For our season 12 finale, we will examine a Bobby Hamilton Tide driver suit circa 2004-2005.
The Driver Suit Blog-Repica Helmets, and Why We Need Them In Racing Part Deux
[Editor’s Note: This post was originally scheduled for August 16, however given the events the previous week, I made the decision to postpone this article until after Tony Stewart returned to racing. Like I did with a previous article, I will dedicate this to the memory of Kevin Ward Jr. DGF]
By David G. Firestone
I recently discussed why we need replica helmets in auto racing. Well since then, I came across some more replica helmets, and I decided that we should continue the discussion. This week, we will look at NASCAR replica helmets. NFL and MLB have replica helmets and they are popular as collector items. But when it comes to auto racing, there is next to nothing. Helmets in racing are designed in a similar vain to goalie masks in hockey. They are custom painted to the driver’s specifications. They are used to identify the driver in F1 and IndyCar. Why replica helmets are not more widely available is a mystery to me.
In many instances, the replicas are made by the company that makes the helmet. They are made in a number of sizes, 1/4, 1/2, and full size, as shown here:
Nowhere is this more obvious than Tony Stewart and Simpson. Tony Stewart is extremely loyal to Simpson. He has worn Simpson suits for his entire career, and will talk about how much he likes them. Simpson has made a number of replica helmets for him, like this bright orange full size helmet,
and this 1/2 scale red chrome helmet.
The full-size helmet was released after his 2005 Nextel Cup Championship. It is designed with Stewart’s flame pattern and sponsor decals. It also has the BEAM Designs logo. 
BEAM Designs is a prolific helmet designed in auto racing, having designed helmets for Stewart, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Jimmie Johnson and others. It is very nicely detailed, and the design looks amazing! 
The 1/2 scale red chrome helmet is also based on a design Tony Stewart used, again it is very nicely detailed. It again shows the BEAM logo, 
and unlike its full-sized counterpart, it has a ventilation port on the left side. 
These are popular to get signed, and often appear on eBay.
Riddell Helmets, who up until this season was the supplier of replica helmets to the NFL, made a number of replica helmets for NASCAR, and they did a Tony Stewart helmet, this one plain orange, with Home Depot logos on the visor and sides. They often appear on eBay signed by Stewart, Joey Logano, and Matt Kenseth. It’s plain, but it does work.
In 2001, en route to his first Winston Cup Championship, Tony Stewart raced a Jurassic Park III scheme at the Pepsi 400, where he finished 26th. He had a matching driver suit and helmet. The helmet was recreated by Action, one of a number of companies that made replica die casts. It is very detailed for its small size, and it looks really good.
Replica helmets are awesome, and I think they should be marketed and sold to fans more. Fans like them, they like to get them autographed. I will elaborate more next week.
NEW LOGO ALERT!
As I mentioned durring my paint scheme grades on Friday, the new Xfinity Series logo for 2015 was unveiled yesterday. I was wondering what they were going to do with the logo, so here are my thoughts. First, I like that they are sticking with what I call the slanting oval logo, I think it’s unique and looks good. It does kinda remind me of the Carolina Hurricanes logo. Second, the white background with red lettering works very well, it makes the logos visible, much more so than a red background. Third, the lack of design clutter gives it a very nice look. I like this logo, and I hope they don’t change it.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
You have probably noticed the changes to the format as of late, and there will be one more major change starting next week. After this week, I will move the uniform/memorabilia articles to Friday, and move the paint scheme grades to Saturday. This is a practicality change due to the fact that I write the normal articles in advance, but paint scheme grades are done on the fly. Since many paint schemes are not seen by the general public until Friday afternoon, running the grades on Friday morning makes no sense. So here is what the format will look like starting on Monday: Mondays-thoughts on the racing weekend. After the season ends, I will discuss off season news, as well as uniform and/or memorabilia news. I will also add racing memorabilia videos as well on Mondays. Wednesday: 2015 Paint Scheme Tracker-this will be a permanent feature, where I will chart every paint scheme used by every team in 2015. I’ve been wanting to start this for a while, and now I have the ability to do this thanks to my new work schedule. Fridays will feature the standard memorabilia related articles. Saturdays will feature the paint scheme grades. If any of you have any suggestions, feel free to drop me a line.
A few weeks ago, I picked up a TJ Zizzo tire from his explosion at the U.S. Nationals at Indy. Well I recently got a race-used windshield and put it on to make a coffee table, and added my NHRA memorabilia on top of it, and I think it turned out well.
The Driver Suit Blog-Paint Scheme Grades 10-24-2014
Really slow week this week, but there are some grades to give out.
Greg Biffle #16 3M Ford Fusion Pinkwashing is an automatic F
Alex Bowman #23 Dip Your Car Toyota Camry Pinkwashing is an automatic F
Joey Gase #32 Donate Life Ford Fusion Decent paint scheme, but the design scheme needs work. There is some needless over design on the door just under the second number, and it distracts from the rest of the scheme.
Joey Gase #32 24-7 E-Cigs Ford Fusion I’m fascinated by the rules concerning e-cigs. NASCAR and many other racing series have strict rules that state tobacco companies cannot sponsor cars. I live in Evanston, Illinois and over here, they are regulated as tobacco cigarettes. That said, the design looks good, the color scheme is good, there aren’t too many good shades of green used in NASCAR, and it earns an A+
Reed Sorenson #36 Flasr Chevy SS See above
Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowes Chevy SS Same A+ scheme but with a great shade of red instead of a great shade of blue, so it earns an A+
JJ Yeley #83 Dip Your Car Toyota Camry See Alex Bowman Above
Carl Edwards #99 Ford EcoBoost Ford Fusion Pinkwashing is an automatic F
NEW LOGO ALERT! On Thursday, NASCAR released the logo for the Xfinity Series which is what the Nationwide Series will become on January 1, 2015. I will have much more to say about it on Saturday, as well as some upcoming changes to the site.
2015 Paint Scheme Tracker-10-21-2014
By David G. Firestone
Two Jeff Gordon schemes this week, not much else to say, it should pick up in a few weeks.
2015 Toyota Camry–The first Gen 6 redesign comes to the Camry for 2015. The front is sleeker, with a more aggressive nose, and grill area, the tail has been redesigned as well.
Brad Keselowski #2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion–Same basic design as 2014, but with no gold stripe, vintage Miller Crest, or hop designs on the side.
Austin Dillon #3 Cheerios Chevy SS–No change
Austin Dillon #3 Dow Chevy SS–No change
Kevin Harvick #4 Budweiser Chevy SS–No change
Kevin Harvick #4 Jimmie Johns Chevy SS–No change
Kevin Harvick #4 Outback Steakhouse–No Change
Kevin Harvick #4 Ditech Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2015, blue, and white is the primary color scheme
Kasey Kahne #5 Great Clips Chevy SS–No Change
Kasey Kahne #5 Time Warner Cable Chevy SS–No Change
Kasey Kahne #5 Farmers Insurance Chevy SS–Complete redesign from last year, black, and dark blue replaces light blue and silver, and the design has been completely revamped.
Trevor Bayne #6 Advocare Ford Fusion-New team, new sponsor, red, white and blue is the color scheme.
Danica Patrick #10 Aspen Dental Chevy SS–Same basic design as last year, but the blue ovals on the white are more pronounced.
Tony Stewart #14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevy SS–Same color scheme as last year, but with a new design on the side.
Tony Stewart #14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevy SS–Same color scheme as last year, but with a new design on the side.
Tony Stewart #14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil1 Chevy SS–No Change
Greg Biffle #16 Ortho Fire Ant Killer Ford Fusion–No change
Greg Biffle #16 Ortho Bug-B-Gon Ford Fusion-New sponsor, new design, red, black, and white is the primary color scheme.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Fastenal Ford Fusion-New primary sponsor, blue, and white is the color scheme.
Carl Edwards #19 Stanley Toyota Camry-New team and new sponsor, yellow, black, and white is the color scheme.
Matt Kenseth #20 DeWalt Toyota Camry-New sponsor, black, green, yellow, and white is the color scheme.
Jeff Gordon #24 Axalta Chevy SS–No Change
Jeff Gordon #24 Panasonic Toughbook Chevy SS–No Change
Joey Logano #22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion–No change
Paul Menard #27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menard’s Chevy SS–No change
Ryan Newman #31 Cat Chevy SS–Same color scheme, but the car as a whole has been redesigned
Ryan Newman #31 Quicken Loans Chevy SS–No change
Ty Dillion #33 Yuengling Brewery Chevy SS-New sponsor, red, white, and blue is the primary color scheme.
Kurt Busch #41Haas CNC Chevy SS–Same color scheme, but the car has been completely redesigned.
Kurt Busch #41 Slate Water Heaters Chevy SS–No change
My Thoughts on Racing-October 20, 2014
By David G. Firestone
The Contender Round is behind us, the Eliminator Round is upon us, and to my great surprise, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jr., Kyle Busch, and Kasey Kahne were eliminated, and Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth remain. When it comes to these drivers, I’ll give you Denny and Matt, they are both hard nosed drivers with a lot of talent, granted Toyota does not, for whatever reason, seem to have the horsepower it needs. Carl is the only non-Penske Ford left in the Chase, but I don’t think he can win it all, I just don’t think he has the horsepower either. My bet at this point is either Joey Logano or Brad Keselowski, since Penske has gelled as a team, both drivers are great friends, get along well, and work well as teammates. I can’t wait until Homestead to see how this ends.
I don’t pay attention to TV ratings when it comes to racing. I say this as I have a degree in media studies, and I focused on TV production in college. That said, I’m going to be paying attention to the TV ratings on November 2 for the AAA Texas 500 and the US Grand Prix. I’m fascinated by the fact that F1 and NASCAR are racing in the same state at the same time. I don’t know who pulled the trigger on this, but F1 will never be able to win a popularity contest against NASCAR in the United States. It’s just not going to happen. F1 didn’t race in America between 1981-1988, 1992-1999, and 2007-2011. They never had a fan base in the US to begin with, and now, for some reason, Bernie Ecclestone now thinks that F1 can beat NASCAR in a ratings battle, good luck with that.
Formula 1 is used to being the big shot in every country they race at. The minute they come to the US, they are a second banana to NASCAR. They aren’t publicly stating that, but that’s what they are thinking. You know it and I know it. Every other country they go to in a season is a major event. At the Grand Prix of Russia, Vladimir Putin was in the audience. Hell, he gave the trophies to the podium. If F1 expects a politician to attend the race, they’d better expect someone like Anthony Foxx, the Secretary of Transportation, because that is the best they can expect. F1 is irrelevant in the United States. They expect to be the big racing story in the country, they won’t even be the biggest racing story in their state! Above that, both the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans are playing at home so at best they will be the fourth biggest sports story in Texas. Also, the NHRA is having Eliminations from the Toyota Nationals in Las Vegas, thus dropping F1 down to the third biggest racing story on November 2. I want to see the TV ratings for both races to see who won this battle for viewership, and I’m willing to bet it’s going to be NASCAR.
Do I blame F1 for wanting to be more aggressive in the American market? No, F1 wants to tap into American market to boost the sport, add new fans and increase the bottom line. Give Bernie Ecclestone credit for trying because he is very aggressive in forcing his way into the American market. You’ve got the US Grand Prix, there are plans for a street race in New York City for 2015, and he just announced this week that he wants to hold a street race in Las Vegas. Again, he won’t win the battle against NASCAR but give him credit for trying. One reason a lot of Americans don’t like F1, is that we have no vested interest in the sport. No American drivers or teams, so we have nobody to root for. Ask yourself this question, why would you follow a sport where you have no one to root for, and you are not represented? Can’t answer that? I thought so. F1 should focus more on the European and South American markets, where it is huge, and gets great TV ratings and grow the sport more with huge fan bases rather than try and fail to win a country that doesn’t care about it.
I’d like to say something else before I go. I’m a huge Dale Jr. fan, I was a fan of his father, and he is my favorite driver. That being said, can I just say to Junior Nation right now…SHUT UP! Although I like Dale Jr. I’m not myopic enough to expect him to win the Sprint Cup Championship this season, or any season for that matter. Junior is not a championship caliber driver. I will say that publicly, for the record, and I will not apologize or back down from that statement. Junior is the equivalent of the Chicago Cubs, the Cleveland Browns, the New York Knicks, and the St. Louis Blues, all these teams have great fan bases who are dedicated to their teams and follow them and support them, but these teams will never win championships, not now not ever. I’m tired of hearing Junior Nation cry about not winning the championship every year, get over it.
DGF2099 Productions-Introduction to Sports Memorabilia-Jeff Jones Race-Used Set
A set of items, a driver suit, arm restraints, 2 sets of goggles, gloves, and shoes worn by 1980’s SCCA driver Jeff Jones will be examined this week.
The Driver Suit Blog-Tunnel Vision…A Good Thing?
By David G. Firestone
This is a helmet worn by Kevin LePage in 1994. This style of open-faced helmet was worn by drivers for many years in NASCAR, and it was allowed because NASCAR did not want to restrict the vision of the drivers. They felt that if this helmet kept drivers from losing situational awareness and help prevent tunnel vision on some level it would keep them from getting into dangerous wrecks. Why would a driver wear a visor to help create tunnel vision? Let me explain the whole story…
So this last Sunday, I had the day off, no motorsports on TV. I had purchased a racing slick from Zizzo Racing. TJ Zizzo is the driver, he’s based in Lincolnshire Illinois, I’m based in Evanston, and my friend Matt and I went down to pick up the slick. TJ was kind enough to show me around the shop, as they prepare the car for The Toyota Nationals at Las Vegas. TJ was awesome, and I had a great time.
One of the things that I got was a visor. I’ve been wanting to get an NHRA visor from some time, and I got one that had the modification I’ve been seeing, as seen below. 
I asked TJ why he had this modification, and he said that he wants to focus on the task at hand. He said that drag racing drivers can notice things, birds, scoreboards, women in the crowd, etc in the car in the moments leading up to the race, and this modification helps the driver by giving him tunnel vision. Tunnel vision is seen by the majority of people as a bad thing, but in something like drag racing, where intense focus for a brief period of time is a mandate, tunnel vision is a good thing. Top fuel dragsters have 10,000 horsepower and can go from 0 to 325 mph in less than 3 seconds.When you are behind the wheel of a car with that much power, you need to focus on the race as much as possible. TJ wears this style of visor because, the less he can see out of the helmet, the more he can focus on the race.TJ even said that this visor is much less covered than his current version, which looks something like this…
This version is not uncommon in this day in age, both Al-Anabi drivers Khalid alBalooshi and Shawn Langdon wear visors similar to this design.
I didn’t bring my camera with me, I wish I had, because I got to see the remnants of his engine from his blow up in Indianapolis. As I have a tendency to do, I’ll let the footage speak for itself…
He still has the blower drive seen flying in the video. I was amazed how heavy it was. He has one shelf in his new shop that has the pieces of the engine, and the damage suffered, from a fan’s stand point. The manifold that blew was made of solid magnesium and was heavy duty. The crankshaft in question was not only broken, but was slightly bent near the break. I wound up getting one of the rear tires from that race.
Rear tires from top fuel dragsters are 3 feet tall by 17 inches wide. I’m planning on getting a glass to and making a coffee table at some point. The level of wear on the tires is amazing, with large patches of damage from the explosion.
TJ also signed it and personalized it to me!
I also got a front tire, which is 22 inches tall, by 3 inches wide. 
I’m not sure when it was raced, but it does show wear and it has ZIZZO written on the tread. To give an idea the size difference between the two, here are the two of them together in my office…
I’ve gotta thank TJ Zizzo and Zizzo Racing for this chance. They are a great bunch of guys, they were all very nice, GO ZIZZO!
The Driver Suit Blog-Paint Scheme Grades October 9-16
By David G. Firestone
I want to clarify something that I stated last week. My rule for pinkwashing is an automatic F. After a few people pointed out to me that almost everyone is wearing a pink ribbon, I’ve made the decision not to factor a pink ribbon into the grades. That said, pink lettering, numbers, or background will still earn an automatic F. Let’s get to the reviews.
Jamie McMurray #1 Cessna/Beechcraft Chevy SS Pinkwashing is an automatic F
Brad Keselowski #2 Redd’s Wicked Ale Ford Fusion My only complaint is that this isn’t a Miller Genuine Draft scheme. The color scheme is really good, and the design scheme is really good, A+
Denny Hamlin #11 FedEx One Rate Toyota Camry Um…huh? Someone explain to me what black leather and zippers have to do with FedEx? It’s not a bad design, though I could have done without the green at the bottom, so I’ll give it an A-, but I don’t get why they used that design at all.
Kyle Busch #18 M&M’s Halloween Toyota Camry M&M’s always have great Halloween schemes, and this is no different. Orange and black are always a good scheme, and the design fits both M&M’s and Halloween very well. I’ll give it an A+
Terry Labonte #32 C&J Energy Services Ford Fusion Terry is making his 890th start at Talladega, and this scheme is in honor of that. This is now, officially, my all-time favorite throwback scheme. The driver side is designed to look like his Kellogg’s scheme when he won the 1996 Sprint Cup Championship, and the passenger side is designed to look like his 1984 Championship winning Piedmont Airlines scheme. I couldn’t say anything bad about this if my life depended on is, A+
David Ragan #34 Dockside Logistics Ford Fusion The all white look works well, as does the red curved stripe down the sides. The color scheme is really good, and I give it an A+
Landon Cassill #40 Thunder Coal Chevy SS Between the paint scheme grades for last week, and the race at Charlotte, Cassill picked up Thunder Coal as a sponsor. The logo works well on a white background, and the car has a clean, smooth look that earns an A+
Kyle Larson #42 Energizer Chevy SS Same scheme as last year, same D grade
Michael Waltrip #66 My AFib Story Toyota Camry Ok, this one needs some explaining. Michael Waltrip suffers from Atrial fibrillation or AFib, an abnormal heart rhythm. He is working with The American Heart Association to inform people about AFib, and this scheme features pictures of those who have shared their stories about dealing with the disease, and I have to give this an A+ for that. It also doesn’t hurt that the color and design schemes are really good too!
Michael McDowell #95 Jordan Truck Sales Ford Fusion Pinkwashing earns an automatic F. It should be noted that this is the first time a team has put a Twitter handle on the side of their car.
Josh Wise #98 Provident Metals Ford Fusion A much more scaled down version of the paint scheme, which is much smoother and better looking. It has a great color scheme, so I’ll give it a B+.
By David G. Firestone
This week, Toyota rolled out their new 2015 Toyota Camry, and came out with the new Gen 6 car design, nothing really besides that.
2015 Toyota Camry–The first Gen 6 redesign comes to the Camry for 2015. The front is sleeker, with a more aggressive nose, and grill area, the tail has been redesigned as well.
Brad Keselowski #2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion–Same basic design as 2014, but with no gold stripe, vintage Miller Crest, or hop designs on the side.
Austin Dillon #3 Cheerios Chevy SS–No change
Austin Dillon #3 Dow Chevy SS–No change
Kevin Harvick #4 Budweiser Chevy SS–No change
Kevin Harvick #4 Jimmie Johns Chevy SS–No change
Kevin Harvick #4 Outback Steakhouse–No Change
Kevin Harvick #4 Ditech Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2015, blue, and white is the primary color scheme
Kasey Kahne #5 Great Clips Chevy SS–No Change
Kasey Kahne #5 Time Warner Cable Chevy SS–No Change
Kasey Kahne #5 Farmers Insurance Chevy SS–Complete redesign from last year, black, and dark blue replaces light blue and silver, and the design has been completely revamped.
Trevor Bayne #6 Advocare Ford Fusion-New team, new sponsor, red, white and blue is the color scheme.
Danica Patrick #10 Aspen Dental Chevy SS–Same basic design as last year, but the blue ovals on the white are more pronounced.
Tony Stewart #14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevy SS–Same color scheme as last year, but with a new design on the side.
Tony Stewart #14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevy SS–Same color scheme as last year, but with a new design on the side.
Tony Stewart #14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil1 Chevy SS–No Change
Greg Biffle #16 Ortho Fire Ant Killer Ford Fusion–No change
Greg Biffle #16 Ortho Bug-B-Gon Ford Fusion-New sponsor, new design, red, black, and white is the primary color scheme.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Fastenal Ford Fusion-New primary sponsor, blue, and white is the color scheme.
Carl Edwards #19 Stanley Toyota Camry-New team and new sponsor, yellow, black, and white is the color scheme.
Matt Kenseth #20 DeWalt Toyota Camry-New sponsor, black, green, yellow, and white is the color scheme.
Joey Logano #22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion–No change
Paul Menard #27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menard’s Chevy SS–No change
Ryan Newman #31 Cat Chevy SS–Same color scheme, but the car as a whole has been redesigned
Ryan Newman #31 Quicken Loans Chevy SS–No change
Ty Dillion #33 Yuengling Brewery Chevy SS-New sponsor, red, white, and blue is the primary color scheme.
Kurt Busch #41Haas CNC Chevy SS–Same color scheme, but the car has been completely redesigned.
Kurt Busch #41 Slate Water Heaters Chevy SS–No change
DGF2099 Productions-Introduction to Sports Memorabilia-Richard Petty Experience Suit
This week’s episode features something that countless racing enthusiasts wore this Richard Petty Driving Expirence suit to race in real race cars on real tracks.
DGF2099-Main Page 
