The Driver Suit Blog-Paint Scheme Tracker-January 25, 2017

Erik Jones #77 5-Hour Energy Extra Stength Toyota Camry-New scheme for 2017, same as 2017 5-Hour Energy, but with Extra Strength on sides and hood. C-

FURNITURE ROW RACING #78

Martin Truex Jr. #78 Furniture Row Toyota Camry–No change. A

Martin Truex Jr. #78 Auto Owner’s Insurance Toyota Camry–No change. A

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #88

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Nationwide Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, blue design similar to last year’s. with blue vertical stripes next to silver door numbers. A

LEAVINE FAMILY RACING #95

Michael McDowell #95 K-LOVE Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same colors, but with stripes across front half of sides. A

GAUNT BROS RACING #96

DJ Kennington #96 Lordco Toyota Camry-New team for 2017, blue front, black middle, white rear, curve stripes between the three. C-

The Driver Suit Blog-Paint Scheme Tracker-January 18, 2017

By David G. Firestone

CHIP GANASSI RACING TEAM #1

Jamie McMurray #1 GearWrench Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2017, black, with yellow, and red stripes across bottom. A

TEAM PENSKE #2

Brad Keselowski #2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion–No Change A

Brad Keselowski #2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Brad Keselowski #2 Wurth Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Brad Keselowski #2 Auto Trader Ford Fusion–No Change D-

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #3

Austin Dillon #3 Dow Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, black front, with red designs near wheel well, white fade across quarter panels. A-

Austin Dillon #3 AAA Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme, but with a few minor stripe changes. D+

Austin Dillon #3 American Ethanol Chevy SS–New sponsor for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but many of the stripes have been removed. A

STEWART-HAAS RACING #4

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, all blue with more detail in the mountains. A

Kevin Harvick #4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion–No Change. A

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #5

Kasey Kahne #5 Farmers Insurance Chevy SS–No Change. C+

Kasey Kahne #5 Great Clips Chevy SS–No Change. D+

Kasey Kahne #5 Liftmaster Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, silver, with black door, and red stripes. A

Kasey Kahne #5 UniFrst Chevy SS–No Change. A

ROUSH-FENWAY RACING #6

Trevor Bayne #6 Liberty National Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, blue with silver and white across sides, white roof. B-

Trevor Bayne #6 Performance Plus Motor Oil Ford Fusion–Except for the change from 16 to 6, no change. B-

STEWART-HAAS RACING #10

Danica Patrick #10 Nature’s Bakery Ford Fusion–Same basic scheme as 2016, but black and white stripe has been removed. A

Danica Patrick #10 Code 3 Associates Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, white front, green stripe, and blue bottom. A

GERMAIN RACING #13

Ty Dillon #13 Geico Chevy SS-No change. A

STEWART-HAAS RACING #14

Clint Bowyer #14 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion-New scheme for 2017, white top, red and white stripe across side, blue bottom. A

ROUSH-FENWAY RACING #17

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Sunny D Ford Fusion–No change. F

Rickey Stenhouse Jr. #17 Fastenal Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme, but the colors have been reversed. A

JOE GIBBS RACING #19

Daniel Suarez #19 Arris Toyota Camry–Same basic scheme as 2016, Aaris replaces Surfboard. A

WOOD BROTHER RACING #21

Ryan Blaney #21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion–No Change. A

TEAM PENSKE #22

Joey Logano #22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion–No change D

Joey Logano #22 AAA Ford Fusion–No Change. D

Joey Logano #22 Auto Trader Ford Fusion–No Change. D-

BK RACING #23

Joey Gase #23 Best Furnishing Toyota Camry-New sponsor for 2017, blue with paintbrush style white and yellow designs across side. F

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #24

Chase Elliott #24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but with yellow accents across sides. A

Chase Elliott #24 Kelly Blue Book Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, design similar to #11 FedEx. A

Chase Elliott #24 Sun Energy Chevy SS–No Change. F

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #27

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Richmond Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, black front, yellow sides, black at bottom of wheel well. A

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #31

Ryan Newman #31 CAT Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, white with black cutting edge design on front, black stripe across hood and top of car. B-

STEWART-HAAS RACING #41

Kurt Busch #41 Monster Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Kurt Busch #41 Haas Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Kurt Busch #41 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, same as #14, but with green replacing blue. A

CHIP GANASSI RACING TEAM #42

Kyle Larson #42 Target Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, white with a series of Target bullseye logos across on sides.D-

RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS #43

Aric Almirola #43 Smithfield Ford Fusion–No Change. B+

Aric Almiroa #43 U.S. Air Force Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2016, same basic scheme, but with more lightning.

Aric Almirola #43 STP Ford Fusion–No change. B-

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #48

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe’s Chevy SS–New scheme for 2016, light blue with diagonal stripes and geometric patterns on side. F

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Chevy SS–New scheme for 2016, dark blue with diagonal stripes and geometric patterns on side. F

FURNITURE ROW RACING #77

Erik Jones #77 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry–New team for 2017, red front, red and yellow lightning stripe across black sides, red rear. C-

Erik Jones #77 5-Hour Energy Extra Stength Toyota Camry-New scheme for 2017, same as 2017 5-Hour Energy, but with Extra Strength on sides and hood. C-

FURNITURE ROW RACING #78

Martin Truex Jr. #78 Furniture Row Toyota Camry–No change.A

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #88

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Nationwide Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, blue design similar to last year’s. with blue vertical stripes next to silver door numbers. A

The Driver Suit Blog-Paint Scheme Tracker-January 11, 2017

By David G. Firestone

CHIP GANASSI RACING TEAM #1

Jamie McMurray #1 GearWrench Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2017, black, with yellow, and red stripes across bottom. A

TEAM PENSKE #2

Brad Keselowski #2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion–No Change A

Brad Keselowski #2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Brad Keselowski #2 Wurth Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Brad Keselowski #2 Auto Trader Ford Fusion–No Change D-

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #3

Austin Dillon #3 Dow Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, black front, with red designs near wheel well, white fade across quarter panels. A-

Austin Dillon #3 AAA Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme, but with a few minor stripe changes. D+

Austin Dillon #3 American Ethanol Chevy SS–New sponsor for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but many of the stripes have been removed. A

STEWART-HAAS RACING #4

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, all blue with more detail in the mountains. A

Kevin Harvick #4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion–No Change. A

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #5

Kasey Kahne #5 Farmers Insurance Chevy SS–No Change. C+

Kasey Kahne #5 Great Clips Chevy SS–No Change. D+

Kasey Kahne #5 Liftmaster Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, silver, with black door, and red stripes. A

Kasey Kahne #5 UniFrst Chevy SS–No Change. A

ROUSH-FENWAY RACING #6

Trevor Bayne #6 Liberty National Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, blue with silver and white across sides, white roof. B-

STEWART-HAAS RACING #10

Danica Patrick #10 Nature’s Bakery Ford Fusion–Same basic scheme as 2016, but black and white stripe has been removed. A

Danica Patrick #10 Code 3 Associates Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, white front, green stripe, and blue bottom. A

STEWART-HAAS RACING #14

Clint Bowyer #14 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion-New scheme for 2017, white top, red and white stripe across side, blue bottom. A

ROUSH-FENWAY RACING #17

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Sunny D Ford Fusion–No change. F

Rickey Stenhouse Jr. #17 Fastenal Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme, but the colors have been reversed. A

TEAM PENSKE #22

Joey Logano #22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion–No change D

Joey Logano #22 AAA Ford Fusion–No Change. D

Joey Logano #22 Auto Trader Ford Fusion–No Change. D-

BK RACING #23

Joey Gase #23 Best Furnishing Toyota Camry-New sponsor for 2017, blue with paintbrush style white and yellow designs across side. F

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #24

Chase Elliott #24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but with yellow accents across sides. A

Chase Elliott #24 Kelly Blue Book Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, design similar to #11 FedEx. A

Chase Elliott #24 Sun Energy Chevy SS–No Change. F

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #27

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Richmond Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, black front, yellow sides, black at bottom of wheel well. A

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #31

Ryan Newman #31 CAT Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, white with black cutting edge design on front, black stripe across hood and top of car. B-

STEWART-HAAS RACING #41

Kurt Busch #41 Monster Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Kurt Busch #41 Haas Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Kurt Busch #41 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, same as #14, but with green replacing blue. A

RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS #43

Aric Almirola #43 Smithfield Ford Fusion–No Change. B+

Aric Almiroa #43 U.S. Air Force Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2016, same basic scheme, but with more lightning.

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #48

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe’s Chevy SS–New scheme for 2016, light blue with diagonal stripes and geometric patterns on side. F

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Chevy SS–New scheme for 2016, dark blue with diagonal stripes and geometric patterns on side. F

FURNITURE ROW RACING #77

Erik Jones #77 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry–New team for 2017, red front, red and yellow lightning stripe across black sides, red rear. C-

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #88

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Nationwide Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, blue design similar to last year’s. with blue vertical stripes next to silver door numbers. A

The Driver Suit Blog-Paint Scheme Grades-January 7, 2017

By David G. Firestone

Jamie McMurray #1 GearWrench Chevy SS-The black background works very well, and the stripes work very well too. Add in a great color scheme, and you have an A scheme.

Brad Keselowski #2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Brad Keselowski #2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Fusion-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Brad Keselowski #2 Wurth Ford Fusion-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Brad Keselowski #2 Auto Trader Ford Fusion-Same scheme as last year, same D- grade.

Austin Dillon #3 Dow Chevy SS-Overall, it’s a great scheme, with a great design. My one complaint is those designs in the red just in front of the door number. They are ugly, and they take an A scheme down to an A-.

Austin Dillon #3 AAA Chevy SS-It’s an over designed, ugly mess of a car. There are too many designs, and not enough thought put into the design. The color scheme is the only good thing, and earns a D+.

Austin Dillon #3 American Ethanol Chevy SS-The side stripes being removed gives the car a great look. The color scheme is good too. It earns an A.

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Ford Fusion-The blue scheme works well, and I like the detail in the mountains. Its a great looking scheme, and I give it an A.

Kevin Harvick #4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Kasey Kahne #5 Farmers Insurance Chevy SS-Same scheme as last year, same D+ grade.

Kasey Kahne #5 Liftmaster Chevy SS-It’s a much cleaner scheme. It’s a much simpler scheme. It’s an A scheme.

Kasey Kahne #5 Great Clips Chevy SS-Same scheme as last year, same D+ grade.

Joey Logano #22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion-Same scheme as last year, same D grade.

Joey Logano #22 AAA Ford Fusion –Same scheme as last year, same D grade.

Joey Logano #22 Auto Trader Ford Fusion-Same scheme as last year, same D- grade.

Chase Elliott #24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy SS-I like the yellow accents added to the sides, roof, and front fender. The car still has a great look, and it earns an A.

Chase Elliott #24 Kelly Blue Book Chevy SS-It’s a much simpler design, and it has a great color scheme. An upgrade from last year that earns an A.

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Richmond Chevy SS-The new Menard’s template works well…if this is a template. The front can work, and the lack of side stripes works well too. It earns an A.

Ryan Newman #31 CAT Chevy SS-I love the hood and roof design, but I don’t like the side design between the wheel wells. It doesn’t match, and just look awkward. Still, even taking this in to consideration, it’s still a B- scheme.

Aric Almirola #43 Smithfield Ford Fusion-Same scheme as last year, same B+ grade.

Aric Almiroa #43 U.S. Air Force Ford Fusion-What’s cooler than lightning…more lightning! That’s what this new scheme has. It looks great, and it’s still an A scheme.

Kurt Busch #41 Monster Ford Fusion-Same scheme as last year, same D grade.

Kurt Busch #41 Haas Ford Fusion-Same scheme as last year, same D grade.

Erik Jones #77 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry-I get what they were trying to do, but the scheme as a whole just doesn’t look good. The lightning stripes look bad. It just doesn’t work. The color scheme works well though, so I’ll give the scheme is a C-.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Nationwide Chevy SS-The loss of silver works with this scheme. The design works well, and I like the stripes up the sides. I give it an A.

The Driver Suit Blog-Paint Scheme Tracker-January 4, 2017

By David G. Firestone

CHIP GANASSI RACING TEAM #1

Jamie McMurray #1 GearWrench Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2017, black, with yellow, and red stripes across bottom. A

TEAM PENSKE #2

Brad Keselowski #2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion–No Change A

Brad Keselowski #2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Brad Keselowski #2 Wurth Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Brad Keselowski #2 Auto Trader Ford Fusion–No Change D-

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #3

Austin Dillon #3 Dow Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, black front, with red designs near wheel well, white fade across quarter panels. A-

Austin Dillon #3 AAA Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme, but with a few minor stripe changes. D+

Austin Dillon #3 American Ethanol Chevy SS–New sponsor for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but many of the stripes have been removed. A

STEWART-HAAS RACING #4

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, all blue with more detail in the mountains. A

Kevin Harvick #4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion–No Change. A

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #5

Kasey Kahne #5 Farmers Insurance Chevy SS–No Change. C+

Kasey Kahne #5 Great Clips Chevy SS–No Change. D+

Kasey Kahne #5 Liftmaster Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, silver, with black door, and red stripes. A

TEAM PENSKE #22

Joey Logano #22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion–No change D

Joey Logano #22 AAA Ford Fusion–No Change. D

Joey Logano #22 Auto Trader Ford Fusion–No Change. D-

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #24

Chase Elliott #24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but with yellow accents across sides. A

Chase Elliott #24 Kelly Blue Book Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, design similar to #11 FedEx. A

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #27

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Richmond Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, black front, yellow sides, black at bottom of wheel well. A

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #31

Ryan Newman #31 CAT Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, white with black cutting edge design on front, black stripe across hood and top of car. B-

STEWART-HAAS RACING #41

Kurt Busch #41 Monster Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Kurt Busch #41 Haas Ford Fusion–No Change. A

RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS #43

Aric Almirola #43 Smithfield Ford Fusion–No Change. B+

Aric Almiroa #43 U.S. Air Force Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2016, same basic scheme, but with more lightning.

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #48

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe’s Chevy SS–New scheme for 2016, light blue with diagonal stripes and geometric patterns on side. F

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Chevy SS–New scheme for 2016, dark blue with diagonal stripes and geometric patterns on side. F

FURNITURE ROW RACING #77

Erik Jones #77 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry–New team for 2017, red front, red and yellow lightning stripe across black sides, red rear. C-

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #88

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Nationwide Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, blue design similar to last year’s. with blue vertical stripes next to silver door numbers. A

The Driver Suit Blog-The Helmet Stripe-An Unusual Place For Sponsorship

By David G. FirestoneLast week, I had a column run on Uni-Watch, and I delayed this article until this week. Two weeks ago, we discussed visors, this week, we will discuss what has become known as the “helmet stripe.” Helmet stripes came from IndyCar and Formula 1 cars, which are open cockpit cars. Helmets are clearly visible to television cameras and fans. As a direct result, helmet design in Formula 1 has become its own unique art form. Helmet designs become a part of the driver identity. The other thing that these open cockpits allow is for sponsorship opportunity. As such, a small opaque stripe is used on helmet visors.In NASCAR, the visor was slow to arrive. This is due to two reasons, first, many drivers up until the mid 1990’s chose to wear open-faced helmets. While these helmets had a shade to help keep the sun out of a driver’s eyes. While sponsor logos do show up, they were used for the driver’s name. This Brad Noffsinger example from 1988 is an example of that.The second reason that helmet stripes were slow to come to NASCAR is that in-car cameras, while used, were for many years positioned in such a way that the visor would not be seen. Even if helmets were painted, the visor had no stripe. When the in-car cameras were positioned to film the driver from the side and even from the front, the helmet stripe became the standard. The stripe is designed to fit over the part of the visor that overlaps the opaque part of the helmet, as this example shows. Helmet stripes have become standard. To show how it affects the overall look of the helmet, I took this Kevin Lepage helmet from 1999, and edited the pictures to show how it looks. Not bad, but let’s compare it side by side to the original helmet… Helmet stripes have become a unique way for a driver to customize a helmet, as this video shows:

Facebook pages and Twitter helmets are becoming standard on these. All visors that a driver would wear on a helmet have these stripes, which is standard, as visors are changed on a regular basis, and sponsors want the advertising space that they pay for.

Paint Scheme Reviews!

Because of the Uni-Watch article last week, I didn’t get to review paint schemes. Within the last couple of weeks there were a large number of 2014 paint schemes released. Now I know that many of these will change before the start of the 2014 season, but I will grade them anyways.

Brad Keselowski #2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion Same scheme as this year, same grade, C

Kevin Harvick #4 Budweiser Chevy SS Same Scheme as last year, same grade, A

Kevin Harvick #4 Jimmy John’s Chevy SS They improved one of the best schemes in NASCAR and went from an A to A+

Kevin Harvick #4 Outback Steakhouse Chevy SS The color scheme remains the same but red takes over from beige as the primary color, which gives the car a great look, and an A grade

Kasey Kahne #5 Great Clips Chevy SS Same scheme as this year, same D+ grade

Kasey Kahne #5 Pepsi Max Cheyv SS Same scheme as last year, same F grade

Marcos Ambrose #9 Stanley/DeWalt Ford Fusion Great color scheme, though the nose, and quarter panel design are over done. Even still, I give it a B-

Marcos Ambrose #9 DeWalt/Stanley Ford Fusion See Above

Tony Stewart #14 Bass Pro Shop/Mobil 1 Chevy SS I get that two companies with different desgin schemes are sharing the car, but this is just brutal to look at. The orange and camo contrast is hideous, and the overall design is overdone. C-

Tony Stewart #14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shop Chevy SS The white and black contrast just looks awful! I really hope this changes before the season starts, because this is a scheme that is painful to look at. I have to give it an F

Tony Stewart #14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevy SS As bad of a color scheme as this is, it is certainly better than the other two Tony Stewart schemes are. That said, the color scheme warrants an F while the design warrants an A, so I’ll split the difference and give it a C

Greg Biffle #16 3M Ford Fusion This scheme is a MAJOR improvement over this year’s design! All of the pointless noise on the door is gone, and the car has a very smooth look because of it, and I have to give this design an A

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Nationwide Insurance Ford Fusion Great color and design schemes, though the white on light blue lettering and logos are hard to see. Even still, I have to give it an A-

Joey Logano #22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion Same scheme as last year, same grade, D

Joey Logano #22 AAA Insurance Ford Fusion See Above

Jeff Gordon #24 Pepsi Max Chevy SS I gave this scheme a C-, but given the *ahem* other Pepsi Max scheme, I’ve reconsidered, and I will give this scheme a B

Ryan Newman #31 Caterpillar Chevy SS An improvement on an already good scheme, A+

Aric Almirola #43 Smithfield Foods Ford Fusion If the hood and front were done in the stars design, and the rest of the car was red and white striped, it would look better, and I would be able to give it more than a C+

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowes Chevy SS Supposidly, this will be the main scheme for the whole season, and I have to say it looks amazing, and is an A+ grade

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowes/Kobalt Chevy SS This will be run for a few races, and it is an A+ scheme.

Carl Edwards #99 Fastenal Ford Fusion Same scheme as last year, same A grade

Carl Edwards #99 UPS Ford Fusion No redeeming features whatsoever, F-`

Now on to new 2013 paint schemes…

Jamie McMurray #1 Cessna/Auburn University Chevy SS The white hood and roof just look aukward, compared to the black covering the rest of the car. That said, it is still a decent scheme, and I’ll give it a B

Dave Blaney #7 Breast Cancer Awareness Chevy SS Pinkwashing is an automatic F

Marcos Ambrose #9 Bostitch Ford Fusion The 2014 scheme is previewed here, and I’ll give it the same B- grade I gave the 2014 scheme.

Landon Cassill #33 T-Mone Chevy SS This is a perfect example as to why only one person should design a car. It looks like it took at least 3 people to design the car, each with a different idea as to what the car should look like. And in the end it is just a mess, and not even a good color scheme can give this scheme a passing grade. F

David Ragan #34 Safercar.gov Ford Fusion See Above. F

JJ Yeley #36 United Mining Equipment Chevy SS Even if I didn’t give pinkwashing schemes an automatic F, this scheme would get an F anyway, it just looks awful

Kyle Larson #51 Target Chevy SS Simple, yet attractive, and it earns an A

Kurt Busch #78 Wonder Bread Chevy SS To celebrate the return of Wonder Bread, Kurt is going to channel Ricky Bobby, except for one difference…this scheme is a lot better than the Ricky Bobby Scheme. No flames and the baloons coming from the brake duct are a great look for this car, and it earns an A

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Mountain Dew/Xbox 1 Chevy SS It has a great color scheme, and that is the nicest thing I can say about it. The design is just awful, and it looks like it will give people seizures as it drives around the track. I give it an F

Blake Koch #95 Supportmillitary.org Ford Fusion Eww…Too much going on, with the over-sized camo in too many different colors, and the door design which is awful. F-

The Driver Suit Blog-The Curious Case of The Bugle of Christian Fittipaldi

By David Firestone

Christian Fittipaldi is a Brazilian race driver who raced in F1, Champ Car and eventually NASCAR. Although he had two wins in Champ Car, his F1 and NASCAR careers were fruitless. His NASCAR career lasted from 2002-2003, and during that time he raced in a total of 16 races, with 2 DNQ’s. With the exception of the 2003 Daytona 500, all of his races were for Petty Enterprises, and he raced in all 3 of their teams at the time, cars #43, 44, and 45. His final two races were for car #44, which at the time was sponsored by Bugles.

In 2011, I bought the Bugles driver suit Fittipaldi wore for those final two races. When I got the suit, I saw it had some…irregularities to it. The most prominent feature are the television logos on the sleeves.

Notice anything odd? The TV logos on the sleeves are incorrectly positioned…for NASCAR. I found this to be a bit odd, as there seems to be no logical reason for the logos to be set the way that they are. These logos, introduced in the 1990′s as a way for the primary sponsor of the car to advertise to the in-car cameras, should be positioned so that the logo appears clearly. These logos are designed for a camera mounted in the area where the passenger seat would be, as seen at 3:48 in the video below:

The logos are upside down. I was trying to understand why this was done, and then I watched the Indianapolis 500, and watching the in-car views, and suddenly, it all made sense, as seem below:

It became clear rather quickly that the TV logos are correct for F1 and IndyCar in-car cameras, but not correct for NASCAR ones. It seems that this car was designed for an open-wheel car, but not a stock car. The evidence on the shoulders is further proof…

I’ve never seen any shoulder design like that of this suit before. The V pattern with the Goodyear logos on both sides. This is not unique to this suit, the shoulder designs of an earlier Christian Fittipaldi suit are the same as this one, though the logos are not visible on the back.

So we have two anomalies to this suit, but why did this happen? This suit was worn in 2003, and these logos were developed an implemented in the mid 1990′s. My theory to the answer can be found in two things, who wore the suit, and who made the suit. Fittipaldi was an open-wheel driver, and frequently wore suits made by an Italian company named Momo. Although Momo makes NASCAR equipment now, back in 2003, they were new to the NASCAR game, and as such were not as used to designing for NASCAR in-car cameras. As such, they designed the suit for an open-wheel car.

Granted Momo wasn’t as familiar with the design of stock cars, and their in car camera placement, but even so, wasn’t there somebody examining the suit? Wasn’t a team representative present at any point in the process? How does a mistake like that happen? The thing that really gets me is this…that was from the same season, and was made by the same company, but clearly the logos are correct in this shot…if they get it right once, why can’t they get it right again? How did that mistake happen? Well it did, and although there was no harm done, it does look pretty goofy…

Moving on to new paint schemes, let’s look at some…

First in the Nationwide Series

Regan Smith #5 Hellman’s Chevy Camaro The yellow is ok, a bit too bright for my taste, but I have seen much worse. The stripes look good, great colors and they are easy to figure out unlike some others. Final Grade: B+ Tone down the yellow a bit and it would be an ANow onto the Sprint Cup:

Matt Kenseth #20 Husky Toyota Camry Not much really to say, mediocre color scheme, no real design to comment on, the logos are plain Jane enough, it’s a bland scheme that earns a C grade. A mediocre grade for a mediocre scheme.

Aric Almirola #43 Smithfield Foods Ford Fusion Basically the scheme is unchanged from last year, and that is a good thing. I love this scheme, great color, great design, looks good, the logos are easy to see, and I give it an A. Extra credit was given for the use of Petty Blue.

Bobby Labonte #47 House Autry House Foods Toyota Camry The design is simple, but good. The color scheme need some work. The red used is too bright, as is the blue. The logo group on the quarter-panel is awful. The really odd thing is that this is the first scheme of Labonte’s that has been released, and it is the scheme slated for the All-Star Race. Why in the world would the All-Star Race scheme be released before any of the regular season races? I just don’t understand the logic here. But that being said, the final grade is a B-. If the color wasn’t so bright, I could grade it higher.