Last weekend was the NASCAR Cup race at Darlington, and it was a special one. This was because this particular race weekend heralds throwback week, where drivers pay tribute to legends of the sports. Since 2015, various teams and drivers have donned a vintage paint scheme on their race cars, but the throwback weekend at Darlington is more than that. This is something Kevin Harvick was able to experience first-hand while hopping into a vintage Wood Brothers Racing car ahead of the main event.
Founded in 1950 and making its debut in 1953, WBR is the oldest NASCAR team. At Darlington, not only did the Wood family get a chance to say the words, ‘Drivers, Start Your Engines, ‘ but some of their classic cars got a parade lap. The ones who had the honor of driving those classic cars were former NASCAR drivers Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer.
Safe to say the two had a great time in the classic NASCAR machines. After all, who wouldn’t love to be behind the wheel of a classic car? Both Harvick and Bowyer drove the #21 cars around the Track Too Tough to Tame, doing two parade laps before calling it a day. However, Harvick’s sweet ride exploring the nostalgia about NASCAR’s gloried past could’ve turned into a catastrophe, and he opened up about this incident on the Happy Hour podcast.
“Apparently, the people on the front stretch that were taking down the stage and doing everything didn’t realize we were going to do 2 laps. We got around back to the front stretch and they were not paying attention. We were approaching them at a high race of speed. I went to hit the brake pedal and the brake pedal had no friction. It went way down and it freaked me out. I was thinking to myself, ‘My God! I’m going to mow this guy over in the truck in front of me that’s leading us around this pace lap. All these people on the front straightaway taking these cables up are in harm’s way.” Kevin Harvick explained.
It was an honor, but he also had some brake issues. @KevinHarvick on getting back behind the wheel at Darlington thanks to the @woodbrothers21. pic.twitter.com/LkTVhLuIcG
— HarvickHappyHour (@HarvickHappyPod) April 9, 2025
Well, luckily, Harvick was able to get the car to slow down. And that is how an eventful Darlington race weekend came to an end for the FOX booth. However, there was a lot of noise surrounding the relevancy of the throwback weekend celebration, particularly from the current star drivers. And as always, Harvick shared his take on the saga.
Kevin Harvick claps back at Chase Elliott’s Darlington complaints
“I thought I lost it (its luster) about four or five years ago, so I was way too early to that conversation, I think. At some point, I think we’ve got to chill on it a little bit. I think we’ve rode the horse to death, and we tend to do that a little bit too much.” Chase Elliott said this ahead of the Goodyear 400. The irony about his statement is that the No. 9 was running with a throwback scheme celebrating Kenny Scharder and his 1994 HMS Chevrolet.
Well, even William Byron, who was rocking a cool-looking Silver and red flames Jeff Gordon tribute car, shared a similar sentiment. “We’ve had so many of them. Between 40 cars, you cover most of the paint schemes at some point. Maybe it’s something where you bring it back every few years, or maybe you go to different racetracks or something.”
But is the throwback race just about the schemes? Well, many fans didn’t know about the Wood Brothers’ contribution in developing pit stop strategies. Moreover, they were involved in Jim Clark’s win at the 1965 Indianapolis 500, where they partnered with the Lotus team. This story was highlighted because Josh Berry’s No. 21 car had the vintage Lotus paint scheme. This historical and cultural significance is what throwback weekend offers.
“Maybe some of the drivers don’t have a great understanding of what the history of the sport looks like. It should be part of what they do in trying to understand more of our sport because it makes them appreciate the things that they have more. You can’t make it mandatory, but I would put a little more emphasis on it being preferred to come to the race track and be a part of the weekend.” Harvick opined.
Where do you stand on the Darlington throwback debate? Has the tradition gone overboard like Elliott mentions, or is it historically significant as Harvick described?
The post “All These People…Are in Harm’s Way”- Kevin Harvick Details Heart-Stopping Moment Behind Iconic Wood Brothers Cameo appeared first on EssentiallySports.