Denny Hamlin reveals stance on NASCAR throwback weekend amid criticism

There are two sides to the throwback weekend discussion: those who feel the concept has run its course and those who would like to see it continue annually at Darlington. Denny Hamlin sees both sides of the argument but notes the sport has changed since throwback weekend began in 2015.

Nowadays, Hamlin said on Monday’s “Actions Detrimental” podcast, sponsors are not on the cars for 20-plus races throughout a season. In most cases, sponsors have a select few races they’re a part of, which makes it difficult for teams to run throwback paint schemes.

“I hear both sides of the argument. It’s tough to keep the enthusiasm of it and I think it’s lost some enthusiasm,” Hamlin said. “I hear the other arguments of it’s not about the paint schemes even though that’s typically what this was founded on was we’re gonna have a retro paint scheme. But again, the world has changed. We don’t have sponsors in our sport now that are on these cars for 20-some races. And I think The Teardown did a good job of pinpointing this.

“When you got sponsors on the cars for three or four races, they’re not going to give up one of their races to change their logo, change their colors, change their brand. You’re not giving them value doing that. When it’s a sponsor-driven sport, sponsors are going to drive what you see. That’s the model that we’ve got, and we just have to accept it.”

Denny Hamlin uses Carl Edwards-inspired throwback scheme, goes to Victory Lane

19 drivers in total used a throwback paint scheme this weekend. That means roughly half the field did not. Beyond the paint schemes, the weekend celebrates NASCAR‘s history. Some notable NASCAR alumni were in attendance this weekend, including Richard Petty, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards.

But the paint schemes are the main attraction. Hamlin ran an Edwards-inspired Sports Clips car and drove it to Victory Lane for his second consecutive victory. It all came together for Hamlin to run a throwback scheme. It’s not as simple for other teams.

“We were one of the unique teams that was able to kind of piece it together where it all made sense, and it worked,” Hamlin said. “But that’s really hard to do.”