In 2015, NASCAR saw the return of an Icon, no not a driver..but a race track which back to schedule. After a two year absence the Southern 500 came back as NACAR returned to the famed Darlington Racway, the oldest super speedway and regarded as one of the sport's crown jewels of the yearly schedule. So with the return of the Southern 500, NASCAR decided to do something fun and retro, likely for marketing, to celebrate the race's return; it would be a throw back race. Teams were encouraged to clad their cars in paint schemes of famous rides of the past in nods to drivers and sponsor's of the past, and even NBC got into the action by showing the old logos and music during the race broadcast.
What's a Grey Ghost?
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For the race Dale Earnhardt Jr. went with an nod back to an early 80's looking Valvoline paint scheme that had adorn the rides of some of the greats like, Cale Yarborough, Ron Bouchard, Neil Bonnett and Buddy Baker. Jr's scheme was specifically modeled off a ride by Yarborough; it would mark the return of Valvoline's return to primarily sponsor position on a car in a very long time, if only for one race.This was right up Jr's personal wheel house as someone who grew up the sport, is someone who has a passion for the sport's history, both the driver's of the past but their rides as well.
That first Throw back race was so popular with fans that it came back the following year and again Earnhardt's choice was again a nod to something special to him and the sport. He choose to base his retro paint scheme on a car driven mostly by Buddy Baker in a nod to that driver who was a legend on and off the track. The paint scheme is Jr's favorite of all time, so much so he would run it twice.
The car driven by Baker was very fast and the silver and black paint scheme actually made the car unnoticed by the other drivers on the track until it was roaring past them which made for a bit a scare for the other drivers. At the begging of the 1979 season, it set pole of the Daytona 500 and would slip around the track so well that it won from pole. The car was actually deemed by NASCAR to be a hazard and forced the team to add Day-Glow striping and later numbers to make the car more visible on track.
When I got Jr's 2016 grey ghost inspired car, I went looking into the history of the original and was surprised it had been done in 2012 in 1/24; but proved to hard to find. It took a few weeks and twice what it was when it first was released..but I found one.
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Dale actually first ran a version of his paint scheme in 2008 for his salute to the troops. It was snapping the picture of all three above that the background I was using, a ceramic tile, fell on the cars. After my heart starting beating again I saw that the 2008 car which it's high wing had taken the impact and saved the other cars. I ended fixed the rear spoiler, a replacement rear window, and learning that acetone does not remove crazy glue..it just spreads it around.
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Because Dale Jr's didn't actually get to drive the car in the 2016 race due to being sidelined for medical reasons; it would actually be driven by Jeff Gordan. They brought the paint scheme back again in 2017 but I didn't get that one as it is so similar to the 2016 car...but maybe one day.
![Image]()
What's a Grey Ghost?
For the race Dale Earnhardt Jr. went with an nod back to an early 80's looking Valvoline paint scheme that had adorn the rides of some of the greats like, Cale Yarborough, Ron Bouchard, Neil Bonnett and Buddy Baker. Jr's scheme was specifically modeled off a ride by Yarborough; it would mark the return of Valvoline's return to primarily sponsor position on a car in a very long time, if only for one race.This was right up Jr's personal wheel house as someone who grew up the sport, is someone who has a passion for the sport's history, both the driver's of the past but their rides as well.
That first Throw back race was so popular with fans that it came back the following year and again Earnhardt's choice was again a nod to something special to him and the sport. He choose to base his retro paint scheme on a car driven mostly by Buddy Baker in a nod to that driver who was a legend on and off the track. The paint scheme is Jr's favorite of all time, so much so he would run it twice.
The car driven by Baker was very fast and the silver and black paint scheme actually made the car unnoticed by the other drivers on the track until it was roaring past them which made for a bit a scare for the other drivers. At the begging of the 1979 season, it set pole of the Daytona 500 and would slip around the track so well that it won from pole. The car was actually deemed by NASCAR to be a hazard and forced the team to add Day-Glow striping and later numbers to make the car more visible on track.
When I got Jr's 2016 grey ghost inspired car, I went looking into the history of the original and was surprised it had been done in 2012 in 1/24; but proved to hard to find. It took a few weeks and twice what it was when it first was released..but I found one.
Dale actually first ran a version of his paint scheme in 2008 for his salute to the troops. It was snapping the picture of all three above that the background I was using, a ceramic tile, fell on the cars. After my heart starting beating again I saw that the 2008 car which it's high wing had taken the impact and saved the other cars. I ended fixed the rear spoiler, a replacement rear window, and learning that acetone does not remove crazy glue..it just spreads it around.
Because Dale Jr's didn't actually get to drive the car in the 2016 race due to being sidelined for medical reasons; it would actually be driven by Jeff Gordan. They brought the paint scheme back again in 2017 but I didn't get that one as it is so similar to the 2016 car...but maybe one day.
