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Random thoughts on NASCAR heading into Labor Day weekend:

Throwback time: Eleven years later, NASCAR has restored a tradition by scheduling a Labor Day Sunday race back at Darlington Raceway. There are many fans who have held a grudge against the sanctioning body all those year for moving the Southern 500 away from Darlington.

What made it even worse, for the majority of fans, was shifting a traditional race to Southern California in a move to try and expand revenue and the fan base. After a seven-year run at California/Auto Club Speedway, NASCAR made an adjustment and gained a second date in Chicago while track owner International Speedway Corp. gained a casino in Kansas.

To celebrate the return, many teams will have throwback paint schemes, sure to trigger many memories for those in the stands and those watching on television. To date, a total of 29 drivers ill sport retrospective looks.

From a personal perspective, the ones I'm looking forward to viewing are the No. 22 Tide scheme for Josh Wise; the old Petty STP color for No. 43 Aric Almirola; the Mello Yello look for No. 42 Kyle Larson (but will Tom Cruise show up as Cole Trickle?); and the No. 6 for Trevor Bayne that sparks memories of Mark Martin.

Double points: For years, Indy Car captured the imagination of the country, primarily because of the Indianapolis 500 and the lack of big-time stock car racing. Not only did the Indy 500 (“The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”) have history, but also great drivers.

Some of the drivers came from NASCAR, as did the Woods Brothers pit crew. It was that appearance that changed how pit stops were looked upon in all of racing.

That was yesterday. NASCAR has surpassed the open-wheel series in not only interest among fans, but in virtually every other aspect. It's no contest in television ratings and in implementing a successful formula to determine a season champion.

IndyCar has misstepped several times over the past few years. Perhaps the biggest was to reward double points for races on its schedule, including most 500-mile races. This year, the Verizon IndyCar Series finished (before Labor Day, another grave mistake) last Sunday with a double points race at Sonoma.

We can be thankful that NASCAR has not followed that route. The sanctioning body has determined that all races are of equal value, even though the season-finale at Homestead is focused on the four drivers who have reached the finals. NASCAR has not created anything artificial by issuing double points.

Say what you mean: Two weeks at the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Mid-Ohio, Regan Smith turned Alex Tagliani on the last turn to win the event. Many fans thought it was part of the racin' and rubbin' that is common in stock car racing.

Tagliani, who has made a name for himself in open-wheel competition, wasn't happy with the move. He said at the time he wouldn't do what Smith did to win a race.

This past Sunday, Tagliani proved to be a man of his word. He could have pushed eventual winner Erik Jones out of the way in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and taken the checkered flag. Tagliani felt he had enough time to do it cleanly, but a gear issue got in the way..

"If I would have stayed where I was he would have been gone in (Turn) 5B," Tagliani said. "I don't drive that way. I just want to continue the trend."

Prior to the race, Jones and Tagliani shares thoughts sharing a truck ride before the race.

“We had a pretty long talk about racing people the way you want to be raced,” Jones said. “I've never been one to want to move somebody to win a race, and he hasn't, either. It's nice to see that respect, especially from a veteran like that to me.

"It's not something he had to do. It means a lot to me that he did."

And good to see a man keep his word, even at the sake of a win.