The first official throwback paint scheme for Darlington Throwback weekend of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season has been revealed, and it's glorious. Chase Elliott, and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team, will throw it back to Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s 2014 season.
Elliott will pilot a No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Darlington on May 12, which honors Earnhardt's No. 88 National Guard car from that year. Earnhardt scored three of his four wins that season in the National Guard paint scheme, including the 2014 Daytona 500.
Earnhardt, a 15-time NASCAR Cup Series Most Popular Driver, was surprised with the paint scheme by six-time Most Popular Driver Elliott. Hendrick Motorsports shared a video of the reveal on social media.
Speculation as to what would be revealed on Wednesday morning ran rampant on Tuesday night when Hendrick Motorsports dropped a teaser video on X.
Many wondered if this would be a throwback paint scheme announcement or if Earnhardt could even be filling in for Kyle Larson in the NASCAR All-Star Race Weekend, as it takes place the same week as Indianapolis 500 qualifying.
While the announcement didn't result in the return of Dale Earnhardt Jr. to a NASCAR Cup Series seat, it was still a really cool announcement.
Elliott, 28, has had a very consistent start to the season, which has led to him ranking sixth in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings after the first five races of the year.
The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion heads into Circuit of the Americas -- a road course -- with high hopes of scoring his first NASCAR Cup Series win since the 2022 fall race at Talladega Superspeedway.
The Dawsonville, Georgia native is one of the best in the sport at road courses.
Photo Credit: Hendrick Motorsports
