paint scheme grades – Page 11 – The Driver Suit Blog

Paint Scheme Grades-January 6, 2024

By David G. Firestone

Ross Chastain #1 Moose Fraternity Chevy Camaro-I like the new red roof, so this gets an A.

Kyle Larson #5 Hendrickcars.com Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Kyle Larson #5 Valvoline Chevy Camaro-Major downgrade from last year. Car is a bit too over designed, but does have a good color scheme. B

Brad Keselowski #6 Fastenal Body Guard Ford Mustang-The green and black work well, and the design scheme looks great, so this gets an A.

Chase Elliott #9 NAPA Chevy Camaro-I love the new all-blue look, it’s much better than it would be with the white! A

Chase Elliott #9 Kelly Blue Book Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Chase Elliott #9 LLumar Window Film Chevy Camaro-The color and design scheme are perfect, so I give this an A.

Chase Elliott #9 UniFirst Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Chris Buescher #17 Fastenal Ford Mustang-I’m not always the biggest fan of template schemes. That said, this is a great one, and the blue works well. A

William Byron #24 Liberty University Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

William Byron #24 Axalta Chevy Camaro-A smooth look with a great color scheme will always earn an A.

William Byron #24 RAPTOR Chevy Camaro-The fade and color scheme work, the black designs are just horrid, so this gets a C.

William Byron #24 Valvoline Chevy Camaro-The lack of white as a primary color doesn’t work, and the designs just look off as a result. I do like the color scheme, so this gets a D

Erik Jones #43 Advent Health Toyota Camry-Not only is this a good design with a good color scheme, it’s leaps and bounds over the previous scheme. A

Alex Bowman #48 Ally Financial Chevy Camaro-To call this car over designed is an understatement. Add in a bad color scheme, and you have an F scheme.

David Ragan #60 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang-These new changes don’t really change much, so same A- grade.

Zane Smith #71 WeatherTech Chevy Camaro-Both color and design scheme work well, so this gets an A.

Carson Hocevar #77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevy Camaro-No real change in the grade, even with the new designs. C

2023 Paint Scheme Leaderboard Part 4-The Grand Finale

2023 Paint Scheme Leaderboard Part 4-The Grand Finale:

By David G. Firestone

Well, all the votes have been counted, and the final Paint Scheme Leaderboard is complete. Without further ado, the final post of 2023:

#1-Hendrick Motorsports #9

Rank Last Year: 4 of 45

Number of Schemes: 9

GPA: 4.00

#2-Stewart Haas Racing #29

Rank Last Year: N/A

Number of Schemes: 1

GPA: 4.00

#3-Richard Childress Racing #33

Rank Last Year: 13 of 45

Number of Schemes: 1

GPA: 4.00

#4-The Money Racing Team #50

Rank Last Year: 40 of 45

Number of Schemes: 1

GPA: 4.00

#5-Rick Ware Racing #51

Rank Last Year: 11 of 45

Number of Schemes: 11

GPA: 3.94

#6-Hendrick Motorsports #5

Rank Last Year: 12 of 45

Number of Schemes: 4

GPA: 3.83

#7-Team Penske #22

Rank Last Year: 1 of 45

Number of Schemes: 9

GPA: 3.78

#8-Front Row Motorsports #36

Rank Last Year: N/A

Number of Schemes: 4

GPA: 3.75

#9-Stewart Haas Racing #10

Rank Last Year: 10 of 45

Number of Schemes: 9

GPA: 3.60

#10-Team Penske #12

Rank Last Year: 7 of 45

Number of Schemes: 22

GPA: 3.60

#11-Richard Childress Racing #8

Rank Last Year: 21 of 45

Number of Schemes: 16

GPA: 3.58

#12-Team Penske #2

Rank Last Year: 19 of 45

Number of Schemes: 13

GPA: 3.54

#13-Joe Gibbs Racing #11

Rank Last Year: 3 of 45

Number of Schemes: 11

GPA: 3.52

#14-Joe Gibbs Racing #54

Rank Last Year: N/A

Number of Schemes: 6

GPA: 3.33

#15-Stewart Haas Racing #41

Rank Last Year: 14 of 45

Number of Schemes: 14

GPA: 3.28

#16-Roush-Fenway Racing #17

Rank Last Year: 26 of 45

Number of Schemes: 15

GPA: 3.24

#17-Wood Brothers Racing #21

Rank Last Year: 22 of 45

Number of Schemes: 6

GPA: 3.22

#18-Kaulig Racing #16

Rank Last Year: 8 of 45

Number of Schemes: 14

GPA: 3.21

#19-Front Row Motorsports #34

Rank Last Year: 27 of 45

Number of Schemes: 14

GPA: 3.19

#20-Hendrick Motorsports #24

Rank Last Year: 9 of 45

Number of Schemes: 9

GPA: 3.17

#21-Front Row Motorsports #38

Rank Last Year: 37 of 45

Number of Schemes: 18

GPA: 3.11

#22-Richard Childress Racing #3

Rank Last Year: 15 of 45

Number of Schemes: 13

GPA: 3.10

#23-Roush-Fenway Racing #6

Rank Last Year: 16 of 45

Number of Schemes: 13

GPA: 3.05

#24-Rick Ware Racing #15

Rank Last Year: 18 of 45

Number of Schemes: 30

GPA: 3.05

#25-Kaulig Racing #13

Rank Last Year: N/A

Number of Schemes: 1

GPA: 3.00

#26-Stewart Haas Racing #14

Rank Last Year: 17 of 45

Number of Schemes: 13

GPA: 2.97

#27-Stewart Haas Racing #4

Rank Last Year: 23 of 45

Number of Schemes: 22

GPA: 2.90

#28-Joe Gibbs Racing #19

Rank Last Year: 28 of 45

Number of Schemes: 8

GPA: 2.89

#29-Legacy Motor club #43

Rank Last Year: 42 of 45

Number of Schemes: 9

GPA: 2.89

#30-JTG Daugherty Racing #47

Rank Last Year: 30 of 45

Number of Schemes: 32

GPA: 2.87

#31-Kaulig Racing #31

Rank Last Year: 34 of 45

Number of Schemes: 10

GPA: 2.83

#32-Legacy Motor club #42

Rank Last Year: 33 of 45

Number of Schemes: 8

GPA: 2.75

#33-Legacy Motor Club #84

Rank Last Year: N/A

Number of Schemes: 3

GPA: 2.67

#34-23XI Racing #23

Rank Last Year: 31 of 45

Number of Schemes: 22

GPA: 2.59

#35-23XI Racing #45

Rank Last Year: 29 of 45

Number of Schemes: 22

GPA: 2.52

#36-Spire Motorsports #7

Rank Last Year: 39 of 45

Number of Schemes: 15

GPA: 2.52

#37-Live Fast Motorsports #78

Rank Last Year: 35 of 45

Number of Schemes: 19

GPA: 2.40

#38-Joe Gibbs Racing #20

Rank Last Year: 10 of 45

Number of Schemes: 16

GPA: 2.36

#39-Trackhouse Racing #1

Rank Last Year: 38 of 45

Number of Schemes:

GPA: 2.13

#40-23XI Racing #67

Rank Last Year: N/A

Number of Schemes: 2

GPA: 2.00

#41-Beard Motorsports #62

Rank Last Year: 25 of 45

Number of Schemes: 3

GPA: 2.00

#42-Trackhouse Racing #99

Rank Last Year: 43 of 45

Number of Schemes: 14

GPA: 1.90

#43-Spire Motorsports #77

Rank Last Year: 36 of 45

Number of Schemes: 13

GPA: 1.68

#44-Trackhouse Racing #91

Rank Last Year: 45 of 45

Number of Schemes: 2

GPA: 1.50

#45-Hendrick Motorsports #48

Rank Last Year: 24 of 45

Number of Schemes: 9

GPA: 1.30

Next Week, back to regular grades.

2023 Paint Scheme Leaderboard Part 3-Toyota

By David G. Firestone

The 2023 Paint Scheme Leaderboard rolls on, this week, it’s the Toyota teams time to shine!

#1-Joe Gibbs R acing #11

Rank Last Year: 1 of 8

Number of Schemes: 11

GPA: 3.52

#2-Joe Gibbs Racing #54

Rank Last Year: N/A

Number of Schemes: 6

GPA: 3.33

#3-Joe Gibbs Racing #19

Rank Last Year: 5 of 8

Number of Schemes: 8

GPA: 2.89

#4-23XI Racing #23

Rank Last Year: 7 of 8

Number of Schemes: 22

GPA: 2.59

#5-23XI Racing #45

Rank Last Year: 6 of 8

Number of Schemes: 22

GPA: 2.52

#6-Joe Gibbs Racing #20

Rank Last Year: 4 of 8

Number of Schemes: 16

GPA: 2.36

#7-23XI Racing #67

Rank Last Year: N/A

Number of Schemes: 2

GPA: 2.00

Next Week, The Grand Finale!

2023 Paint Scheme Leaderboard Part 2-Ford

By David G. Firestone

This week, the 2023 Paint Scheme Leaderboard shifts focus to the blue oval. Ford’s rankings are up for this week.

#1-Stewart Haas Racing #29

Rank Last Year: N/A

Number of Schemes: 1

GPA: 4.00

#2-Rick Ware Racing #51

Rank Last Year: 2 of 17

Number of Schemes: 11

GPA: 3.94

#3-Team Penske #22

Rank Last Year: 1 of 17

Number of Schemes: 9

GPA: 3.78

#4-Front Row Motorsports #36

Rank Last Year: N/A

Number of Schemes: 4

GPA: 3.75

#5-Stewart Haas Racing #10

Rank Last Year: 14 of 17

Number of Schemes: 9

GPA: 3.60

#6-Team Penske #12

Rank Last Year: 3 of 17

Number of Schemes: 22

GPA: 3.60

#7-Team Penske #2

Rank Last Year: 9 of 17

Number of Schemes: 13

GPA: 3.54

#8-Stewart Haas Racing #41

Rank Last Year: 5 of 17

Number of Schemes: 14

GPA: 3.28

#9-Roush-Fenway Racing #17

Rank Last Year: 12 of 17

Number of Schemes: 15

GPA: 3.24

#10-Wood Brothers Racing #21

Rank Last Year: 10 of 17

Number of Schemes: 6

GPA: 3.22

#11-Front Row Motorsports #34

Rank Last Year: 13 of 17

Number of Schemes: 14

GPA: 3.19

#12-Front Row Motorsports #38

Rank Last Year: 16 of 17

Number of Schemes: 18

GPA: 3.11

#13-Roush-Fenway Racing #6

Rank Last Year: 6 of 17

Number of Schemes: 13

GPA: 3.05

#14-Rick Ware Racing #15

Rank Last Year: N/A

Number of Schemes: 30

GPA: 3.05

#15-Stewart Haas Racing #14

Rank Last Year: 7 of 17

Number of Schemes: 13

GPA: 2.97

#16-Stewart Haas Racing #4

Rank Last Year: 11 of 17

Number of Schemes: 22

GPA: 2.90

Next Week, the Toyota Leaderboard

2023 Paint Scheme Leaderboard Part 1-Chevy

By David G. Firestone

It’s that time of year again! The snow is on the ground, holiday music and decorations are abound, and the 2023 Paint Scheme Leaderboard is here! Here’s how the process works. I will rank all of the Cup Series teams by their paint scheme GPA. I will rank them by manufacturer, then all of them in one final list. There is no committee this year, as Zoe chose to skip the proceedings. Here is the Chevy list:

#1-Hendrick Motorsports #9

Rank Last Year: 2 of 20

Number of Schemes: 9

GPA: 4.00

#2-Richard Childress Racing #33

Rank Last Year: 5 of 20

Number of Schemes: 1

GPA: 4.00

#3-The Money Racing Team #50

Rank Last Year: 17 of 20

Number of Schemes: 1

GPA: 4.00

#4-Hendrick Motorsports #5

Rank Last Year: 4 of 20

Number of Schemes: 4

GPA: 3.83

#5-Richard Childress Racing #8

Rank Last Year: 8 of 20

Number of Schemes: 16

GPA: 3.58

#6-Kaulig Racing #16

Rank Last Year: 7 of 20

Number of Schemes: 14

GPA: 3.21

#7-Hendrick Motorsports #24

Rank Last Year: 3 of 20

Number of Schemes: 9

GPA: 3.17

#8-Richard Childress Racing #3

Rank Last Year: 6 of 20

Number of Schemes: 13

GPA: 3.10

#9-Kaulig Racing #13

Rank Last Year: N/A

Number of Schemes: 1

GPA: 3.00

#10-Legacy Motor club #43

Rank Last Year: 18 of 20

Number of Schemes: 9

GPA: 2.89

#11-JTG Daugherty Racing #47

Rank Last Year: 11 of 20

Number of Schemes: 32

GPA: 2.87

#12-Kaulig Racing #31

Rank Last Year: 13 of 20

Number of Schemes: 10

GPA: 2.83

#13-Legacy Motor club #42

Rank Last Year: 12 of 20

Number of Schemes: 8

GPA: 2.75

#14-Legacy Motor Club #84

Rank Last Year: N/A

Number of Schemes: 3

GPA: 2.67

#15-Spire Motorsports #7

Rank Last Year: of 20

Number of Schemes: 15

GPA: 2.52

16-Live Fast Motorsports #78

Rank Last Year: of 20

Number of Schemes: 19

GPA: 2.40

17-Trackhouse Racing #1

Rank Last Year: of 8

Number of Schemes:

GPA: 2.13

18-Beard Motorsports #62

Rank Last Year: of 20

Number of Schemes: 3

GPA: 2.00

19-Trackhouse Racing #99

Rank Last Year: 19 of 20

Number of Schemes: 14

GPA: 1.90

20-Spire Motorsports #77

Rank Last Year: 14 of 20

Number of Schemes: 13

GPA: 1.68

#21-Trackhouse Racing #91

Rank Last Year: 20 of 20

Number of Schemes: 2

GPA: 1.50

#22-Hendrick Motorsports #48

Rank Last Year: 9 of 20

Number of Schemes: 9

GPA: 1.30

Next Week, the Ford Leaderboard

Ladies and Gentlemen…THE 2023 Paint Scheme Awards!

By David G. Firestone

Well, it’s that time again! We have the annual Paint Scheme Awards for the 2023 season. As per the usual, every year, I pick the best and worst paint schemes and award them the Paint Scheme. This was done using the Driver Suit Blog executive committee for paint scheme analysis and consists of me and Driver Suit Blog assistant, my cat Zoe, and uses the following standards:

*Color Scheme:How the colors look, and how they work with each other.

*Overall Design:How good the design itself looks, is there too much, or not enough.

*Primary Sponsor Logos: How the primary sponsor logos look on the car

*Originality: How original is the scheme.

All of the above can work for or against a scheme, and all will be taken into consideration.

Let’s get the bad Paint Scheme Awards out of the way…

First, the Paint Scheme Award for Worst Regular Season Single Paint Scheme.

The nominees are:

Ross Chastain #1 Worldwide Express/Advent Health Chevy Camaro

Ross Chastain #1 Advent Health Chevy Camaro

Brad Keselowski #6 Solomon Plumbing Patriotic Ford Mustang

Ryan Blaney #12 Cherry Lime Body Armor Patriotic Ford Mustang

Riley Herbst #15 Mechanix/Monster Ford Mustang

Mike Rockenfeller #42 Sunseeker Resort Chevy Camaro

Tyler Reddick #45 Jordan Brand Toyota Camry

The 2023 Paint Scheme Award for Worst Regular Season Single Paint Scheme goes to:

Tyler Reddick #45 Jordan Brand Toyota Camry

The next Paint Scheme Award is for Exhibition or Throwback Paint Schemes. This category is a little different, as the Scheme will go to the best and worst throwback. For this category, all exhibition race and throwback paint schemes qualify automatically.

The 2023 Paint Scheme Award for Worst Exhibition or Throwback Paint Scheme goes to…

Kevin Harvick #4 Rheem “Chasing a Cure” Ford Mustang

The next award of 2023 is the Paint Scheme for Worst Paint Scheme Set of 2023. This is based on the total GPA of the individual grades for paint schemes. The nominees are:

Stewart Haas Racing #4 Ford Mustang

Stewart Haas Racing #14 Ford Mustang

Rick Ware Racing #15 Ford Mustang

Joe Gibbs Racing #20 Toyota Camry

23XI Racing #45 Toyota Camry

Hendrick Motorsports #48 Chevy Camaro

23XI Racing #67 Toyota Camry

Spire Motorsports #77 Chevy Camaro

Trackhouse Racing #91 Chevy Camaro

The 2022 Paint Scheme Award for for Worst Paint Scheme Set goes to…

Hendrick Motorsports #48 Chevy Camaro

Now after talking about the bad, we discuss the good. Here are the winners in the best category…

First, the Paint Scheme Award for Best Regular Season Single Paint Scheme.

The nominees for the 2023 Paint Scheme Award for for Best Regular Season Single Paint Scheme are:

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Light Ford Mustang

Kyle Larson #5 Hendrickcars.com Chevy Camaro

Chase Elliott #9 NAPA Chevy Camaro

Denny Hamlin #11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry

The 2023 Paint Scheme Award for for Best Regular Season Single Paint Scheme goes to…

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Light Ford Mustang

The next category is Paint Scheme Award is for Best Exhibition or Throwback Paint Schemes, and it should come as no surprise that the competition was strong this year.

The 2023 winner for best throwback is:

William Byron #24 Axalta Throwback Chevy Camaro

The final award of 2023 is the Paint Scheme for Best Paint Scheme Set. Like the Worst Set, this is based on the total GPA of the individual grades for paint schemes. The nominees are:

Hendrick Motorsports #9 Chevy Camaro

Joe Gibbs Racing #11 Toyota Camry

Joe Gibbs Racing #19 Toyota Camry

Team Penske #22 Ford Mustang

Stewart Haas Racing #29 Ford Mustang

Kaulig Racing #31 Chevy Camaro

Richard Childress Racing #33 Chevy Camaro

Rick Ware Racing #51 Ford Mustang

Joe Gibbs Racing #54 Toyota Camry

The 2023 Paint Scheme Award for for Best Paint Scheme Set goes to…

Hendrick Motorsports #9 Chevy Camaro

That’s it for the Schemes, next week, the Paint Scheme Leaderboard begins with Chevy!

Paint Scheme Grades-November 4, 2023

By David G. Firestone

Kevin Harvick #4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang-I love the all-red look, this is amazing, this gets an A.

JJ Yeley #15 International Fellowship of Christians and Jews Ford Mustang-It’s a smooth look, with a simple color scheme, and that will ALWAYS earn an A.

Bubba Wallace #23 Xfinity Mobile Toyota Camry-Another smooth look with a great color scheme. A

William Byron #24 PODS Chevy Camaro-The red would look better across the car, and the trim on the blue looks odd, though I get it is meant to look like a PODS door. It’s not bad, so I’ll give it a B.

Tyler Reddick #45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry-They took a great scheme, added needless slash marks, and took it from an A down to a B+

Ricky Stenhouse #47 Kroger/Reese’s Chevy Camaro-I haven’t called it out specifically, but the Kroger blue hood looks on when blue is not a primary color. In this case, it is distracting enough to take an A scheme down to an A-.

BJ McLeod #78 Superior Logistics/Falk’d Up Garage Chevy Camaro-As much as I can appreciate a Halloween design, this just looks like a thrown together mess, which is also over designed. F

Daniel Suárez #99 Jockey Outdoors By Luke Bryan Chevy Camaro-Camo on a race car SUCKS! I could appreciate the nature motif without the camo, with the camo, it’s over designed, and gets an F.

Paint Scheme Grades-October 28, 2023

By David G. Firestone

Kevin Harvick #4 Budweiser Ford Mustang-I liked the old scheme, and this is a great recreation. A

JJ Yeley #15 International Fellowship of Christians and Jews Ford Mustang-It’s a smooth look with a great color scheme, and that will always earn an A.

Bubba Wallace #23 McDonald’s/Grimace Toyota Camry-Not over designed, color scheme works, this gets an A.

Tyler Reddick #45 McDonald’s/Hamburglar Toyota Camry-Not over designed, color scheme works, this gets an A.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #47 Boost by Kroger/Vitaminwater Chevy Camaro-It works well, and it isn’t over designed. A

Alex Bowman #48 Ally Koker’s Garage Chevy Camaro-Awful color scheme with a horrific design scheme will always earn an F.

Ty Dillon #77 Raze Shot Focus Chevy Camaro-Awful color scheme with a horrific design scheme will always earn an F.

Paint Scheme Grades-October 14, 2023

By David G. Firestone

Austin Dillon #3 Huk Performance Fishing Chevy Camaro-Holy Hell is this better! Better color scheme and better design. A

Kevin Harvick #4 Rheem “Chasing a Cure” Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same F grade.

Aric Almirola #10 iHop Ford Mustang-A good color scheme with a good design scheme will always earn an A.

Andy Lally #15 Camping World Ford Mustang-Another instance of a great scheme getting better! A

Christopher Bell #20 DEWALT Plumbing Solutions Toyota Camry-This is way too over designed for me to give this anything from an F.

William Byron #24 HP Chevy Camaro-It’s a smooth look, with a great color scheme, and that will always earn an A.

Tyler Reddick #45 Jordan Brand Toyota Camry-It’s amazing what a good color and design scheme can do! A

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #47 Harris Teeter/Totino’s Chevy Camaro-Good color scheme with an awful design scheme will always earn a C.

Ty Dillon #77 Bon Secours St. Francis Health System Chevy Camaro-Overlooking the pinkwashing, the car is over designed with a horrible color scheme. F

Daniel Suárez #99 Minute Maid Auguas Frescas Chevy Camaro-Too ugly and over designed to give this anything but an F.

Paint Scheme Grades-October 7, 2023

By David G. Firestone

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Light #Break4Busch Ford Mustang-It’s still bad, but a major improvement from last year’s F scheme. C

Chase Briscoe #14 Old Spice Ford Mustang-While I’m not the biggest fan of the movie itself, this scheme is a good throwback. A

Christopher Bell #20 DEWALT Electrical Solutions Toyota Camry-It’s not bad, but it isn’t good. It looks really forced, and it looks off. C

Justin Haley #31 Morris-Shea Bridge Co., Inc. Chevy Camaro-Getting rid of the clutter on the front would elevate this to a solid A, this gets an A-

Riley Herbst #36 Beast Unleashed White Haze Ford Mustang-It’s a smooth look, with a great color scheme, and that will always earn an A.

Ryan Preece #41 Wonder Bread Ford Mustang-While I’m not the biggest fan of the movie itself, this scheme is a good throwback. A

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #47 Sara Lee Artesano Bakery Bread Chevy Camaro-Motif schemes can be used to make the product look good. In this case, the white powder across the bread motif looks like mold, thus making me not want to buy it. The Country Crock logo is also oddly placed, and, because of the motif, is difficult to read. F