Darlington Raceway named recipient of prestigious Myers Brothers Award

In recognition of its wildly successful "throwback" weekend, Darlington Raceway has been named the recipient of the 2015 Myers Brothers Award.

Voted upon by the National Motorsports Press Association and named after pioneer NASCAR competitors Billy and Bobby Myers, the 58-year-old award is an esteemed accolade recognizing those who have made outstanding contributions to stock-car racing.

Others receiving votes for this year's award were four-time series champion Jeff Gordon and 2015 Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch.

More than 30 cars in the 43-car Bojangles' Southern 500 field were emblazoned with retro paints schemes, while drivers and crew members grew moustaches and sported old-school firesuits in homage to NASCAR legends such as Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt.

The 1.366-mile track itself went retro, too, with throwback signage on the walls and the tower housing the press box.

Track president Chip Wile said at the time that the throwback program is "a five-year platform."

"This isn't a one-year deal. We felt like if we could get eight or 10 teams on board to really showcase what we're trying to accomplish, we felt like in 2016 we could get more, in 2017 we would get more and so on," he added. "But the response that we've gotten from everyone in the industry has been incredible. It was a fully integrated plan that made our event something special for the fans."

Following is the complete list of award winners from the NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon in Las Vegas: