Five Best Parts of NASCAR Throwback Weekend 2016

NASCAR throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway may only be in its second year, but it has quickly become a favorite among fans. Here are some of the best moments.

While many around the country soaked in the final days of summer this Labor Day weekend, NASCAR fans took a trip through time and went back to the good old days of racing. NASCAR throwback at Darlington Raceway took stock car racing from the time of big tech to big hair. And for the second year in a row the lady in black did not disappoint.

Everything at Darlington surrounding the NASCAR throwback style was bigger in 2016. With more paint schemes, more hairdos, and more outfits, the Southern 500 became more of a spectacle than the penultimate race in the Sprint Cup regular season. Many of the great pieces that made the 2015 edition special came back once again, but with almost 100 percent of the Cup field on board, it made all the difference.

Certainly the bar has been raised from the 2015 Southern 500, and it could make the 2017 edition of the race a challenge to top this year. But if anything is certain heading into the coming year, expect more awesome paint schemes, more throwback styles, and more great entertainment like this from Darlington Raceway.

Tony Stewart’s pit crew would win the award for best dressed crew in the 2016 Southern 500.

The Styles

If you were not alive for the ‘70s or ‘80s, you may have gotten a taste of what it was like at a NASCAR track if you watched or attended the race at the track too tough to tame. From announcers to drivers to the average race fans, the sights were alive in the stands and the pit lane on Sunday night.

The NASCAR on NBC crew entered their second year with some throwback garb.

The drivers (and even some of their significant others) also dressed the part for the time their cars were racing.

The pit crews had some great styles too, especially that of Tony Stewart. They easily win the award for best pants of the weekend.

The question now becomes, who steps up their game in 2017 and stands out like those Coca-Cola racing crew pants?

The win by Martin Truex Jr. on Sunday night was witnessed by a big crowd. How much of that was because of lower ticket prices?

The Prices

Perhaps one of the things fans actually at the racetrack will remember the most about the NASCAR throwback weekend at the Southern 500 was the prices. Darlington Raceway reduced the prices of seats for both the Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series races to be more in line with the prices of the time. Concessions were also reduced to a more time-appropriate level.

Per the Darlington Raceway ticket site, the track offered general admission seating for as low as $35 for the Southern 500. This was the same price for a reserved seat for the Xfinity Series race. Meanwhile, general admissions seating for that race was reduced to $30. The track also offered half off for children under the age of 12 for the Cup race (free for the Xfinity race), and half off both races for military members.

Of course, this is not the first time that Darlington has slashed ticket prices. In 2009 with the economic recession hitting average Americans hard, the raceway cut prices of some 9,000 seats at the track to $35, a drop of $10 at the time.

Here’s hoping the track continues to put the product and the fans first, ahead of profiting greatly off the well-received throwback concept.

Before the 2015 Southern 500, it had been since 2003 that the race was run on Labor Day weekend.

The Track

It goes without saying that there is probably no other track that could pull off a happening like NASCAR throwback other than Darlington Raceway. For many, the track’s history precedes itself and is one that includes the who’s who of stock car racing.

For more than fifty years, the Southern 500 was run on Labor Day weekend, and for many years before 1984 actually ran on the Monday holiday. Many of the biggest names in NASCAR raced there and won one of stock car racing’s crowned jewel races, including Petty, Gordon, and Yarborough. But things changed as stock car racing grew national appeal in the early 2000s.

In 2003, the race moved to the date previously occupied by the fall Rockingham Speedway race, which was replaced by a race at Auto Club Speedway on Labor Day. The Southern 500 would only stay on that date for one year, however, before losing one of its two dates to Texas Motor Speedway. This would move their only race to Mother’s Day weekend, and it would not use the Southern 500 name again until 2009.

Some six years after reviving the name of the historic race, NASCAR moved the race date at Darlington back to its rightful place on Labor Day weekend once more. The move was met with widespread praise and excitement from fans and teams, and in just two short years has proven again why it is a crown jewel event for the sport.

The Announcers

If there is one aspect of the NASCAR throwback weekend that NASCAR on NBC can be thanked for, it is the announcers that cover the Southern 500. A special event of this caliber requires detailed understanding and passion for the sport. And while their primary crew of Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte can handle much of this, it is smart to defer to other seasoned announcers.

For both 2015 and 2016, NBC Sports used a second crew to call part of the race, made up of veterans Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett, and Dale Jarrett. While they did not call the majority of the race, it provided a new and unique perspective to fans that would otherwise be absent in other events. The effort was so well received that there is continued hope to see more announcers grace the booth in future years.

While Squier and Jarrett are certainly great additions to the throwback weekend, perhaps other old faces could become a part of the tradition. Bob Jenkins, who previously worked for NBC Sports on IndyCar, could be a prime candidate to work alongside Ned and Dale. In future years where more recent throwback schemes could be used, even the old NASCAR on NBC team of Bill Weber, Wally Dallenbach, and Kyle Petty may get in on the action.

Who would you like to see call the Southern 500 in part in the future for a NASCAR throwback crew?

Kyle Busch was just one of 38 out of 40 cars to run throwback schemes in the 2016 Southern 500.

The Paint Schemes

By far the most well received aspect of NASCAR throwback at Darlington has to be all the great traditional paint schemes. After just a handful of classic colors in the 2015 race, the 2016 show saw nearly the entire Sprint Cup field with throwback schemes (and even some in the Xfinity Series race too).

Some of the great throwbacks from 2016 payed homage to great legends of the sport like Dale Jarrett, Tony Stewart, and Mark Martin.

Another of the great parts of the throwback paint schemes was the return of some classic sponsors to the sport. Big names like Hooters and Tide came back to NASCAR for the Southern 500 in the colors of their classic cars run by Alan Kulwicki and Ricky Rudd.

With all but two Sprint Cup Series cars with special schemes, and nearly half of the Xfinity field in throwback colors, the hope becomes that 100 percent of cars will be throwback cars in 2017. Of course, as the years go on and the throwback schemes become closer to modernity, there could be more opportunities for schemes in both series.

What is your favorite part of the NASCAR throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway? Are you looking forward to the 2017 Southern 500? Beyond The Flag will have you covered for the rest of the 2016 NASCAR season and into the next year.

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