By David G. Firestone

The Driver Suit Blog Paint Scheme Review Committee has met again, and after the latest round of negotiations, meetings, and belly rubs, we have released our rankings on Ford’s paint scheme ratings for 2018. Here we go:

1. Michael McDowell #34 Ford Fusion

Number of Schemes:14

Rank Last Year: 10^th of 14

GPA: 4.00

14 schemes, 14 A grades, need I say more? Ok, I will say more. Michael McDowell had nothing but schemes that looked great. While his on-track results sadly don’t match how great his schemes were, he had a great looking year.

2. Kurt Busch #41 Ford Fusion

Number of Schemes: 6

Rank Last Year: 2^nd of 14

GPA: 3.88

Sadly, the Slate Water Heaters scheme took what could have been a perfect year down to a 3.88. Still, an A- average still isn’t bad. Kurt had a lot of great schemes this year.

4. Ryan Blaney #12 Ford Fusion

Number of Schemes: 15

Rank Last Year: N/A

GPA: 3.84

The new Menard’s template looks amazing, and it was used to great effect on the #12. Sadly, the Quaker State was the turd in the punch bowl here. Like Slate Water Heaters, this scheme to a solid 4.0 GPA down to a 3.84 GPA. An A- is still good, but it’s not a solid A.

5. Rick Ware Racing #52 Chevy Camaro/Ford Fusion

Number of Schemes: 5

Rank Last Year:N/A

GPA: 3.80

A series of different drivers raced a series of different paint schemes in 2018. All of these schemes were good, some better than others. The Live Hotel and Casino and Jacob Companies entries could have used some work, but as a whole, a very solid year.

6. Kevin Harvick #4 Ford Fusion

Number of Schemes: 10

Rank Last Year: 4^th of 14

GPA: 3.73

Busch Outdoors was a bad move, and the ¾ + ¼ Mobil 1 and Busch scheme didn’t help an otherwise solid scheme season. Many of the schemes were rehashes of great schemes from last year. Bottom line is that Kevin Harvick had some great schemes in 2018

7. Paul Menard #21 Ford Fusion

Number of Schemes: 19

Rank Last Year: 1^st of 14

GPA: 3.72

The new Menard’s template looks amazing, and it was used to great effect on the #21. Sadly, the Quaker State was the turd in the punch bowl here. Like Slate Water Heaters, this scheme to a solid 4.0 GPA down to a 3.72 GPA. An A- is still good, but it’s not a solid A.

8. Roush Racing #6 Ford Fusion

Number of Schemes: 13

Rank Last Year: 7^th of 14

GPA: 3.46

Performance Plus and Ford EcoBoost always looks bad. Oscar Meyer didn’t look great. Constatine Sealing, Advocare Rehydrate, Wyndham Rewards Patriotic look even worse. NESN and a pinkwashing scheme drag the GPA down even more. The #6 had a lot of great schemes this year, but a lot of not great schemes, so they look even worse.

9. David Ragan #38 Ford Fusion

Number of Schemes: 16

Rank Last Year: 6^th of 14

GPA: 3.38

Earthwater,FR8 Auctions and 1000 were awful, as always. Connor Co was slightly better, but not by much. The rest of the schemes used the Front Row template, which is very effective in delivering a unique look, that isn’t over designed.

10. Clint Bowyer #14 Ford Fusion

Number of Schemes: 19

Rank Last Year: 3^rd of 14

GPA: 3.32

The Hall of Fans and Tony Stewart Fan club schemes weren’t great. Wix was even worse. There were also a lot of schemes that could have been solid A schemes, with some minor adjustments. Clint Bowyer had a good year, but he could have had a great year in 2018.

11. MBM Motorsports #66 Chevy Camaro/Ford Fusion/Toyota Camry

Number of Schemes: 12

Rank Last Year: N/A

GPA: 3.27

The Rewards.com, and the Rewards.com throwback weren’t the best. Other than those two, there were a lot of A, A-, and B+ schemes this year. But the numbers don’t lie, and the average is a 3.27. In years past, this could have been a higher rank, but this year isn’t a high rank.

12. Brad Keselowski #2 Ford Fusion

Number of Schemes: 14

Rank Last Year: 5^th of 14

GPA: 3.13

The Penske template can be very tricky to work with, in terms of color schemes. Auto Trader was awful, as it always is, and there were a few other schemes that needed work. Other than that, the schemes as a whole were great.

13. Aric Almirola #10 Ford Fusion

Number of Schemes: 11

Rank Last Year: 13^th of 14

GPA: 3.03

The Waffle House, the Smithfield Patriotic, and the Smithfield Anytime schemes were bad. Helping Hungry Homes could have been better but it wasn’t awful. The rest of the schemes were quite good, but, as always, the bad drags down the good.

14. Rick Ware Racing #51 Chevy Camaro/Ford Fusion

Number of Schemes: 22

Rank Last Year: N/A

GPA: 2.95

The #51’s schemes were all over the place. Some schemes were amazing, some were awful. The Jacob Companies had more different schemes this year than any singular company. The averages are what they are, and the rank is what it is.

15. Matt DiBenedetto #32 Ford Fusion

Number of Schemes: 16

Rank Last Year: 14^th of 14

GPA: 2.91

Can Am/Wholey is a bold and unique look. Too bad it’s not a good look. Add in that the scheme was reused for a political sponsorship for Shawn Moody, a candidate for the governor of Maine. Add in a pinkwashing scheme, and some awful poker schemes, and you have a low GPA for 2018.

16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Ford Fusion

Number of Schemes: 10

Rank Last Year: 12^th of 14

GPA: 2.74

Much more bad than good for Ricky this year. Little Hug Fruit Barrels, Sunny D, a pinkwashing and two bad Ford schemes were the lead here. Fastenal, the Fastenal patriotic, and the John Deere throwback were great, but this was not a good year for Ricky’s paint scheme.

17. Ricky Benton Racing #92 Ford Fusion

Number of Schemes: 2

Rank Last Year:N/A

GPA: 2.50

The Carquest/Black’s tire scheme was bad. It was clearly designed by two different people with different ideas on how the car should look. The template was recycled for the Advance Auto P

18. Joey Logano #22 Ford Fusion

Number of Schemes: 7

Rank Last Year: 11^th of 14

GPA: 1.95

Joey Logano is champion, and he looked horrible for most of the year. The Shell/Pennzoil, Auto Trader, and AAA schemes, were their usual ugly messes, and while Pennzoil was a high point, and the throwback a higher point, the fact that the Cup Champion can’t even get a solid 2.00 GPA for 2018 says a lot.

Next week, the Toyota Leaderboard.

By David G. Firestone

Well, it’s that time of year again. Christmas music is in all the stores and on the radio. Egg nog is available for purchase. The racing season has ended, and The Driver Suit Blog Paint Scheme Review Committee has met again. The Committee consists of myself, Lucy the Beagle, and Alejandro the cat. During our meeting Lucy and Alejandro fell asleep, so I did the heavy lifting. So here are the Paint Scheme Leaderboards for Chevy in the Cup Series in 2018

1. Beard Oil Motorsports #62 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 1

Rank Last Year: 1^st of 23

GPA: 4.00

One singular scheme raced for four races, and it has a great design. It’s bold, but not over designed. It’s a great look.

2. Rick Ware Racing #52 Chevy Camaro/Ford Fusion

Number of Schemes: 5

Rank Last Year: N/A

GPA: 3.80

A series of different drivers raced a series of different paint schemes in 2018. All of these schemes were good, some better than others. The Live Hotel and Casino and Jacob Companies entries could have used some work, but as a whole, a very solid year.

3. Jimmie Johnson #48 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 6

Rank Last Year: 23^rd of 23

GPA: 3.61

Jimmie had 5 solid A schemes this year, which looked great, and weren’t over designed. Sadly, The Jimmie Johnson Foundation scheme was awful. The Jimmie Johnson Foundation was an ugly, over designed mess, with a bad color scheme, as opposed to the other schemes raced. This scheme was so bad, it took Jimmie’s GPA from 4 to 3.61.

4. Jamie McMurray #1 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 16

Rank Last Year: 8^th of 23

GPA: 3.48

The schemes were all passable schemes, but the DC Solar patriotic schemes, the Clover schemes, and DC Solar weren’t great, and dragged Jamie’s GPA down to just above a B+. Cessna, and McDonald’s were great.

5. Darrell Wallace Jr. #43 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 20

Rank Last Year: N/A

GPA: 3.47

The STP, Mile 22, and Food Lion Feeds schemes were slightly over designed. and World Wide Technology was mediocre at best, and Kroger Red, White and Barbecue was a disaster. Other than that, Darrell Wallace Jr. had a great season, paint scheme-wise. He had a lot of great looks, and a really great throwback.

6. Premium Motorsports #55 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 7

Rank Last Year: 6^th of 23

GPA: 3.40

Another potential 4.0 scheme ruined by a series of bad grades, including Nevada Donor, the car the following week, and Black Riffle Coffee. Adirondack Tree Surgeons was horrible. Averaging out the grades gives the #55 a 3.40.

7. William Byron #24 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 10

Rank Last Year: 12^th of 23

GPA: 3.37

The year started off promising, with 4 A schemes introduced at the beginning of the season. There was a definite drop off as the season progressed, with Uni First, and Hertz, though Hertz would redeem themselves. Then came the disaster that is Axalta/Imron, and that was what dragged the GPA down even more.

8. MBM Motorsports #66 Chevy Camaro/Ford Fusion/Toyota Camry

Number of Schemes: 12

Rank Last Year: 21^st of 23

GPA: 3.27

The Rewards.com, and the Rewards.com throwback weren’t the best. Other than those two, there were a lot of A, A-, and B+ schemes this year. But the numbers don’t lie, and the average is a 3.27. In years past, this could have been a higher rank, but this year isn’t a high rank.

9. Austin Dillon #3 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 17

Rank Last Year: 14^th of 23

GPA: 3.20

A lot of great, a lot of meh, and some awful. Scooper Cat Litter was awful. American Ethanol, Symbicort, and Dow/Molykote were mediocre. Dow Killz needed work, and while the rest of the schemes were solid, the bad drags down the good here.

10. Premium Motorsports #15 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 16

Rank Last Year: 11^th of 23

GPA: 3.13

Low T Center, which never has a good scheme, Go Pro Motorsports, and Championship Machinery were the real stinkers here. Amazingly, there were a lot of A schemes, but those three schemes dragged the GPA down a lot.

11. Chris Buescher #37 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 24

Rank Last Year: 5^th of 23

GPA: 3.00

Chris Buescher raced a lot of schemes, and they were all over the place. While the Natural Light Resume scheme was a bad idea all around, there were a lot of schemes that were bad, but with some work could be better. The final GPA however was much lower that it could have been at a 4, but he only got a 3.

12. Rick Ware Racing #51 Chevy Camaro/Ford Fusion

Number of Schemes: 22

Rank Last Year: 9^th of 23

GPA: 2.95

The #51’s schemes were all over the place. Some schemes were amazing, some were awful. The Jacob Companies had more different schemes this year than any singular company. The averages are what they are, and the rank is what it is.

13. Premium Motorsports #7 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 10

Rank Last Year: N/A

GPA: 2.91

I get that the #7 is also used for the #15 and #55. However, I’m going to have the #7 as it’s own number. NY Racing will be a separate entry. There was a lot of bad to awful schemes on the 7 this year. This just wasn’t a great year for the #7. Sure there were a few good schemes, but not as many as bad schemes.

14. StarCom Racing #99 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 10

Rank Last Year: N/A

GPA: 2.91

International Marine had a couple of awful schemes. For some reason, the #99 had the really awful Rewards.com Darrell Waltrip throwback. StarCom Fiber’s scheme was bad, but their patriotic scheme was slightly better. It wasn’t a great year for the new team.

15. Chase Elliott #9 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 12

Rank Last Year: N/A

GPA: 2.78

Sun Energy was awful, though they did redeem themselves later in the year. Little Ceaser’s, Mountain Dew, Baja Blast, the second Sun Energy, and NAPA Nightvision were great. Other than that, the schemes were decent, but could have bee great.

16. Ryan Newman #31 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 20

Rank Last Year: 10^th of 23

GPA: 2.77

Ryan’s schemes were all over the place this year. Some were really great, including some of CATERPILLAR’s schemes, and the throwback. Others were awful, such as Liberty National and Lucas Oil. But there was a lot more bad than good.

17. Alex Bowman #88 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 9

Rank Last Year: 16^th of 23

GPA: 2.76

The Axalta scheme was awful, as was the Church Brothers scheme. The Philadelphia Eagles scheme was ill-advised, as was the Llumar, and Nationwide schemes, but they weren’t awful. It was a decent year, but it could have been a lot better.

18. Gaunt Brother Racing #96 Chevy Camaro/Toyota Camry

Number of Schemes: 11

Rank Last Year: 19^th of 23

GPA: 2.73

Ik9 had some great looks this year. The Dale Earnhardt Sr. Throwback was great, as was Northern Provincial. There were some bad looks, but the season as a whole was decent. It could have been better, but it was just decent.

19. Tri Star Motorsports #72 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 17

Rank Last Year: 18^th of 23

GPA: 2.71

Tri Star was all over the place this year. Zomongo, Monarch Crypto Wallet, ARK Custom Blockchain, and both Schluter Systems schemes were awful. There were some highlights, including So Cal Chevy, Winn Dixie, BCT Blockchain, and Gas Monkey Garage. There was also a lot of meh schemes. I’ve reluctantly accepted the door number designs, but I’m not accepting some of the paint schemes from the #72.

20. NY Racing Team #7 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 1

Rank Last Year:N/A

GPA: 2.70

One scheme that was decent, but not great, but not awful. That sums up the season for NY Racing, and their one paint scheme.

21. Leavine Family Racing #95 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 15

Rank Last Year: 13^th of 23

GPA: 2.53

Kasey’s schemes could be great when they had to. They were bad because he wanted them to be. His schemes were mostly pointlessly over designed, and looked awful. There were some good schemes, but the good and bad led to a bad average.

22. Kyle Larson #42 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 14

Rank Last Year: 20^th of 23

GPA: 2.52

Kyle’s schemes were much more over designed than Jamie McMurray’s schemes. The awful Clover scheme found its way on to Kyle’s car. Add in that DC Solar had numerous different designs, and they were all bad in their own way, as well as many that could have been improved, and you have a low GPA for 2018.

23. StarCom Racing #00 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 21

Rank Last Year: 22^nd of 23

GPA: 2.42

Another example of a series of schemes that are all over the place. There are too many different ones to mention individually, but almost every grade in the spectrum is represented, and when averaged out, the #00 gets a 2.42.

24. Ty Dillon #13 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 4

Rank Last Year: 15^th of 23

GPA: 2.35

The Twisted Tea scheme was great. The Throwback scheme was good, certainly better than the Geico scheme, which is still the same mess it was last year. The Geico patriotic scheme is self-serving, with the outline of the Geico gecko used as a camoflage pattern. The #13 just doesn’t look good.

25. Daniel Hemric #8 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 1

Rank Last Year:N/A

GPA: 2.30

The Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff scheme isn’t great, but it’s not awful. That’s really all there is to be said.

26. AJ Allmendinger #47 Chevy Camaro

Number of Schemes: 2

Rank Last Year: 7^th of 23

GPA: 1.90

Kroger was not a great scheme used for most of the year. The only other scheme used was the throwback, but that wasn’t good enough to get a solid A, only an A-. The two schemes averaged only a 1.90.

Next Week, the Ford Paint Scheme Leaderboard.

By David G. Firestone

With the 2018 NASCAR season behind us, I’m happy to present the 5th Annual Driver Suit Blog Paint Schemie Awards! Regular readers know about this, but I’ll discuss this again. Every year, I pick the best and worst paint schemes and award them the Paint Schemie. This was done using the Driver Suit Blog executive committee for paint scheme analysis and consists of me and Driver Suit Blog assistant, my cat Alejandro, and uses the following standards:

Color Scheme:How the colors look, and how they work with each other.

Overall Design:How good the design itself looks, is there too much, or not enough.

Primary Sponsor Logos: How the primary sponsor logos look on the car

Originality: How original is the scheme.

All of the above can work for or against a scheme, and all will be taken into consideration.

Let’s get the bad Paint Scheme Awards out of the way…

First, the Paint Schemie Award for Worst Regular Season Single Paint Scheme.

The nominees are:

Landon Cassill #00 Mane ‘n Tall Chevy Camaro

Chase Elliott #9 Sun Energy Chevy Camaro

Ty Dillon #13 Geico Military Chevy Camaro

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Sunny D Ford Fusion

Kyle Busch #18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry

Erik Jones #20 Toyota Toyota Camry

Gray Gaulding #23 Toyota Camry

Matt DiBenedetto #32 Can Am/Kappa Ford Fusion

David Ragan #38 FR8 Auctions Ford Fusion

The 2018 Paint Schemie Award for Worst Regular Season Single Paint Scheme goes to:

Kyle Busch #18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry

The next Paint Schemie Award is for Exhibition or Throwback Paint Schemes. This category is a little different, as the Schemie will go to the best and worst throwback. For this category, all exhibition race and throwback paint schemes qualify automatically.

The 2018 Paint Schemie Award for Worst Exhibition or Throwback Paint Schemes goes to…

Timmy Hill #66 Rewards.com Throwback Toyota Camry

The next award of 2018 is the Paint Schemie for Worst Paint Scheme Set of 2018. The nominees are:

Denny Hamlin #11 Toyota Camry

Daniel Hemric #8 Chevy Camaro

Germain Racing #13 Chevy Camaro

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Ford Fusion

Daniel Suarez #19 Toyota Camry

Joey Logano #22 Ford Fusion

BK Racing #23 Toyota Camry

A.J. Allmendinger #47 Chevy Camaro

Ricky Benton Racing #92 Ford Fusion

The 2018 Paint Schemie Award for for Worst Paint Scheme Set goes to…

BK Racing #23 Toyota Camry

Now after talking about the bad, we discuss the good. Here are the winners in the best category…

First, the Paint Schemie Award for Best Regular Season Single Paint Scheme.

The nominees for the 2018 Paint Schemie Award for for Best Regular Season Single Paint Scheme are:

Brad Keselowski #2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Ford Fusion

Chase Elliott #9 Mountain Dew Chevy Camaro

Aric Almirola #10 Smithfield Bacon for Life Ford Fusion

Kyle Busch #18 M&M’s Toyota Camry

Daniel Suarez #19 Coca Cola Toyota Camry

William Byron #24 Axalta Chevy Camaro

Ryan Newman #31 eBay Motors Chevy Camaro

David Starr #97 Toyota Camry

The 2018 Paint Schemie Award for for Best Regular Season Single Paint Scheme goes to…

Daniel Suarez #19 Coca Cola Toyota Camry

The next category is Paint Schemie Award is for Best Exhibition or Throwback Paint Schemes, and it should come as no surprise that the competition was strong this year.

The 2018 Paint Schemie Award for Best Throwback Scheme of 2017 goes to…

Austin Dillon #3 American Ethanol Throwback Chevy SS

The final award of 2018 is the Paint Schemie for Best Paint Scheme Set of 2018. The nominees are:

Kevin Harvick #4 Ford Fusion

Erik Jones #20 Toyota Camry

Paul Menard #21 Ford Fusion

Michael McDowell #34 Ford Fusion

Kurt Busch #41 Ford Fusion

Jimmie Johnson #48 Chevy Camaro

Rick Ware Racing #52 Chevy Camaro

Beard Oil Motorsports #62 Chevy Camaro

MBM Motorsports #66 Toyota Camry

Obaika Racing #97 Toyota Camry

The 2018 Paint Schemie Award for for Best Paint Scheme Set goes to…

Michael McDowell #34 Ford Fusion

That’s it for the Schemies, next week, the Paint Scheme Leaderboard begins with Chevy!