By David G. Firestone

Austin Dillon #3 American Ethanol Ricky Rudd Throwback Chevy SS-I love the direction that Richard Childress Racing went this year, with the Ricky Rudd throwback. It’s an amazing look. I can’t say enough good things about this scheme, and I give it an A+.

Danica Patrick #10 Nature’s Bakery/Autism Delaware Chevy SS-Same basic scheme as Nature’s Bakery but with Autism Delaware on quarter panels, same A+ grade.

Casey Mears #13 Geico Smokey Yunick Throwback Chevy SS-Another good throwback from an interesting source. I love the Yunick look, as long as they don’t Yunick the rules. A+

Kyle Busch #18 M&M’s Patriotic Toyota Camry-It’s a really good look for Kyle, and the color scheme fits very well with the M&M’s motif.  I can’t really say anything bad about this scheme, so I’ll give it an A+.

David Ragan #23 Bubba Burger Toyota Camry-Camo on race car is not, has never been and never will be a good look. This example is just awful. Even standard issue camo is better than this nonsense! I give it an F.

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Schrock Chevy SS–Another good look for the new Menard’s template. The purple works quite well here, and the car has a good look. A+

Ryan Newman #31 Caterpillar Ricky Rudd Throwback Chevy SS-See Austin Dillon above. A+

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Mountain Dew Patriotic Chevy SS-Um…patriotic? This is supposed to be patriotic? Are we living in Mauritania? I was under the assumption that a patriotic scheme involved the colors red, white, and blue. I think we have found the most unpatriotic patriotic paint scheme in history. I give it an F, and I’m being very kind.