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August 31, 2018

NASCAR Cup Series

2018 Darlington Throwback Paint Schemes Power Rankings

By Steve Luvender

NASCAR.com

Published:

5 Minute Read

Little Stenhouse Mullets

It’s throwback season! That means it’s a NASCAR weekend full of retro paint schemes to remind us of the sport’s roots. Throwback weekend – a race where NASCAR teams show up at the storied Darlington Raceway bearing paint schemes reminiscent of the past – is a relatively-new tradition, but it’s quickly become a favorite.

Also, drivers grow mustaches and mullets for some reason.

While there’s an official bracket on NASCAR.com to vote for the best-in-show throwback paint scheme, why not talk about what makes some of the very best designs the best – in one man’s humble opinion, at least?

Oh, and I asked for a little help from Twitter, too. (It’s how I form all my opinions these days.)

Here they are – the 10 best Darlington throwback paint schemes of 2018.

#10: Paul Menard’s No. 21 Motorcraft Ford

The Wood Brothers sort of have an unfair advantage for throwback paint schemes. They started racing in 1950, after all. This year, Paul Menard is racing a paint scheme paying homage to a race Cale Yarborough won in 1968. Yeah, 50 years ago.

There’s only one way to get more into the spirit than a 50-year-old tribute of a legend from the same race team.

I mean, I’m game.

#9: Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Busch Ford

Kevin Harvick’s throwback paint scheme is a little different from most others. Rather than paying tribute to a memorable driver or reviving an iconic paint scheme of years past, Harvick’s Busch Ford brings us back to a simpler time: 1995.

That’s right – in 1995, the No. 1 song was Coolio’s “Gangster’s Paradise.” The Busch can design from 1995 inspired Kevin Harvick’s Stewart Haas Racing throwback paint scheme this year.

Sure, the term “fauxback” gets thrown around because Harvick’s car isn’t necessarily a replica of the past, but this is a good paint scheme because it’s different. And that’s OK.

#8: Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Menards Ford

Ryan Blaney’s throwback is keeping it in the family with a Ford reminiscent of the one his father Dave drove in 2003 – and nearly to a win — in the memorable Ricky Craven-Kurt Busch photo finish at Darlington that year.

It’s a winner because the Jasper yellow of the elder Blaney’s car 15 years ago fits in with the Menards yellow color traditionally on the modern-day No. 12 car.

Yes. That’s right, Ryan.

#7: Chase Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet

Speaking of a family affair, Chase Elliott’s Darlington paint scheme honors his late cousin, Casey Elliott, who raced a similar car in 1993. It’s a touching tribute – and the car looks awfully sharp, too.

#6: Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota

FedEx, Denny Hamlin’s longtime sponsor, surprised their driver with a throwback paint scheme honoring Hamlin’s racing roots – his first-ever mini stock race car from 1997, coincidentally also numbered 11. The story alone makes this throwback one of the most special.

#5: Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 Miller Genuine Draft Ford

Miller’s paint schemes – always simple and impressionable – have become a mainstay of NASCAR. Brad Keselowski will race a 1990 Rusty Wallace replica that looks just as good on Keselowski’s Team Penske Ford as it did on Wallace’s Blue Max Racing Pontiac.

And the No. 2 team wins bonus points for getting Rusty Wallace involved with the reveal. Nice touch.

Speaking of …

#4: Joey Logano’s No. 22 Pennzoil Ford

Steve Park’s Sam Bass-designed Pennzoil paint scheme is perhaps the best paint scheme of all time. There, I said it. Team Penske revived the famous Pennzoil-yellow car with black stripes and a black hood for this year’s Bojangles’ Southern 500, and the result is beautiful. Plus, it’s awfully cool that Connecticut’s Joey Logano can pay tribute to nearby New York’s Steve Park.

Plus, it’s always fun when the original driver gets involved with the unveiling.

#3: Derrike Cope’s No. 99 Bojangles’ Chevrolet

While a driver throwing back to themselves might be considered lame according to some critics, living legend Derrike Cope gets a pass for this Bojangles’-sponsored machine that’s modeled after his car from 25 years ago.

It’s aged quite well.

Agreed. I say if you can pull it off – especially if you can follow through by nabbing your old sponsor, as Cope has done – then it’s all good.

68 percent of people in this scientific Twitter poll agree, at least.

#2: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s No. 17 John Deere Ford

The folks at Roush Fenway Racing are the masters of the throwback. In 2016, the team unveiled an Alan Kulwicki throwback paint scheme that brought Kulwicki’s old sponsor, Hooters, back to the track. Two years later, they’ve revived another staple sponsor of the 1990s – John Deere, which will grace the hood and quarter panels of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s Ford at Darlington, using the same paint scheme made famous at the time.

Stenhouse’s car would make fellow-former-mullet-wearer Chad Little proud.

Little Stenhouse Mullets

#1: Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Skittles Toyota

Kyle Busch’s Ernie Irvan Skittles car is peak throwback.

The paint scheme does everything perfectly: it looks exactly like the old car, it looks just as good on the 2018 car as it did in the ’90s, and the reveal video that involved Ernie Irvan was a lot of fun.

Plus, Busch is a polarizing racing figure in the way Irvan was in the 1990s. The paint scheme is perfect by all accounts.

It’s true – the No. 18 team hasn’t been the most consistent when it comes to throwback paint schemes. Heading to Darlington without a throwback paint scheme is like showing up to a costume party without a costume, and Kyle Busch showed up without a costume in 2015 and 2017.

Plus, if you don’t participate, bad things can happen. Just look at Brian Scott.

This is actually true. Proven fact. Brian Scott only ended up wrecked at Darlington in 2016 because his team wasn’t participating in the throwback fun.

Anyway, the No. 18 team is forgiven for their past transgressions: the Ernie Irvan Skittles throwback is the best of 2018.

And, even if you don’t agree, we can all agree on one thing on throwback weekend, at least.