Darlington Raceway has had a constant presence on the NASCAR calendar ever since its inauguration in 1950. To celebrate its uniqueness and rich history, the promotion introduced something called the “Throwback Weekend” back in 2015. This tradition had drivers and teams paying homage to the sport’s history by wearing iconic paint schemes from the past on their cars.
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A decade later, almost every party is bored with this practice, and NASCAR has decided to press the stop button for 2026 and beyond. It was confirmed this week that the promotion will not ask teams to wear throwback paint schemes this year.
But it will still celebrate the past through special parades and appearances by former drivers. Teams can continue to come up with tribute schemes, but that won’t be the weekend’s focus, and neither will NASCAR mandate the same.
As soon as this news broke on the internet, the fandom thronged to express its support. One fan pointed out, “Good. Throwback should’ve been one and done. It got ruined. Nobody sis tuck with an era. Throwing back to 2019 isn’t a throwback.” Another added, “A tradition that started 10 years ago. It was about time it ran its final course, but I really hope they still do something special for Darlington still.”
Drivers, including Chase Elliott, have voiced concerns over how the concept was becoming overdiluted with teams wearing schemes from 2018 and calling them a “throwback”. The choice of the throwback scheme was also often left up to the sponsors, leading to less-than-ideal choices that frustrated fans. The tradition slowly moved away from nostalgia and has become more of a gimmick now.
Confirmed with NASCAR: NASCAR won’t ask teams to do throwback paint schemes for Darlington in March. Darlington will still celebrate NASCAR history and “alumni” with the parade and appearances by former drivers. Teams obviously can do tribute schemes but that won’t be the focus.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) January 22, 2026
One fan wrote, “They should’ve pivoted to throwbacks from a specific year (eg. 2002 schemes in 2022) years ago. Would’ve been a lot easier and wouldn’t have run out of schemes as fast.” Others are confident that Darlington Raceway is special enough on its own and doesn’t need such promotions to hype it up.
Another comment read, “It was great, especially the first few years, but it ran its course. It is time to move on. @TooToughToTame is such a great iconic track, it really doesn’t need any special activities. The race provides all we need.”
Either way, ‘The Lady in Black’ will be fully focused only on the present in 2026, and that’s something the entire community has wanted for some time now, as evidenced by the consensus online.
