It’s Throwback Thursday, NASCAR style. And this week’s item is equally amazing and timely.
Wednesday, Richard Petty Motorsports announced that Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. will drive the No. 43 car full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series next season. He’s been friends with and raced against the same group of guys for years, and now they’re the sport’s biggest rising stars and all together again at the highest level.
Most of them were probably teenagers, so in case you don’t recognize them, from left to right, that’s Chase Elliott, Wallace, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suárez and Ryan Blaney. They’re known as NASCAR’s “young guns.”
They’re all still pretty young today – Elliott is 21, Blaney is 23, Wallace is 24 and Larson and Suárez are 25 – so even though this undated pictures is likely only about five years old, give or take, it just shows how much they’ve grown up. Especially Blaney, who looks like he’s 12-years-old in that picture.
They were all members of the NASCAR Next program – which showcases and develops the sport’s youngest and most talented drivers – and were all part of the 2012 class.