The first 12 races of the 2024 season have zoomed past us swiftly, just like the wind. Having finished almost one-third of NASCAR’s schedule, fans are pumped for some interesting twists. One fun aspect has to be the Silly Season when rumors fly around like flies. For instance, Michael McDowell’s FRM exit was strongly suspected to be a Silly Season fallout. And now, there is another, more exciting spectacle approaching this weekend.

Darlington Raceway started a tradition that has struck a chord in the racing community. Every year since 2015, drivers and race teams try to take fans back in time. Car liveries and racing gear pay tributes to bygone eras of legends. This time, Goodyear also chipped in with its tribute, but fans are far from impressed.

Darlington is decking up for a blast from the past

NASCAR executive Daryl Wolfe and former Darlington President Chip Wile collaborated on something truly revolutionary. Drawing inspiration from history books, they created one of the most engaging NASCAR weekends. Darlington, the sport’s oldest raceway, began to host drivers and cars donning retro looks. Thus, almost everyone looks forward to this race the most, as sponsors and drivers focus entirely on the rich motorsport history.

In its debut year, the Darlington Throwback Weekend witnessed some impressive liveries. For instance, Aric Almirola sported the iconic look of Richard Petty’s No. 43 Dodge when he drove it way back in 1972. Team owner Petty brought back the Petty Blue/STP Day-Glo Red colors for Almirola’s No. 43 Ford.

Now, as we hit the ninth year of the Throwback Weekend tradition, drivers are back with unique looks. Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 pays tribute to Dale Earnhardt Jr’s 2014 Daytona 500 victory. The car will be decorated in a special red, white, blue, and gold scheme. Elliott will also wear the iconic skeleton gloves that Dale Jr wore. Besides the usual driver tributes, a unique addition has been made to this year’s Darlington event. 

Goodyear has also participated in the time-traveling occasion, albeit in a slight, almost unnoticeable way. In every race, we see bold yellow letters written on their tires. But for Darlington, Goodyear has adopted the past white letter tradition. 

This small yet significant tribute still fits in with Darlington’s theme, “Celebrate our Roots through Grassroots Racing.” But the NASCAR community is genuinely disinterested.

NASCAR fans roll their eyes at Goodyear’s tiny gesture

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Goodyear has whipped up a lot of attention this year after the Bristol race. Fans were fairly impressed by the significant tire wear observed during the race, courtesy of Goodyear’s tires. Now they are excited as the tire brand is working on delivering a similar race at North Wilkesboro. So compared to these big updates, Goodyear’s tribute to Darlington is just a blip on the radar.

One fan took a jibe at Goodyear’s feeble attempt, considering that they only changed the color. “Bob, when was the color yellow invented?” Another fan was disappointed at the lack of effort. “Not even a special throwback font? Throwback weekend is so over.”

Then fans inevitably broached the tire wear debate. Given that older races witnessed more fall-off compared to the Next Gen car’s debacle, one fan could not help asking: “Are they also throwing it back to when tires actually wore out?” Another fan reminisced about this year’s Bristol race: “More importantly, do they have any fall off?”

Hence Goodyear’s Throwback tribute has failed to garner the NASCAR community’s interest.