Category: throwback thursday

By David G. Firestone

Sterling Marlin returns in his Raybestos Ford Thunderbird from 1993

Raybestos used to be a much more involved sponsor in NASCAR than they are now. Another really good shade of blue, and the white design on the hood and decklid looks good, but the roof is still blue. If the roof were white, and matched the hood and decklid, they would look better. The Raybestos logo isn’t cut off by the wheel well, and it looks good. It’s a great scheme, but the white roof would look even better.

By David G. Firestone

Troy Beebe is making a run for the border in his 1991 Taco Bell Chevy Lumina

One logo I really miss is that old Taco Bell logo. That logo looks really good on the car. The shade of yellow they use is really good, and the red door numbers and logos look really good too, though I don’t particularly like the white outline of the door numbers. The white hood and top look decent, though I wish they would have had the yellow stay on the sides. Not a bad look at all.

By David G. Firestone

Future Daytona 500 winner Sterling Marlin’s 1991 Maxwell House Ford Thunderbird is our subject this week.

The two shades of blue look good, and the gold stripe separating them is a really good look. It’s a bold move that looks really good. The numbers without borders look really good too. My only complaint about this paint scheme is the small amount of the bottom logo that has been cut off by the wheel well. Other than that’ its a solid scheme.

By David G. Firestone

Pennzoil returns, this time on Michael Waltrip’s 1991 Pontiac Grand Prix.

I’m weirdly particular about shades of yellow in NASCAR. I don’t get upity about any other color as much as I do about yellow. It’s a hard color to have as a base color, because if the shade is too bright, as visible as it is, it just doesn’t look good. That said, this particular shade is bright, but not too bright, and it’s unique. It looks really good. I like the red door numbers too. The logo getting cut off by the wheel well annoys me, not just this car, but race cars in general. It’s visually distracting, and doesn’t look good at all. This is a really good look, and a really good car.

By David G. Firestone

The best driver to never win a championship Mark Martin races in his 1991 Folgers Ford Thunderbird this week.

Red, metallic gold, and white is always a great combination. I think metallic gold should be used more on race cars. The two-stripe design works well, but I don’t like the fact that the top stripe is interrupted by the window. The Folgers logo cut off by the wheel well, and fuel intake is annoying, and the over-sized Valvoline logo looks a little out of place. I also don’t like the black drop shadow on the white door number. A decent scheme, but there is a lot that can be improved it.

By David G. Firestone

Bill Elliott drives his pre-Silver Bullet Coors Light Ford Thunderbird in 1991.

Bill’s Coors Ford was an iconic scheme, and the blue version looks pretty good too. The shade of blue looks good, and does the shade of red. The diagonal stripe on the rear looks good, and the Coors Light logo isn’t cut off by the wheel well. I think that the door number should be bigger, though it does look really good. I do like the fact that advertisers, at that time, didn’t really know what to do with the B-posts, and so it’s almost always the team name and/or car manufacturer.

By David G. Firestone

Dave Marcus is paying tribute to the United States Coast Guard in his 1991 Chevy Lumina.

The aqua works well with the sponsor, and the red and white stripes look good too. The door numbers look better on the door than on the roof for some reason. The black border doesn’t look good on the numbers. I do like the “We Support the Troops” motif on the back bumper. I also like the fact that the rear logo doesn’t really get cut off by the wheel well. I also like the Dave Marcus signature on the name rail.

By David G. Firestone

In his last season for Raymond Beadle, Rusty Wallace poses with his Miller Genuine Draft Pontiac Grand Prix in 1990.

The metallic gold, red, and black scheme works quite well. The metallic gold numbers look good, but the black outline is bad, and it makes the car look odd. The bottom stripes look good, and it’s a very smooth look. The rear logo is good, and isn’t cut off from by the wheel well. I also like the decals of the headlights. I like this look.

By David G. Firestone

1990 Rookie of the Year Rob Moroso poses with his Crown Oil Oldsmobile Cutlass.

I like the color scheme, that is a great shade of blue. The red is good too. I like the stripe up the side, that turns diagonal at the wheel well. I don’t like the fact that the Crown logo is cut off by the wheel well. It isn’t a good look at all. I do like the minuscule outline on the door numbers and the side lettering. I like the OLDS on the B post, and CUTLASS SUPREME on the windshield banner. It’s a good looking car.

By David G. Firestone

Upset winner of the 1990 Daytona 500 Derrike Cope poses with his Purolator Chevy Lumina before the race.

Another odd shade of red, a bit too light to be red, but not light enough to be pink. The #10 has an odd fade design, that clashes with the rest of the car. It’s not a bad look, but it’s out of place on this car. The checkered design looks good on the back of the car. I would prefer the side lettering would be red, rather than blue, it does clash with the car design. The one thing I don’t understand is the checkered pattern on the hood. It just doesn’t look good at all.