By David G. Firestone

I was going to review the new Verizon IndyCar Series logo earlier, but then Mello Yello came out with a new logo, and I quickly realized that there would be a new logo for the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, so I figured I’d hold off until the new logo came out. Well, last week, the new logo was released. Normally, I don’t swear on this blog, but for these new logos, I’m going to, because they are just shit.

Let’s discuss the new Verizon IndyCar Series logo.I new it was going to be awful, since Verizon’s new logo looks like shit. But it was even worse than I could have predicted. It looks generic. Seriously, it looks like a cheap knockoff logo sold on counterfeit merchandise. When I first saw it, I sincerely thought I was looking at a beta version, or a test version, but no, this is the new logo. It looks like there was maybe 5 minutes worth of thought to this new design. There was no effort whatsoever. If it were a badge, like the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series logo, maybe I could get behind it a little more. I didn’t like the old logo either, but at least I gave them credit for putting some effort into the logo. With the 2016 logo, it’s the IndyCar logo, with some generic text. I’d like to bash it more, but there’s nothing to bash.

I hate the new IndyCar logo for not putting enough effort into the design. For the new NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series logo, they put much too much effort into it, and it looks even more like shit:When I saw the new Mello Yello logo, my first thought was that the new logo had Peter Clifford’s fingerprints all over it. Peter Clifford was elected the new President of the NHRA, and instantly began suffering from a very common disease commonly known as “Newly Promoted Managers Syndrome.” Newly Promoted Managers Syndrome or NPMS is a temporary condition in which a newly promoted manager feels the need to prove he or she is worthy of the promotion, and will begin to make changes to show others he or she is. These changes can be minimal, a slight change to the dress code, a procedural change, or small rule changes. Sometimes, as in the case Peter Clifford is showing, these changes can be very massive, in redesigning the Pro Stock class, along with new television contracts and logos.

It would also make sense considering the timing of Mello Yello’s logo change, which came at the end of last year. Since these logo changes take months to design, and survey, it very easily could have corresponded to Peter Clifford’s election to NHRA President. Outside of the NHRA, Mello Yello doesn’t really sponsor anything, and the NHRA is their big marketing deal. As such, it does not seem that far fetched that the NHRA and Coca Cola worked together to come up with the new logo.

I liked the old Mello Yello logo, because it had a vintage look, but had a modern feel. The Mello Yello Drag Racing Series logo had a unique look, that was a little bit modern, and a little bit retro. The pipes and fire worked well, and it was a great looking logo that fit well wherever it was used on a car, uniform or apparel.The 2016 logo is so overdone, it’s not even funny. While on the old logo, the pipes are cleary exhaust pipes, and the fire represents the fire coming out of the pipes during a fuel car run, the “pipes” on the new logo are poorly defined, and look really bad. It looks like it is trying to car-themed, but failing. The Mello Yello lettering would work better if it was only one line of text, instead of two. The fading of the silver is ugly, and does nothing to help the logo. The red, white and blue NHRA logo looks out of place on the yellow, black, and silver logo. It’s just a mess.

One thing I have to give the NHRA and Mello Yello credit for is that the new logo will work with their My NHRA campaign. I do think this new promotional campaign will bring more people into the sport as fans. The NHRA is very fan-based, and they give you access to the drivers, that no other racing series does. I go to the Route 66 Nationals every year, and I can say that I’ve gotten a lot of autographs, met a lot of drivers, and always had a great time. I’m hoping that aspect of going to a race never changes.

My conclusions are that the Verizon IndyCar Series logo was a cop-out. It’s a cheap, watered-down version of a racing series logo that had no thought behind it. The Mello Yello Drag Racing Series logo on the other hand, is much too over-designed, and poorly thought out.

By David G. Firestone

I just want to say that I HATE cleaning! I really, really hate cleaning. I say this as a 34 year old male who lives, at the moment, by himself. I’m the classic bachelor, who just leaves dirty dishes in the sink, until he runs out of clean plates and silverware, and then does the dishes. I do laundry once a week, and that’s only clothes. I couldn’t tell you when the last time I vacuumed my office. The point is, I hate cleaning.

As much as I hate cleaning, I like clean surroundings. I like my office and house clean. I’m really organized. I don’t really go anywhere most of the time, except to my real job. So I have plenty of time to clean. I just hate to do it.

I was thinking about some of my idiosyncrasies as a person, and I’m realizing that we all have things about us that seem odd to other people. Take some of my examples:

-I HATE peaches and raspberries, and will go out of my way not to eat them.

-Since age 16, I have had some kind of facial hair, to the point, I feel insecure without it.

-I take fiendish pride in the fact that I haven’t flown on a plane or had a cup of coffee in over 10 years.

-I sleep on a couch, not a fold out one.

-On my desk, there are two stacks of poker chips. One is 15 chips high, 3 of five different colors, red, green, grey, blue, and black in that order. The small white lines on them align at all times. The other is 13 chips high, three different colors in no order, and I will occasionally pick them up while watching TV.

-I use 4 different body sprays over the course of a week.

-I enjoy video taping rainstorms…I don’t know why.

-Under no circumstances will I ever go to a theme park anymore.

-I have tied a tie on my own 3 times in my life.

-I always have at least one poker chip on me at all times.

-I HATE politics, and go out of my way not to get involved.

-Closed businesses that have illuminated Open signs annoy me to no end.

-I will not have tomato sauce on pasta.

I have no problem admitting any of this publicly, because I am comfortable with who I am. Bullies can only win if you let them, and I don’t let them. Be who you are, and don’t be ashamed.

By David G. Firestone

I think that we can all agree that vacations rule…and it sucks when they end. Well, I have come to the end of my winter sabbatical. Well, it’s 2016, the holiday season is over, and I’ve got back into the grind. I’m coming back to The Driver Suit Blog with a slightly new setup. I’ve moved the videos to Mondays, which will start in March. The other major change will be Throwback Thursdays are coming back.

Videos will be on Monday, because I NEVER post articles on Monday, and at least there will be something. I’ve got a great set of videos ready for 2016. They cover a lot of items, many I have already talked about, some I haven’t. I’m looking forward to them, and I like the way they turned out.

I’m also proud to announce that Throwback Thursday has returned! I’ve decided that I wanted to do something, and I thought that I should use the way I grade paint schemes. So, starting this Thursday, I will feature a vintage car design and describe what I like and don’t like about the paint scheme in question. I will also discuss design aspects of the car I notice. I’ve done a number of them already, and I like what they come out.

The Tracker will still be on Wednesday, the Friday Feature will stay as is, and the Grades will still be on Saturday. The only day that will be free will be Sunday, because I want my readers to watch the races, rather than read my blog. I’ve got six days worth of stuff every week. I’m really excited for 2016.

I’m also implementing a new rule for comments. From here on out, I would prefer that if you comment, please use a real name. I HATE people who make up fake names to comment on web pages. Look at everything I’ve done on The Driver Suit Blog. Everything I have done, the first line of text has always been “By David G. Firestone.” If you only want to use a first name, I have no problem with that, but I reserve the right to deny a comment if it’s an obviously fake name. I don’t care if you disagree with me, just own up to it.

I’m really looking forward to 2016, it’s gonna be a great year, I have a lot of things planned. Stay Tuned!