DARLINGTON, S.C. – The fans have spoken and the No. 9 LLumar Throwback Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 of Chase Elliott was voted as the 2023 Best In Show Throwback Paint Scheme Fan Vote winner in the NASCAR Cup Series.
The honor was revealed before the start of Sunday’s race at Darlington Raceway, which is the site of NASCAR's annual throwback weekend.
The 2020 Cup Series champion's throwback paint scheme is a tribute to his dad and NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott. The car looks just like the No. 9 that Bill drove to four wins from 2001 to 2003 when he was with Evernham Motorsports. Chase has credited those years with sparking his interest in racing.
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"This one means a lot," Chase Elliott said of the throwback paint scheme on his car. "Those years were extremely crucial, not only for the number, but I’m not even sure I would have found racing had those years not been going on. If I wasn’t exposed then, I don’t know that I’d find it. Those years impacted me heavily and certainly sparked my interest to want to try to do it."
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This is also the second straight year that the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s throwback paint scheme won the Best In Show vote at Darlington. In 2022, the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Throwback Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which was a tribute to the yellow and blue look that Jimmy Means ran in 1993, earned the top prize.
A Hendrick Motorsports car also took Best In Show in 2018 when William Byron’s tribute to the No. 24 rainbow car of Jeff Gordon took home the honor.
