It’s throwback weekend at Darlington.
Every year, NASCAR drivers throw it back to some iconic drivers and paint schemes as the sport returns to one of its oldest tracks. Teams come up with some pretty badass throwback paint schemes, and they always bring up some pretty cool memories for longtime NASCAR fans.
I mean, just look at this Kyle Larson throwback to Terry Labonte…it’s beautiful.
Well Hailie Deegan, driver of the #15 car in the Xfinity Series, decided to honor one of the greatest to ever do it in the late great Dale Earnhardt.
Deegan, who’s the only full-time female driver in any of NASCAR’s top three series, unveiled her throwback scheme that pays tribute to the iconic blue and yellow Wrangler paint scheme that Earnhardt drove early in his career.
Earnhardt drove the #15 Wrangler Ford (yes, Ford) from 1982-1983 for team owner Bud Moore, winning three races but not finishing better than 8th in the final points standings. He then moved to Richard Childress Racing, where his car number changed to the iconic #3 and he moved from Ford to Chevrolet, while still keeping his blue and yellow Wrangler colors until 1988.
Of course his two years in the #15 Ford were pretty unremarkable, and Earnhardt made his name driving a Chevy. And one thing about NASCAR fans is that their loyalties to not only drivers, but also to teams and manufacturers, runs deep. So people weren’t exactly happy that Deegan is running Earnhardt’s throwback scheme on a Ford (despite the fact that Earnhardt’s #15 Wrangler car was, in fact, a Ford).
(Spoiler alert: It’s right).
overused as hell
should be on a chevy
— yankees nerd lol (@YankeesNerdLol) May 8, 2024
wtf… its a ford!
— MICHAEL WOODROW (@MICHAELWOODROW1) May 8, 2024
Dale Sr wouldn’t have his name on a Ford
— Jim Clancy (@JimClancy110) May 9, 2024
Others aren’t mad that it’s a Ford, but are mad that Deegan is the driver who’s running the paint scheme, feeling like she hasn’t earned it yet.
That’s a shame! Disrespectful to Dale Sr. She is nowhere near the driver to run that paint scheme.
— CG (@CGReflections) May 8, 2024
I mean, Austin Dillon drives a black #3 car, so…
Of course at the end of the day it’s really not that deep. It’s a cool paint scheme, Dale Earnhardt’s a legend, and it’s for one race.
But hey, the internet’s got to be mad over SOMETHING.
