HICKORY, N.C. — Mason Diaz doesn’t have a personal affinity for the Earnhardt name.
Growing up he was more of a Jeff Gordon kid.
But in Saturday’s Throwback 276 for the CARS Tour at Hickory Motor Speedway, the 22-year-old driver from Virginia will drive a late model stock car with a very retro Earnhardt vibe.
Instead of his normal No. 24, Diaz’s ride will bear the No. 8.
However, instead of a Dale Earnhardt Jr. throwback, Diaz will pay tribute to Earnhardt’s grandfather, Ralph Earnhardt.
Why honor the Earnhardt family’s first-generation racer?
“I have a white car prior and it was a white scheme,” Diaz told SPEED SPORT. “I also went back to prior (track) champions, I wanted to do a late model stock guy. And this is one of his sportsman cars which he had four championships (with).”
Diaz’s car will pay tribute to Earnhardt’s four track championships at the .363-mile track in Hickory, N.C.
Earnhardt claimed the titles in back-to-back seasons in 1953 and ’54 and then again in ’56 and ’57.
“He had a lot of success at Hickory,” Diaz said. “I wanted to do someone that other fans would know of that is a Hickory past champion. Being the Earnhardt last name, a lot of people are gonna realize it or recognize it.”
Diaz will be going for his fourth career win at Hickory Motor Speedway. He won the Fall Brawl there in 2021 and also swept two races in another visit.
He’ll try to better his result from last year’s Throwback 276.
Driving a paint scheme based on one from his father’s Legends car career, Diaz finished second to Josh Berry by about half a car length.
Berry won’t be in this year’s edition of the race. He’ll be busy at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course with his full-time racing duties for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
However, Diaz wishes Berry was returning for a rematch on the historic short track.
“I want a repeat of last year, but I want to beat him this year,” Diaz said. “I want him to race. He only makes us better. I’d like to redo what we did last year and, hopefully, come up one spot better.”
The Throwback 276 features both the Late Model Stock division and Pro Late Models and will be broadcast LIVE by SPEED SPORT affiliate CARSTour.tv.