The year was 1983 when Darrell Waltrip took to the track in the Pepsi Challenger Chevy. Waltrip had won back-to-back titles and was trying for three in a row when PepsiCo changed the primary sponsor on his car from Mountain Dew to its signature brand before the season. Waltrip failed to win the title that year. At Talladega, Jeff Gordon will go retro with Waltrip’s 1983 paint scheme on his car.(gordonline.com), see an image there or on my #24 Team Schemes page.(3-10-2009) UPDATE: #24-Jeff Gordon will drive a special retro”Pepsi Challenger” #24 paint scheme Chevy in Talladega on April 26, 2009. Inspired by Darrell Waltrips Pepsi Challenger of the 1980s this car will feature retro Pepsi logos and a white and yellow scheme.(JeffGordon.com), see images of the scheme on my #24 Team Schemes page.(3-30-2009) UPDATE 2: Jeff Gordon will give fans a blast from the past at Talladega this weekend when he drives a retro Pepsi Throwback paint- scheme on his #24 DuPont/ Pepsi Throwback Challenger Chevrolet on April 26 at Talladega Superspeedway. The last time fans saw this memorable yellow paint scheme was over 25 years ago, when Darrell Waltrip drove the #11 Pepsi Challenger to victory lane six times in the race for the 1983 Cup Championship. Gordon’s latest paint scheme celebrates Pepsi Throwback, a new limited time only product sweetened with natural sugar in a retro-look package, offering consumers a taste of the past. The cola began appearing in stores on April 20 and will be available for eight weeks. Gordon, who is Pepsi’s longest standing spokesperson, will be sporting a memorable Pepsi Throwback racing suit, similar to the one worn by Waltrip in 1983. As part of the Throwback celebration, Pepsi is launching a number of in-store promotions. Tear pads located in retail outlets will give fans the chance to win cool throwback prizes- five fans will win a trip to DW Motorsports in Charlotte for a barbecue with Darrell Waltrip; 20 winners will receive a Darrell Waltrip autographed retro die-cast car; one lucky fan will win the retro racing suit Jeff Gordon wears during race week at Talladega; and 600 other fans will win a Jeff Gordon/Darrell Waltrip Throwback tee-shirt. Additionally, there will be a new Throwback look for PepsiRacing.com, where each race fans have the chance to win the same cash prize as the winning driver. A free desktop wallpaper featuring Jeff Gordon will be available for download on PepsiRacing.com.(Pepsi Racing PR)(4-24-2009)
