The 2024 Cup Series season has featured numerous standout schemes on the starting grid. Ross Chastain's Throwback Weekend scheme tops the list through 22 races.
This scheme was on the No. 1 Chevrolet of Trackhouse Racing during Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway. Busch Light began sponsoring Chastain after Kevin Harvick retired, which opened up an opportunity to showcase a special scheme during NASCAR's annual celebration of racing history.
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The scheme in question took the No. 1 Chevrolet back to the early 2000s. Chastain's scheme had a classic Busch Light can and logo on the sides. The hood of the stock car recreated the can with the mountains and the slanted logo.
Chastain qualified inside the top 10 for the Goodyear 400, which capped off Throwback Weekend. He then finished 11th in what was only his third career top-15 finish at The Lady in Black.
Other standout 2024 schemes
Chase Elliott's throwback to Dale Earnhardt Jr.
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The May race at Darlington Raceway is memorable for numerous reasons. The racing is exemplary as drivers try to keep their cars out of the wall. The schemes are just as impressive as teams across all three series honor legends of racing history.
Chase Elliott used this season's Goodyear 400 as an opportunity to highlight a fellow Most Popular Driver. He showed up to Darlington Raceway with a red, white, and blue UniFirst scheme on his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
This scheme was actually a tribute to one used by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Specifically, it referenced the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet that Earnhardt used to win the 2004 Daytona 500. This was the second of Earnhardt's three Daytona 500 wins.
Michael McDowell's Chicago Street Race scheme
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Michael McDowell, a two-time winner in NASCAR's Cup Series, has showcased multiple unique schemes during his final season with Front Row Motorsports. This includes a Margaritaville at Sea livery used during the Busch Light Clash at the LA Memorial Coliseum.
The race on the streets of Chicago was another standout example. McDowell drove a black and white No. 34 Ford Mustang. This was no simple scheme, however, as it featured logos of an MLB franchise. This scheme featured the Chicago White Sox as the primary sponsor and SKIL Power Tools as the associate sponsor.
McDowell put the MLB-inspired car on display all weekend as he started the race third overall, avoided incidents, and finished fifth.
Kyle Larson's tribute to Terry Labonte
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Nailing a throwback scheme requires multiple elements. The colors need to be the same, as do the car number and the sponsor logos. Kyle Larson and Hendrick Motorsports got two out of three.
The race at Darlington in May featured the 2021 Cup Series champion driving a red, yellow, and green Chevrolet. This was a drastic departure from his HendrickCars.com blue, but it was for good reason.
The car was a tribute to Terry Labonte's No. 5 Kellogg's Corn Flakes Chevrolet that the Hall of Famer used to win nine races and one of his two Cup Series titles. The location was also fitting considering that Labonte's first and last Cup wins were at Darlington Raceway.
Daniel Suarez's tribute to Adrian Fernandez
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Quaker State is a newer addition to Daniel Suarez's lineup of sponsors, but the company has made the most of limited opportunities to take over the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro. Throwback Weekend was a prominent example.
Suarez arrived at the South Carolina track with a red, white, and green Quaker State scheme on his Chevrolet. This particular scheme was a tribute to Mexico's Adrian Fernandez, a man who achieved success in a variety of racing series.
The throwback scheme specifically referenced the 2004 IndyCar Series season. Fernandez took his Quaker State-sponsored entry to three wins as he finished fifth in the championship standings.