By David G. Firestone

When I did The Paint Schemies last year, I also did a Top 10 list of Sponsors I Miss In NASCAR. Number 7 was Tide detergent. Tide was a major sponsor of NASCAR from the 1980’s to the mid 2000’s. That orange, yellow, white and blue car was distinctive without going too far. The scheme never evolved because it didn’t have to. It was one of the best schemes ever.

Like The Family Channel and Kodiak, I sometimes buy racing stuff because it is from the Tide Ride. Started in 1987, the “Tide Ride” was a staple in the Sprint Cup Series, and was used heavily until 2006, when the sponsorship left PPI Racing, and wasn’t seen in NASCAR since. Some of the most memorable Tide Ride moments were the 1989 Daytona 500 where Darrell Waltrip did the Icky Shuffle in victory lane, the 1997 Brickyard 400 won by Ricky Rudd, and the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 which is tied as the closest race in NASCAR history, won by Ricky Craven over Kurt Busch.

One of my favorite items is a Bobby Hamilton driver suit circa 2004-2005. This design can be seen in photos from 2004 and 2005, so I’m not exactly sure when it was used. Unlike most suits I have seen, it has the car number on the collar. It has a white top, and on the torso logo, there is a yellow and blue stripe in a diagonal arrangement. On the back of the suit, the Tide logo is on the same place in the front, with the same stripe pattern as the front. The belt has Bobby Hamilton Jr. on the front and http://www.ppi-racing.com on the back.  The suit has no TV logos on the sleeves or legs.

Ricky Rudd was Tide’s driver in the 1990’s, and there is a lot of Rudd merchandise. For example, this Simpson mini helmet from the late 1990’s. It is a perfect replica of his late 1990’s helmet, but in a 1/4 scale. This Ricky Rudd 1/24 scale die-cast from 1998 goes with it…

The last Tide Ride item I have is this 1:87 replica hauler. This was a perfect replica of what Ricky used during his time with Hendrick and was sponsored by Tide.

Now we move on to…

PAINT SCHEME REVIEWS!  

Before we start, I have something I need to address, earlier this week, I discussed why I did not like the new paint scheme elements for the Chase drivers. I thought a long time about how I would approach this in the paint scheme grades, and decided that since the drivers were forced into this situation, that I would not hold it against them in the grading rules. So the Chase schemes, unless they are new schemes will not be affected since this was not of their choosing.

We have a couple of 2015 schemes, courtesy of Joe Gibbs Racing

Carl Edwards #19 Stanley/DeWalt Toyota Camry The color scheme is good, the side design could be a little more toned down, and again, I’m taking this with a grain of salt, since there can be design changes before the season starts, but this is a solid B+ design.

Matt Keseth #20 DeWalt/Stanley Toyota Camry…The Killer Bees have returned! Good solid design with a great color scheme earns an A+, and like Carl Edwards above, I’m taking it with a grain of salt.

Now on to the 2014 Schemes…

Jamie McMurray #1 Belkin/WEMO Chevy SS Lime green does not work on a race car. It has a good design scheme but the color scheme is awful! I can’t help but give it a D-

Kevin Harvick #4 Budweiser Designate a Driver Chevy SS Good color scheme, decent design scheme, A

Michael Annett #7 Cypress HQ Chevy SS No. Redeeming. Design. Elements. Whatsoever. F.

Michael Annett #7 Golden Coral/Feed the Children Chevy SS See Above. F.

David Ragan #34 Clean Harbors Ford Fusion Same scheme as The Pete Store, same A+ Grade

David Gilliland #38 Love’s Truck Stops Ford Fusion The only bad thing I can say about this scheme is I don’t like the back bumper design. Other than that, great color scheme and reasonably simple design. Final Grade: B+

David Gilliland #38 Love’s Truck Stops/Jack Czapla Ford Fusion See Above

Justin Allgaier #51 Plan B Sales Chevy SS See Michael Annett above. F

Home  Beer Brew Project:Final Update

After two weeks of brewing, and two weeks of carbonation, I finally got to enjoy the fruits of my labor.  After work last night, I cracked one of these babies open, and I have to say that it was really good!  I will definitive do this again!