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The Driver Suit Blog-Arm Gussets…Comfortable AND Safe!

By David G. Firestone

We’ve all seen them in telecasts and photos, but what many of us do not realize is what they are and what they do. I am talking about the arm gusset. Arm gussets are seen at the top of the sleeve on a driver suit, under the shoulder. They are a flexible piece of Nomex specifically designed to do two things. One is protect the driver, the other is give the driver some freedom of movement. Arm Gussets are almost always present on race-worn driver suits. Anyone who has worn a one-piece full body jumpsuit can attest to the fact that it restricts freedom of body movement. The gusset takes some of that restriction away. This is important when it comes to driving, because it gives the driver one less thing to concentrate on, and in the worst case scenario, can help a driver escape a burning vehicle much quicker. Gussets have very little variation, though I have seen one unusual one. In this Ricky Craven suit from 1996, the front of the sleeves look like they are attached to the body, whereas the back has a gusset in it. This would be done for driver preference of course, bur I have never seen a half gusset before or since. This Lake Speed suit from 1997 is store bought, as opposed to custom designed, and it has no gussets. This suit would have some restriction of movement. Again this can come down to driver choice. The need for protection vs. the need for driver comfort is a major conflict in the world of racing safety. The gusset is a major meeting point between the two sides involved, and the drivers love them.

RIP Jason Leffler…you will be missed.

Now on to paint schemes.

Jame McMurray #1 Parade Magazine Chevy SS-Great color scheme, great design, nothing wrong at all, A+

Jame McMurray #1 Banana Boat Chevy SS-A scheme that could be a B+ is ruined by an awful color scheme. That orange is the worst I have ever seen on a race car. It takes this scheme and takes to a D-

Jamie McMurray #1 Bad Boy Buggies Chevy SS-An attempt to be innovative with design fails horribly here. The color scheme is decent, but the design is awful.

Brad Keselowski #2 Miller Lite Patriotic Ford Fusion-Taking the stars and stripes and slapping them on a race car can work…just not here. If it was just plain blue with red and white lettering, it would work better, but this just falls flat. C-

Marcos Ambrose #9 Stanley/DeWalt Racing for a Miracle Ford Fusion-This is a major improvement over what they currently run. This just works! A+

Denny Hamlin #11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry-Seriously? Why does it look like a sperm is painted in red on the side of the car? The red/white/black color scheme works, but the door design is just awful! D-

Denny Hamlin #11 Fedex/Autism Speaks Toyota Camry-Much better! The puzzle design, and solid color scheme look really good here. The red 11 is amazing too! Can’t give this anything but an A+

Tony Stewart #14 Code 3 Chevy SS-Love the scheme, love the simple design and great color scheme. Works very well and earns an A+

Clint Bowyer #15 5-Hour Energy Patriotic Toyota Camry-How is this patriotic? Oh….I get it…the stars….just one problem…THE COLOR SCHEME IS WRONG! If it was red white and blue I would like this, but this is just awful! You want to honor America, but can’t get the color scheme right? F-

Greg Biffle #16 Fastenal Ford Fusion-Since minor variations of this scheme were run by Biffle, Ricky Stenhouse, and Carl Edwards with minor variations between them, I will grade them all here. Solid scheme, good color scheme, A+ for all 3.

Greg Biffle #16 3M/Ace/Rite Aid Ford Fusion-The color scheme is good, but the door design is too busy. If it was one single color, it would work quite well, but being a mix of black, blue, red, and white it just looks confusing. It works, but not as well as it could, and earns a C+

Jeff Gordon #24 Axalta Chevy SS-Another DuPont scheme with different logos that works very well. Good color scheme and design. A+

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Libman Chevy SS-The Libman green hood design just looks horrible on the yellow background of the car. The green is too light, and if it were darker it might work, but this scheme earns a D

Kevin Harvick #29 Budweiser Patriotic Chevy SS-This is another patriotic scheme that works very well with a good design. A+

J.J. Yeley #36 Click it or Ticket Chevy SS-Good design, but awful color scheme. The green and blue is just horrible. If one or the other was used it might work, but this is horrific. F

Ryan Newman #39 Quicken Loans Patriotic Chevy SS-Meh. The design needs work. Too much going on with the front of the car to earn anything above a C

Aric Almirola #43 Air Force Ford Fusion-Great design, simple design with a great color scheme. A+

Bobby Labonte #47 Bush’s Grilling Beans Toyota Camry-The overall design and color scheme is good, but the major flaw here is that the quarter panel has 5 different logos, most of which clash with the Bush’s scheme. It takes an A scheme and drags it down to a C

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowes Patriotic Chevy SS-The only bad thing I can say about this is that the red should be a little darker. Other than that, this scheme earns an A

Jimmie Johnson #48 Monsters University Chevy SS-If the blue was darker, I would like it more, but the blue is too light. Other than that, this is a solid scheme. B+

Martin Truex Jr. #56 Napa Patriotic Toyota Camry-Perfect…that is all I can say. A+

The Driver Suit Blog-Pit Boards…Unique and Under-Appreciated.

By David Firestone

Today, I thought we should discuss an item that everyone sees, but not everyone understands…the mighty pit board. Pit Boards are an item that most average collector wouldn’t think that would come up for sale, but they do. I am a proud owner of one myself:

This beauty of an item is from MRD Motorsports, and was used between 2007 and 2009 for Chad McCumbee and Blake Bjorklund, amongst others. Made from a thick plastic inside, with the color design made with a plastic similar to many campaign signs, it shows very nice use, with scratches and scuff marks. There are two types of pit boards. One type hangs above the pit lane, to help indicate to the driver where his pit is. This board almost always has the car number and holes cut into it to cut down on wind resistance. This is an example of one used by MRD.

The other type, like the one shown above, is to indicate to the car where to stop in the pit. In years past, a crew member would stand behind the board and the car would drive up to him, as shown at 6:49 at the video here…

http://youtu.be/w4v_ya596eg?t=6m46s

Since this was as dangerous as one thinks it is, in the 1990’s, pit crews switched to the “lollipop” form still used today. The board is held on a long pole and held where the driver can see and hit it to stop at their stall, as seen below:

http://youtu.be/ilJ5qxhBbaI

Boards are often customized to driver preference. Kevin Harvick is known for his “Happy Face” pit board. Some drivers use sponsor names, other use car numbers. It all looks confusing on pit road sometimes. In this example, the MRD Motorsports board has the car number design on it. This board shows where the pole was attached to the board. And it also shows numerous scratches and scuff marks from race use. The back of this board is plain black. That is due to MRD being a low budget team, with limited resources.A quick search on ebay and other sites shows that these items frequently sold as collectors items after a race. These are unique items, and for NASCAR fans are conversation pieces.

And now on to Paint Schemes…

Brian Vickers #11 FedEx Delivery Manager Toyota Camry Good simple scheme with great colors and design, gets an A

Sam Hornish Jr. #12 SKF Ford Fusion Good color scheme, but it looks like a cross between Joey Logano’s scheme and Aric Almirola’s schemes. I give it a B+

Tony Stewart #14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shop Chevy SS The color scheme is good, but the overall design isn’t as good as the regular scheme. Too much going on. The best grade it can earn is a C

Clint Bowyer #15 Toyota Toyota Camry Not much to complain about here, good color scheme and simple design and an A grade

Clint Bowyer #15 KFC I Ate The Bones Toyota Camry KFC has great lettering and a great shade of red, and both are not represented here very well. That said, I don’t hate this scheme, colors are good, but what is with the hood design? The KFC logo is too small, and the hood has some creepy guy with a bowl cut as the most promising feature. All things considered, it earns a C-

Kyle Busch #18 M&M’s M’ Prove America Toyota Camry Good scheme with a great color scheme and good design. Nothing wrong with this solid A scheme.

Kyle Busch #18 Doublemint Gum Toyota Camry Just like Kyle’s scheme on the 18, I love the color scheme, love the simple design, love the fact that the 81 is the 18 backwards, love this scheme, A+

David Ragan #34 Detail Doctor Ford Fusion Decent color scheme and decent design. C-

Juan Pablo Montoya #42 Clorox 100th Anniversary Chevy SS Surprise! Happy Birthday! The blue and white is good but the rest looks too goofy to be good. It looks like a birthday party for a 4 year old. Lose the confetti and streamers and I would like it much more, this scheme earns a D+

Aric Almirola #43 Enrich/Smithfield/Farmland Ford Fusion Lose the design on the doors and it would be perfect. Other than that these three schemes, different only by the hood and quarter panel sponsors are perfect and earn solid A schemes

Aric Almirola #43 Transportation Impact Ford Fusion Black white and lime green? Seriously? And the black front makes it look like the car was in a wreck and had the nose replaced. Not a good look at all. The door design is awful and the quarter panel is even worse! I can’t give this scheme a passing grade and it gets an F!

Aric Almirola #43 Jani-King/STP Gas Booster Ford Fusion This scheme makes up for the Transportation Impact scheme with simple perfection, and an A grade

Aric Almirola #43 STP/Farmland Ford Fusion OK, last Almirola scheme…I promise! A good throwback scheme is ruined with the door number design. Get rid of the oval design and it would get an A, whereas this scheme earns a B-

Scott Riggs #44 No Label Watches Ford Fusion An awful scheme made much worse by a horrible color scheme that earns an F- grade.

Scott Riggs #44 JPO Absorbents Ford Fusion Why do many racing teams have wave designs? It is not a good design, and in this case it takes a good color scheme and ruins it earning a D grade.

Bobby Labonte #47 Clorox 100th Anniversary Toyota Camry Did anyone look at the main color of the car before it was painted? This looks awful! Montoya’s version looks better, but not by much. D-

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowes “Reverse” Chevy SS Looks really good, and really stands out in nighttime racing. Color scheme is good, as Lowe’s often is. A+

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe’s “Emerald” Chevy SS Decent color scheme, though if if were reversed it would look even better. Even still it is good enough to earn an A-

Martin Truex Jr. #56 NAPA Brakes Toyota Camry Simple design, good color scheme, but the Twitter handle on the back of the roof is distracting and it looks awful. It takes an A scheme to a B-

Kurt Busch #78 Furniture Row Military Appreciation Night Chevy SS I love the matte black that Furniture Row usually uses, so this is kind of disappointing. That said, the color are good, but the hood design needs work. The MILITARY APPRECIATION banner is much to small and it is hard to see at speed. A good scheme that has been ruined and earns a D-

Elliot Sadler #81 Double-Mint Gum Toyota Camry Just like Kyle’s scheme on the 18, I love the color scheme, love the simple design, love the fact that the 81 is the 18 backwards, love this scheme, A+

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 National Guard Chevy SS What the hell? The blue and white scheme works well with this design, but camo and black? It just looks awful. I love Dale Jr. but I can’t defend this scheme at all. F-

Scott Speed #95 Tracking Point/JTS Truck Sales Ford Fusion Good color scheme, but awful design. The diamond plate decals does nothing to help, and it earns a D-

Michael McDowell #98 Curb Record/ The Bobby Bones Show Ford Fusion Love the color schemes and design. Bonus points for the diagonal hood logo. Not many people can make the diagonal logo work, but it works here, A+

Carl Edwards #99 Geek Squad Ford Fusion. Not much to say here, really simple design and it looks alright…C+

Carl Edwards #99 Cheez Its/Frosted Flakes Ford Fusion. These two schemes are awful. Too much going on, too many colors, no consistency, not a good pair of schemes at all, F

DGF2099 Productions-Introduction to Sports Memorabilia-Alex Barron 1998 Race-Worn Driver Suit

Another of my favorite items, this Alex Barron 1998 Champ Car suit. This suit was worn in his famous wreck with Bryan Herta

The Driver Suit Blog-NASCAR Helmets Over The Years

By David G. FirestoneThe evolution of the racing helmet in NASCAR for the most part was slow, in the beginning. NASCAR was officially founded in 1947, two years after World War II ended. Many of the helmets worn during the 1940’s and 1950’s were little more than repainted army and air force helmets. These helmets were basic at best, and as protection for the dangers of racing, these helmets were inadequate at best. During the 1950’s, many drivers switched from military headgear to motorcycle helmets. In the 1960’s, motorcycle-style helmets became the norm.The above helmet was worn by Jim McConnell, who raced and promoted races in Maine, and went on to found Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine. This is a racing helmet, but it looks more like Wyatt’s Captain America helmet from Easy Rider, in its basic design. It has an open face, no microphone equipment, and is rather thin. Although there would be advancements in helmet technology, the open-face design would remain popular until the 1980’s.This helmet was worn by Brad Noffsinger in 1988, it is the same general design, though it is much thicker, has some advancements in visor technology, and had some microphone technology in it as well. Although these helmets have since been banned, they remained legal for as long as they did for one simple reason: Advanced visibility. NASCAR did not want to have a crash caused by decreased visibility due to a rule mandating full-face helmets.The Ted Musgrave helmet mentioned in a previous post is a perfect example. The bottom part covering the chin does to a certain extent reduce visibility for a driver. The logic makes sense, in that if there was a crash caused by reduced visibility, so for the 1990’s and 2000, the open-face was legal…then came the 2001 Daytona 500. That race saw the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. from a Basilar skull fracture, which as tragic as it was, wasn’t the first death due to sub-par safety equipment. John Nemechek, Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin Jr., and Tony Roper had all been killed in similar accidents. Only after Earnhardt’s death, did the HANS device come to light, and eventually became mandatory in NASCAR, and eventually, across the board in racing. Now the helmets used in NASCAR look like this:This is a helmet worn between 2004 and 2005 by either Regan Smith or Jason Keller. As you can see, it has a number of advancements, including the visor, and air intakes, but the biggest advancement is these small bolts towards the back.These are where the HANS device connects to the helmet. The HANS device was mandated after the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. to prevent Basilar skull fracture deaths. This device has worked very well. The HANS device works by attaching the device to the helmet, and then being secured by the shoulder straps.

As advanced as this helmet is, there is always room for improvement. What new form will the racing helmet of tomorrow take? Only time will tell.

On to Paint Schemes, we have a lot of ground to cover today…

First in the Camping World Truck Series

Chris Cockrum #07 Accu-Tech/Homesmart Toyota Tundra Decent color scheme, good stripe pattern, logos are easy to see. Solid A grade.

Sean Coor #82 Warriors in the Workplace Ford F-Series Simple yet bold. Great use of matte black, great number design and color scheme. The logo is easy to see and stands out. No distracting stripes or patterns. Solid A grade.

Next up, the Nationwide Series

Sam Hornish Jr. #12 Wurth Tools Ford Mustang The doors look like they have race damage on them already, which is not a good sign. The color scheme is decent, but the Pennzoil stripes just kill it. The logos are easy to see, but the stripes are just awful. Final grade C+

Matt Kenseth #18 Reser’s Foods Toyota Camry. Numbers are great, color scheme is good, logos are easy to see, and the background design is visible, but not overpowering. The only thing keeping this scheme from a higher grade is the picture of the package on the side of the car. That drags the grade down to a B+ from an A

Now moving on to the Sprint Cup Series

Denny Hamlin #11 FedEx Toyota Camry There are a total of 4 variations of the FedEx scheme, Express, Freight, Ground and Office. Right off the bat, the front nose design and stripes are awful. The color schemes are great, as are the logos and numbers, but the stripes kill it. The best grade I can give is a C+ across the board.

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s Chevy SS Not the worst I have ever seen, but the yellow is way too bright, and the massive collection of sponsor stickers on the quarter panel is just ugly. Final Grade C-