Hendrick Motorsports is the winningest team in NASCAR. 40 years of success, 307 Cup Series wins and 14 Championships. The Gold standard all started with the Number 5 driven by Geoff Bodine. All four Hendrick Cars will pay tribute to an iconic paint scheme in NASCAR’s throwback weekend at Darlington.
Throwback weekend at Darlington is an annual tradition where NASCAR pays tribute to legends of yesterday many drivers paying homage to past drivers, wins, and moments. There is, most notably, Kyle Larson paying tribute to “Texas” Terry Labonte and his Kellogs paint scheme and Chase Elliott paying homage to the 10th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s second Daytona 500 victory.
Larson’s Throwback
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An iconic paint scheme that was driven by NASCAR Hall of Famer Terry Labonte from 1994 to 2000. Labonte won 12 races for Hendrick Motorsports and captured the 1996 Cup series championship edging out teammate Jeff Gordon by just 37 points to bring home Hendrick Motorsports’ second consecutive Cup series championship (Gordon winning his first in 1995).
One of the most Iconic moments in this paint scheme came in a two-part series of events in the Bristol night race in 1995 and 1999. In 1995 and 1999 Labonte led in the closing laps while the hard-charging Dale Earnhardt ran him down.
In ’95 Earnhardt in a desperate last-ditch effort turned Labonte into the outside wall at the checkered flag but Labonte was still able to win with a totaled car. Earnhardt did the same thing in 1999 but successfully won this time around, after the race in victory Earnhardt said the iconic line:
I didn’t mean to wreck him (Labonte) I just wanted to rattle his cage a little bit.
The last win from Labonte in the scheme came at Darlington in 2003. At the unveiling of the throwback the 2021 Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson said:
This is such a cool scheme that‘s so special to fans, it‘s really a part of history. And so is Terry. Getting to surprise somebody like that, who’s done so much for the sport, is going to be really cool.
Larson finally broke through last season winning the Southern 500 last year after finishing second numerous times Larson will be looking to put the Iconic scheme in victory lane one more time.
Chase Elliott’s Throwback a Fan Favorite
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NASCAR’s most popular driver and 2020 Cup Series Champion Chase Elliott is paying tribute to the two-time Daytona 500 Champion and 15-time NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports celebrating the 10th anniversary of Dale Jr.’s second Daytona 500 victory with his paint scheme.
2014 was a special year for Jr. Nation winning the Daytona 500 sweeping the Pocono races and winning a grandfather clock at Martinsville. Jr. also gained 12 top fives and 20 top tens. The second-best year in his career and his best with Hendrick Motorsports. Earnhardt Jr. had the longest span between Daytona 500 wins amongst multiple-time winners of The Great American Race (2004 and 2014).
Dale Jr. notorious for being precise when it comes to paint schemes had nothing but high praise for the scheme in his honor saying:
Man, this thing looks frickin’ perfect.
The former Hendrick teammates reminisce about Earnhardt Jr.’s second Daytona 500 victory, Elliott a senior in High School at the time talked about his experience of Jr’s win:
When I first learned about it, the first thing I thought of was I got in trouble, I was late to school Monday morning because I stayed up all night watching you (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) win this race.
A nod to Hendrick Blue Bloods
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William Byron and Alex Bowman will complete the Hendrick throwback quartet by running the flaming paint scheme of Jeff Gordon and the iconic Lowes scheme of Jimmie Johnson. Gordon, a four-time champion for Hendrick Motorsports and has won 93 races throughout his Hall of Fame career. Gordon the heir apparent to Hendrick Motorsports now Vice Chairman and Co-Owner of the legendary team has taken on an increased role since he retired from racing in 2015.
Jimmie Johnson a record-tying seven-time Cup Series Champion (tied with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt) won 83 races for Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson is now Co-Owner of Legacy Motorsports with fellow seven-time champion Richard Petty. Johnson now races part-time in the number 84 in the Cup series and has since switched to driving a Toyota instead of the more familiar Chevrolet.
William Byron running the 2009 edition of Jeff Gordon’s paint scheme. Only winning one race in 2009 the design was made by Sam Bass who called it “firestorm.” Alex Bowman will run the paint scheme Johnson won a record five consecutive cup championships from 2006-2010. Byron and Bowman are still building their legacy and at a minimum, it will be yet another great experience (or nightmare if you aren’t a fan of Hendrick) for the fans to see those schemes on the track once more.
About The Author
Dillon Hildreth is a writer for Total Apex and a lifelong fan of Football with my favorite teams being the New England Patriots and the Georgia Bulldogs. Dillon is also a fan of Motorsports Red Bull in Formula One and William Byron in NASCAR. You can catch Dillon Stream F1, NASCAR, and other video games and sidecasts on Twitch.
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