Darlington Raceway hosted the Xfinity and Cup Series teams for the annual throwback weekend. The event, also an annual fan favorite, allows teams and drivers to honor the sports past as well as keeping an eye on the future. Many teams will do this by exchanging their regular colors for looks that honor ghosts of motorsports’ past.
Also one of the toughest tracks on the schedule, the Lady in Black also yields some surprise results. Here is a look at some of the surprises from throwback weekend.
Xfinity Series | SportClips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200
Brandon Jones (#20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota): JGR makes an appearance yet again this week via their #20 Xfinity team and driver Brandon Jones. Jones returned to the seat of one JGR’s Toyotas, after spending the last two seasons with JR Motorsports. In what was supposed to be an elevation from Jones’ 2022 run with Gibbs, Jones went winless for two seasons with Dale Jr.’s team
That all changed in Darlington. Sporting a Matt Kenseth throwback scheme on his #20 entry, Jones took the lead twelve laps from the finish and held off Cup star Chase Elliott to score the race win. This was Jones’ sixth career win, and first since 2022 in Martinsville.
Ryan Sieg (#39 RSS Racing Ford): In what has been a successful 2025 campaign after eight starts this year, Ryan Sieg and his RSS family-owned team showed speed yet again in Darlington. Switching up his usual colors for a Dale Jarrett 1999 Reverse paint scheme, Sieg’s #39 Ford qualified 17th and wrapped up the race in 12th.
Through the early season, Sieg has seven top twenty finishes already and sits ninth in driver points.
Jeb Burton (#27 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet): Burton and his #27 JAR team have had a quietly strong start to 2025, and the Lady in Black allowed for some luck this past weekend. Starting a respectable 22nd, Burton drove his Chevrolet to a 15th place finish with a mostly incident free run.
The JAR 27 team switched up their colors as well for Darlington, with Jeb sporting a throwback to his father Ward’s former scheme. The car also featured a local sponsor in AJ Transport.
BOTR Throwback Scheme Winner | Leland Honeyman #70
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Ty Gibbs (#54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota): Gibbs and his #54 team seem to be on the upswing finally recently, with Darlington resulting in Gibbs’ first top ten of the season. The Monster Energy-backed entry had a strong 9th place finish, after starting 11th. This was Gibbs second straight top fifteen finish after seeing the back of the pack most of the young season.
Zane Smith (#38 Front Row Motorsports Ford): Smith and FRM reuniting this season is looking to be one of the best things to happen to both. While the finishes have been somewhat or a rollercoaster, Darlington proved how strong the team can be. Smith reeled in a 12th place finish, after starting 16th. The FRM driver thus far has a 9th (Phoenix), and a pair of 11th place finishes as well going into Bristol
Smith’s #38 sported a white vintage Long John’s Silvers logo and scheme for this event.
Erik Jones (#43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota): The new season has not been overly kind to Jones and his #43 crew eight races in. Dealing with a mix of bad luck, penalties, and performance issues, a glimmer of hope was seen in Darlington. Jones typically has a strong relationship with the track, even scoring a win with the 43 car in 2022.
While 2025 did not provide a return to victory lane, Jones’ finished the race in 17th after starting back in 34th. This has to have almost felt like a win after a strong start to the season quickly started rolling downhill.
Jones’ throwback for 2025 throwback scheme honored John Andretti and his 1998 Darlington orange and petty blue scheme.
BOTR Cup Series Throwback Winner | Josh Berry #21
Photo credit: Jayski and Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
