NASCAR: 4 all-time Darlington throwbacks we love

Randy Smith: William Byron’s 2018 and 2022 throwbacks to Jeff Gordon

Two throwback paint schemes that come to mind are definitely the Jeff Gordon ones, most noticeably the one run by William Byron in 2018 and the one which he is set to run this year on his #24 Chevrolet.

Growing up in a Jeff Gordon household, the Rainbow Warriors hold a nostalgic memory to me. I would show up to class wearing the pit jacket way before it became a mainstream fashion choice. The flames are more in my timeline of memories, and I can’t recall how many Sundays my family and I were cheering on the #24 car to victory lane.

Whether it be Gordon’s infamous “bump and runs” on Rusty Wallace, or him silencing the crowds at Talladega Superspeedway, his paint schemes for those iconic moments will always hold a special place in my childhood.

It’s amazing to see the current driver of the #24 car not only have cemented his own legacy with his recent wins, but occasionally throwing it back to the man who made it famous.

With the #5 car back at Hendrick Motorsports for Kyle Larson, the only throwback I’m still waiting on is a Terry Labonte Kellogg’s-themed paint scheme. With a Flame and Rainbow #24 and a Corn Flakes-inspired #5, the nostalgia of being NASCAR fan in the Smith household would be complete.