RELATED: Buy Darlington tickets | '16 throwback schemes
SHOP: Almirola gear | Petty gear
There might not be a more historic number in NASCAR than the No. 43.
One of the oldest, most iconic tracks on the NASCAR circuit is Darlington Raceway.
Those two came together on Wednesday when Richard Petty Motorsports revealed the paint scheme for Aric Almirola's No. 43 Ford for the 2016 Bojangles' Southern 500 (Sept. 4, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) on NBCSN's "NASCAR America."
This marks Darlington's second-straight year -- in a five-year plan -- hosting a throwback-themed race for the famed event.
The Petty Blue and Day-Glo Red STP pays homage to 1979, a year in which Petty won the first nationally televised broadcast of the Daytona 500.
"I'm excited to run the 1979 STP paint scheme this year at Darlington," Almirola said in a team release. "We had a lot of fun with the throwback theme last year, and it should be fun to throw back again this year. It makes the race so special. There are so many great STP paint schemes over the years, which makes it special for our team to run throwbacks. 1979 was definitely a breakout season when it comes to catapulting the sport into the mainstream, so it's cool to recognize that this year with our throwback scheme."
Petty's 1979 Daytona 500 win cemented what has become one of the most memorable, important races in NASCAR. He took the checkered flag as previous race leaders Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison fought in the infield after wrecking.
"We started the season really good because we won Daytona to kick off the year," Petty said in a team release. "In 1978, we didn't win any races, and then we won at Daytona to start the year. That was one of our better years, and we ended up winning the Championship that year, too. That was our last Championship, so it was a breakthrough year of sorts after not winning the year before. Having the car throwback to that year is special because it was a good year for us."
(Image is Richard Petty's 1979 STP car)