It’s time for the Retro Rundown. We’re now less than three weeks from the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway (Sept. 6 on NBCSN) and the start of the Cup Series playoffs.
Since 2015, the Southern 500 Throwback Weekend has played host to various retro paint schemes that pay tribute to NASCAR’s past.
More: Up to 8,000 fans approved for Southern 500
Here’s the first Retro Rundown of the year as we catalogue the throwback schemes Cup and Xfinity Series teams will bring to the track “Too Tough to Tame.”
Cup Series
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
The Richard Childress Racing driver’s car will be a tribute to NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson, who died last year at the age of 88.
Austin Dillon Southern 500
Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Ford
Harvick will drive a paint scheme based on the 1997 NASCAR-themed Busch Beer cans.
Ryan Newman, No. 6 Ford
The Roush Fenway Racing driver will pilot a scheme based on the 1999 scheme from the USAC Silver Crown Series, where he won the national championship.
Ryan Newman Darlington
Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Chevrolet
The Richard Childress rookie will throw back to the paint scheme NASCAR on NBC’s Jeff Burton had in 1994 when Burton won Cup rookie of the year honors.
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
The Team Penske driver will sport the Menards paint scheme that Paul Menard had when he competed in the ARCA Menards Series in 2003.
Ryan Blaney Darlington
Clint Bowyer, No. 14 Ford
The Stewart-Haas Racing driver will honor NBC Sports analyst Kyle Petty. Bowyer’s car will have the Peak Antifreeze scheme Petty drove for SABCO Racing in 1990 and won at Rockingham in.
Matt DiBenedetto, No. 21 Ford
DiBenedetto will arrive in Darlington with a tribute to the Wood Brothers’ 1963 Ford Galaxie. That’s the car Tiny Lund won the 1963 Daytona 500 with. It’s also the car Glen Wood won his final Cup Series race in at Bowman Gray Stadium on July 13, 1963.
Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
Logano will drive a scheme inspired by the No. 22 Miller car that Bobby Allison raced in 1985.
Joey Gase, No. 51 Chevrolet
Gase will drive a tribute to Bobby Allison’s 1971 win in the Southern 500 and the Coca-Cola scheme he had that year. It’s the same Allison tribute Tony Stewart had in the 2016 Southern 500.
Xfinity Series
Michael Annett, No. 1 Chevrolet
With sponsorship from Oreo, the JR Motorsports driver will honor his team owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., with driving the scheme Earnhardt drove to a win in the 2002 Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway.
Top: JR Motorsports/Bottom: Getty Images
Daniel Hemric, No. 8 Chevrolet
The JR Motorsports driver will pilot a John Andretti tribute scheme. The scheme is based on the K Mart/Little Caesars car that the late Andretti raced in the 1995 and 1996 Cup seasons.
Daniel Hemric Darlington
Jeremy Clements, No. 51 Chevrolet
Clements, a South Carolina native, will drive a scheme that pays tribute to NASCAR champions from his home state. Drivers who will be honored include:
Cup Series: Buck Baker (Richburg, SC – C 1957-58), David Pearson (Spartanburg, SC – 1966, 1968-69) and Cale Yarborough (Timmonsville, SC – 1976-78)
Xfinity Series: Sam Ard (Pamplico, SC – 1983-84) and Larry Pearson (Spartanburg, SC – 1986-87)
Jeremy Clements Darlington
Retro Rundown 2020: Southern 500 paint schemes originally appeared on NBCSports.com
