By Jared Turner

Going Retro Is Good

How appropriate is it to see so many old-school paint schemes for Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, where the Sprint Cup Series will compete on Labor Day weekend for the first time since 2003? More than half of the teams in the 43-car field have unveiled throwback colors for the big race. If you’ve ever wanted to go back in time, this weekend offers a splendid chance to do it. “It will be fun to see all the throwback schemes racing at Darlington and on Labor Day Weekend,” said team owner Richard Petty, whose driver, Aric Almirola, will carry a 1972 “Petty Blue” and Day-Glo Red STP paint scheme on the No. 43 Ford. “It just feels right to have the Southern 500 back to Labor Day weekend and is fitting that we celebrate tradition there with throwback paint schemes,” Petty added. “I think the people who came up with this program and put the effort into this weekend really represent what the weekend is all about,” said Kevin Harvick, whose car will sport a retro-themed paint scheme that mimics the first can Budweiser produced in 1936. “That is the history of our sport.”

Big Changes For Chad?

One of the hardest-working and most polarizing men in NASCAR got married over the weekend when Chad Knaus tied the knot with Brooke Werner, a former Miss Sprint Cup. Of course, now that the six-time Sprint Cup Series champion crew chief for Jimmie Johnson has finally taken the plunge, everyone is eager to see how much Knaus will change. Will getting married give him a totally new lease on life, causing him to work fewer 80-hour weeks? Only time will tell, but making a lifetime commitment to something besides making a car go fast is bound to add at least a little much-needed balance to his life.