the Earnhardt family for much longer.
Despite the confusion, this was bad PR for Jackson, who is already pursuing similar action against former Cowboys gunslinger Troy Aikman. Fans made memes about this, and some expressed some unnecessary aggression. Even more embarrassing for Jackson, Earnhardt released a statement that said they were moving on from that version of the number anyway.
Was RFK Racing’s revival one of the best stories of 2023 and 2024? Yes. Has 2025 gone as well for the team? No.
While the team has seen a career-best start for new driver Ryan Preece and another quiet yet consistent season for Chris Buescher, this year is far from expectation. While RFK did not win their first race last season until Darlington, the team has seemingly lagged early on in one very important department this season.
Team owner Brad Keselowski is off to a miserable start, sitting 31st in points, with two DNFs, a best finish of 11th, and a career-worst average finish of 26.1. So, how did Bad Brad respond to a track he won in 2024? He qualified in the 20th, yet all three RFK cars swarmed the front of the field early on.
However, the day would not go as planned, as, despite all the speed from these Fords, Keselowski finished 33rd, Preece finished 26th, and mister consistency, Chris Buescher still managed a sixth-place finish, so much for a team-wide rebound week.
William Byron had one of the best-looking cars this weekend. While it’s not the most memorable Jeff Gordon paint scheme, it was a ringer. This scheme also marked the first time Byron threw it back to an actual Axalta scheme, as opposed to some DuPont Automotive finishes paint.
Even better for Byron, the No. 24 was bad fast, like really fast. Not only did the No. 24 grab the pole, win both stages, and the Xfinity fastest lap bonus, but the car led so many laps that broadcasters even referenced Jeff Burton’s 2000 performance at New Hampshire.
Yet, things did not pan out for the No. 24, as Byron failed to maintain the lead following a late race caution. Even with the overtime finish, the Axalta team did not bring home the win after leading a mind-boggling 243 laps, 201 more than Tyler Reddick’s 42.
Kyle Larson rolled into Darlington with one of the best schemes of the weekend, taking home the honor of Best in Show in a lackluster field of Cup Series throwbacks.
But Larson’s day would not be a walk in the park. On Lap 4, Larson found himself head-first into the backstretch retaining wall. He subsequently took his No. 5 back to the garage before returning to the track. A similar, yet slightly different, incident happened once again on Lap 290, leading to the overtime finish.
So, Larson crashed out of one race; what’s the big deal? This is the third time in as many years that Larson Throwback weekend resulted in some form of accident. In the last four throwback weekends, Larson has finished on the lead lap once, and with this weekend’s 37th-place finish, he averages a 31.75 finish.
Ryan Blaney is going through one of the worst stretches of his post-championship-winning career.
Entering Darlington and since Atlanta, Blaney had yet to score a top-ten finish, had two major engine failures, and crashed cars with race-winning speed. During this time, Blaney slipped from second to 10th in points and was heard frustrated on his in-car radio multiple times.
These in-car audio highlights continued this season while Blaney charged his No. 12 Throwback car through the field. Carrying the colors, his dad took to victory lane in his only NASCAR National Series win; Blaney, charging through the field, looked destined for a win as the day went on.
Bell finally snagged the lead with four to go; however, coming out of that turn, Kyle Larson crashed. Denny Hamlin won the race off pit road, and Blaney was no longer in the driver seat, finishing fifth after putting together one of the best drives of his life.
Blaney will not take home the biggest loser yet again this season; that goes to Chase Elliott. This is not for his eighth-place run, sheer consistency, and fourth-place spot in points but for his comments about Throwback weekend.
This year, NASCAR’s most popular driver’s throwback scheme was a complete mess. Sponsor UniFirst, who gave fans one of the best in 2024, collaborated with HMS for a flop of a throwback to Ken Schrader’s 1994 Hendrick Motorsports’ Kodiak-sponsored No. 25.
Not only was this an odd choice, as this was far and away the least memorable of Schrader’s Kodiak rides with Hendrick Motorsports, but Elliott’s car made no effort to reshape the sponsor or general design or even match the colors of the original.
To compound this issue, Elliott told the media he felt Throwback Weekend “got old 4-5 years ago.” Fans immediately flamed Elliott for this, with Brad Keselowski (though his team skipped throwback weekend) even stepping up to call out these comments.
Chase, we get that the hate was a little over the top for your throwback, but you have yet to scratch the surface of great-looking one-off cars. Let’s re-group for next year and see how you feel.
What’s Happening? With NASCAR’s 2025 throwback weekend looming, Hendrick Motorsports unveiled Chase Elliott’s 2025 throwback scheme. This reveal has caused a…
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