Winners and losers from NASCAR’s throwback weekend at Darlington

Denny Hamlin earned his 56th career Cup win while Brandon Jones earned his first Xfinity win in three years at Darlington this weekend. The history of the sport was once again honored through some unique paint schemes while stars of the sport took aim at the tradition. Meanwhile, Ryan Blaney can’t seem to catch a break and Kyle Larson couldn’t stop his wounded car from being part of the final outcome.

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Here’s a look at the biggest winners and losers from Darlington:

WINNER: Denny Hamlin goes back-to-back, thanks to his pit crew

Back-to-back: Denny Hamlin pulls away in OT to capture Darlington win

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This is a race Kyle Larson is going to want to forget. The day started well, winning ‘Best in Show’ for his throwback scheme. However, the Kellogg’s-inspired car did not look that good for long. Larson spun out on his own within the first five laps of the race, destroying the front of the car. He returned to the race over 160 laps down, only to be involved in another incident in the same spot with less than five laps to go in the race. He slowed down abruptly upon seeing Tyler Reddick get into the wall, but in trying to avoid being part of a race-altering incident, he instead caused it. Bubba Wallace could not react in time, spinning Larson out in a caution that ultimately cost Ryan Blaney the race win.

WINNER: Byron’s shocking domination

William Byron unable to come up with Darlington win: ‘Still a lot of positives’

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2025 has been a struggle for Gibbs, scoring very few points up until the last two weeks, trapped at the very bottom of the standings. He started to turn things around at Martinsville, scoring some stage points and finishing 13th. Further improvements were made at Darlington, finishing ninth. He’s now up to 26th in points, which is far away from where he should be, but still much better than where he was.

LOSER: No repeat win for Keselowski

Brad Keselowski, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford

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Another driver who needed to turn things around was Brad Keselowski. The defending winner of this 400-mile race at Darlington, expectations were high for RFK. At one point, all three cars were running in the top ten, but a loose wheel derailed Keselowski’s day in the middle of the second stage. He never recovered, finishing 33rd. The 2012 Cup Series champion is averaging a 26th-place finish this year and currently sits 31st in the standings.

WINNER: Brandon Jones snaps a three-year winless streak

Brandon Jones victorious at Darlington: ‘It’s nice to prove haters wrong again’

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Chase Elliott was one of the more outspoken drivers this weekend, but he wasn’t the only one when it comes to the concept of Throwback Weekend. The consensus among some drivers is that it has run its course and should be done away with. While it’s true that only half of the Cup Series field took part and some sponsors are getting in the way of them participating, ‘Throwback Weekend’ is so much more than the paint schemes. It’s about honoring the history of the sport and whether three or 30 teams take part doesn’t change how important it is. NASCAR Hall of Famer Carl Edwards waved the green flag, Richard and Kyle Petty joined the broadcast booth to share stories and historic race cars were paraded around the track. It’s a great tradition and should continue. Yes, most of the obvious throwback ideas have been done to death, but still, there were teams like the Wood Brothers coming up with unique ideas. And as long as it continues to actively honor the past, Throwback Weekend has a place in NASCAR.

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