NASCAR going back in time on Sunday. The drivers will compete at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina for the Goodyear 400 in NASCAR’s annual throwback race. The Goodyear 400 will start at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1. The total purse for the race is a little over $7 million.
With it being a throwback race, drivers will pay homage to the legends who made NASCAR what it is today. Kurt Busch, a driver for team 23XI is throwing it back with his No. 45 Toyota Camry with a paint scheme from NASCAR legend Bill Elliott from 1996. Elliott was sponsored by McDonald’s and raced for the team from 1995-2000 and occasionally during the 2004-2005 season.
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“It’s always fun to be honored with one of these Throwback paint schemes,” Elliott said. “Darlington was one of those tracks that I always loved going to and we had some pretty good success there. McDonald’s was the sponsor that enabled me to be not only a driver, but also a team owner. It wasn’t easy by any means, but McDonald’s took a chance with us and I’ve always appreciated that.”
Along with Busch paying homage to Elliott, NASCAR will show love to Richard Petty as he will be the honorary starter for Sunday’s race. Petty is a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and has won at Darlington three times in 65 starts. “Darlington Raceway has always been too tough for me as I only conquered it three times,” said Petty, NASCAR Hall of Famer and chairman for Petty GMS Motorsports, per Kickin the Tires. “I generally ran good, but did not always finish well. The last time I drove around the track at Darlington in 2017, I got black flagged. This time as the honorary starter, I’ll be holding the flag!”
The Goodyear 400 is the 12th race of the NASCAR Cup Series. So far this season, there have only been two drivers to win multiple races — Ross Chastian and William Byron. Both drivers are in the top 10 in the Cup Series standings, but Chase Elliott, who recently won his first race of the season, comes in at first place with Ryan Blaney placing second.
