"It's so awful", "Not identical to Jeff’s"- NASCAR fanbase reacts to Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron's Darlington paint scheme reveal 

Ahead of the throwback weekend at the upcoming Goodyear 400 race, Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron's #24 Chevy has donned the much-awaited Jeff Gordon throwback paint scheme. Nonetheless, the revelation didn't sit well with the fans as they reacted to the HMS' final Darlington reveal.

The nearly decade-old tradition of hosting NASCAR races at the Darlington Raceway, with classic paint schemes revisiting the grassroots of NASCAR, has become a norm in the realm of the high-octane motorsport. This year's theme is 'Celebrate our Roots through Grassroots Racing,' which is aimed at respecting the roots of the famed drivers, team owners, and NASCAR personnel.

A few days back, the North Carolina-based outfit revealed three of their cars, which was highly praised by the fanbase. However, William Byron's paint scheme reveal was yet to surface and speculations arose of it being a Jeff Gordon-inspired paint scheme.

Moving forward, NASCAR announced that Hendrick Motorsports driver's #24 Chevy would be donning Jeff Gordon's 2009 throwback scheme, but the revelation disappointed the fanbase as they quickly noticed the inconsistencies and opined on the flawed paint scheme.

One fan didn't like the "Firestorm" paint scheme and wrote:

"It's so awful hahah"

Another fan dived into the minute details of the car and highlighted how it's different from Jeff Gordon's 2009 paint scheme and commented:

"Nice tribute, but definitely not identical to Jeff’s. The transition between the yellow and red is supposed to be seem less and the rear deck lid and bumper are supposed to be painted, not black."

One fan expressed their desire for a better work on the #24 Chevrolet and wrote:

"This could have been so much better"

This fan shared a comparison image of Gordon's and Byron's car and added their thoughts:

"Regardless if it’s not EXACT It still looks good and looks very identical"

One fan outrightly negated the fact of the #24 Chevy being Jeff Gordon's 2009 throwback paint scheme and wrote:

"It’s more like they made the front the half the 2013 axalta and the rear half 2014 axalta it’s got nothing to do with 2009"

Another fan expressed their displeasure at Hendrick Motorsports, citing:

"So disappointed"

A look into Hendrick Motorsports' Darlington paint scheme for the Goodyear 400

The Darlington Raceway will host the Goodyear 400 on May 12 and the drivers will battle for the highly-coveted win in the throwback paint schemes. The 13th Cup Series weekend will witness a 400.238-mile race spanning 293 laps.

Before the upcoming Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway on May 5, Hendrick Motorsports has finalized all its paint schemes for the Darlington race. Kyle Larson's #5 Chevy will be wrapped underneath Terry Labonte's throwback scheme, followed by Chase Elliott's #9 Chevrolet Camaro, which will don legendary driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s 2014 paint scheme.

7x Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson's throwback paint scheme will be seen on the #48 Chevy of Alex Bowman, and the recently devised appearance of William Byron's "Firestorm-" inspired car from Jeff Gordon's 2009 paint scheme will be witnessed in action at the 1.366-mile asphalt.