Retro NASCAR Ford Paint Scheme Throws It Back To 1965 Indy 500

Darlington Raceway has officially become NASCAR’s Throwback Weekend, inspiring many teams and drivers to design retro paint schemes to match the theme. Wood Brothers Racing (WBR), NASCAR Ford team, is turning back the clock 60 years for this year’s Throwback Weekend. Josh Berry’s No. 21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse will sport a green-and-yellow livery lifted right from the 1965 Indy 500-winning race car.

The paint scheme was unveiled at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, shown right next to the vintage IndyCar that inspired it. The design was borrowed from the Ford-powered Lotus that won the 1965 Indy 500, which was driven by Jim Clark, featuring a green base paint with a bold yellow stripe down the middle. The No. 21 itself is getting a retro treatment, too, featuring a vintage style typeface overlaid on a bold, white circle, just like the open-wheel race car the scheme was borrowed from. Even so, the opportunity to use the paint scheme almost didn’t happen, according to a report from NASCAR.com.

Jon Wood of WBR had to reach out to Clive Chapman, son of Team Lotus founder Colin Chapman, to get permission to run the special livery.

“I’m trying my damnedest to make him understand what a throwback is, but they use words like livery and revival,” Wood said. “So I’m trying to translate from my hillbilly talk to words he’ll understand, and I think toward the very end, he sort of started to get it.”

Chapman replied in short order, granting Wood’s request to use the team’s trademarks, while also allowing the NASCAR Ford team to sell die casts of the unique livery. At this time, it’s unclear if WBR will run the special scheme again, but more than likely, it’ll be a one-off at Darlington on April 6^th, 2025.

WBR is hot off a win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The victory was Berry’s first at the Cup Series level, indicating that his partnership with WBR will be a successful one.