Darlington’s Southern 500 weekend has added fun and nostalgia to the usual history and heat lately with the addition of Nascar’s first-ever “Throwback Weekend” which sees most-every race team sport a “throwback” paint scheme, honoring a historic driver, car, or sponsor. Nascar star Kyle Busch, one of the only ones not to participate this year, explained his omission by replying “Leave me alone.”
“Look—I just didn’t want to do it, ok?” Busch said petulantly while walking through the infield area, surrounded by fans swapping stories of races past prompted by the historic colors around them. “Nobody cares about the past, so why should I do it? Who cares, you jerk?”
This year featured such tributes as Jeffrey Earnhardt honoring his grandfather’s Lowes Foods scheme, two different tributes to cars campaigned by Kyle Petty, and a combination Days of Thunder and Pray for Texas look for low budget team Rick Ware Racing. Busch, however, chose not to participate—or wasn’t asked in the first place.
“What, do you think they didn’t ask me what I wanted to do”, Busch asked in an irritated tone. “Do you think my team’s marketing people just avoid talking to me all the time? BECAUSE THAT’S NOT THE CASE.”
Kyle Busch is one of just five teams not participating this year—teammate Daniel Suarez is sitting out due to the lack of historic connections to his car number and sponsor, Carl Long cancelled a planned tribute to Darrell Waltrip’s Route 66 scheme due to lack of funding, BK Racing’s 83 car will instead honor old-time racing by having the driver race for free, and Kyle’s brother Kurt will run his usual look, issuing a statement that “looking back to the past, for me, brings back too many bad memories of looking over my shoulder to see if they were closing in on me.”
Representative for Joe Gibbs Racing indicated that they felt the 18 ran a throwback scheme on a regular basis, since 1992 was the last time anyone saw something as big as a car decked-out in Zubaz.