The Driver Suit Blog-Paint Scheme Grades-January 16, 2016

By David G. Firestone

Kasey Kahne #5 Quicken Loans Chevy SS-It’s a downgrade from last year, Kasey fancies himself a designer, but most of his schemes look horrible. This one is saved by a good color scheme, so I’ll give it a C+.

Kasey Kahne #5 Panasonic Toughbook Chevy SS-It’s a distinctive look, and it looks really good. Blue, white, and black is a good color scheme. A+

Clint Bowyer #15 Five-Hour Energy Chevy SS-All my complaints about the 2015 scheme are gone with this scheme, and it looks really good. A+

Clint Bowyer #15 Peak Chevy SS-It’s a bold scheme, with a really good color scheme. It looks really good. A+

Kyle Busch #18 M&M’s Toyota Camry-M&M’s always has a good look, and since 2016 is the 75th anniversary of the introduction of M&M”s, they decided to add vintage M characters to modern M characters, to create a really good look. A+

Ryan Blaney #21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion-Same scheme as last year, same A+ grade.

Chase Elliott #24 Kelly Blue Book Chevy SS– The lack of metallic gold is a downgrade, and the design went from smooth to more haphazard. It’s not horrible, but not great. Combined with the decent color scheme, I give it a C+.

Chris Buescher #34 Love’s Truck Stops Ford Fusion-New year, new driver, new scheme. It’s really good, Love’s uses a good shade of yellow, and the red rainbow design works well too. All said, I give it an A+.

Brian Scott #44 Twisted Tea Ford Fusion-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

The Driver Suit Blog-Paint Scheme Grades-August 8, 2015

Jamie McMurray #1 Lexar Chevy SS-It’s a great design, the colors work well, and the design scheme is great too. A+

Austin Dillon #3 American Ethanol Throwback Chevy SS-The throwback motif does look good, it’s based on Richard Childress car from the 1970’s. The modern logos don’t mix very well. B-

Kasey Kahne #5 Aquafina Chevy SS– Amazingly, the water motif works very well. The color scheme is good too. It earns an A+.

Alex Bowman #7 FW1 Wash and Wax Chevy SS– The lime green to Ferrari red might work if it were on the whole car, but the black on either side with the thick wide stripes just look awful. I’ll give it a B-.

Denny Hamlin #11 Sport Clips Throwback Toyota Camry– Like the Austin Dillon throwback scheme, the modern logos with vintage design thing doesn’t work here. The vintage numbers look good, but they only elevate the logo to a C.

Greg Biffle #16 Roush Performance Parts Ford Fusion-Good color scheme here. It is so over designed that the best I can give it is a C-.

Ryan Blaney #21 Snap On Throwback Ford Fusion– I was really hoping that Ryan would run his Motorcraft scheme, it’s the best throwback scheme currently in use, but they went with this scheme instead. The fade from black to white worked, but the fade from black to photos looks awkward, and takes an A scheme down to a B-.

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Libman Chevy SS-The Menard’s template works quite well with this setup, and I can’t give it lower than an A+.

Travis Kvapil #32 Skuttletight Ford Fusion– The color scheme works well, and the stripes on the bottom work well too. I give it an A+.

Brett Moffat #34 A&W National Root Beer Float Day Ford Fusion-Same as A&W scheme, but with a slight change, same A+ grade.

Chris Buscher #34 Bully Hill Vineyards Ford Fusion– The scheme works well with the blue in place of the black, but this new scheme looks horrible. I’ll be kind and give it a D+.

Cole Whitt #35 MDS Ford Fusion-It’s a good, smooth design, with a great color scheme. It earns an A+.

Landon Cassill #40 Chevy SS-It’s a good, smooth design, with a great color scheme. It earns an A+.

Kyle Larson #42 Suave Chevy SS– The design works very well here, and the color scheme is a bold choice that works well. It earns an A+.

David Ragan #55 Aaron’s.com Toyota Camry-Same scheme as Aaron’s, same A+ grade.

Reed Sorenson #62 Chevy SS– It’s a good, smooth design, with a great color scheme. It earns an A+.

Timmy Hill #62 Ford Fusion– The team changed to a ford, and the scheme is a good, smooth design, with a great color scheme. It earns an A+.

Matt DiBenedetto #83 Voodoo Grills Toyota Camry-Same scheme as last year, same F grade.

Timmy Hill #98 Curb Record/Tim Duggar White Ford Fusion-This was the first of two cars Timmy Hill took to Indianapolis. He would wreck in practice and switch to the backup car before the race. The Curb design works well, and the color scheme earns an A+.

Timmy Hill #98 Curb Record/Tim Duggar Black Ford Fusion-This is the backup car that Timmy Hill raced at Indianapolis after the wreck. It earns an A+.

Reed Sorenson #98 Chevy SS-The team switched to Chevy, and this is the same scheme as the Timmy Hill #62 scheme, and it is a good, smooth design, with a great color scheme. It earns an A+.