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Chase Elliott Offers Harsh Criticism of Throwback Weekend at Darlington

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kyle Dalton | Last updated Apr 5, 2025 10:34 AM ET

Chase Elliott has been voted the NASCAR Cup Series most popular driver for the past seven consecutive seasons. With such popularity, a lot of fans care what he has to say. His voice matters.

On Saturday at Darlington Raceway, the Hendrick Motorsports driver shared that voice and an opinion that likely won’t be popular with some of his fans.

During a press conference with reporters before practice and qualifying, the 2020 Cup Series champion was asked for his thoughts on the annual Throwback Weekend at Darlington and whether or not he believed it had lost its luster.

“I thought it lost it about four or five years ago,” Elliott candidly admitted. “So I was way too early to that conversation, I think. Not to be a downer. I joked about this before, years ago, but like, if we kept going down the road, we're gonna be throwing it back to me in like 2018.

“So, like, at some point I think we got to chill on it a little bit. I think we've rode the horse to death and we tend to do that a little bit too much.”

Meeting with reporters at @TooToughToTame, @chaseelliott didn't sugarcoat what he thought about Throwback Weekend when asked if the weekend had lost its luster. pic.twitter.com/vbggsfGbqF
— Kyle Dalton (@kdsportswriter) April 5, 2025

Despite his comments, the 29-year-old will be participating in the throwback festivities at The Lady in Black this weekend. The No. 9 HMS UniFirst Chevy will turn back the clock more than 30 years with a throwback scheme that gives a nod to Kenny Schrader’s iconic No. 25 car that he drove for HMS in the early 1990s.

Elliott's No. 9 throwback car will be racing on Sunday at Darlington with coverage starting at 3 p.m. ET and airing on FS1.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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