Richard Childress Racing and driver Ryan Newman will honor Neil Bonnett this year at Darlington Raceway, sporting a sleek black throwback look that honors the former member of the famed “Alabama Gang.”
Newman and sponsor Caterpillar combined to reveal the news Tuesday afternoon, one day after Bonnett’s birthday — he would have turned 72 this year. Bonnett died in 1994 at age 47 following a wreck during practice for the Daytona 500.
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The RCR veteran is the latest driver to unveil his colors and scheme for the ever-popular Darlington throwback weekend.
The 2018 throwback weekend will be the track’s fourth race under the award-winning platform. This year’s theme, “Seven Decades of NASCAR,” embodies the sport’s storied history over 70 years.
Bonnett won 18 times at NASCAR’s top level — the exact total where Newman currently sits — including a stretch of 11 victories from 1979-83. He also logged 83 top-five finishes, 156 top 10s and started from the pole 20 starts in 362 career Monster Energy Series races.
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A driver for several teams, Bonnett drove the No. 31 twice in 1993, which is the scheme Newman and his team will honor for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 (Sept. 2, 6 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
