Category: paint scheme grades

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

Tyler Reddick #45 Jordan Brand Toyota Camry

Tyler Reddick #45 Jordan Brand Toyota Camry

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

Paint Scheme Grades-September 30, 2023

By David G. Firestone

Ryan Blaney #12 Menard’s/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same C grade

Chase Briscoe #14 Rush’s Truck Stops Pink Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same F grade

J.J. Yeley #15 Steakhouse Elite Ford Mustang-I like the look, and the car is well designed with a great color scheme. A

J.J. Yeley #15 Patriot Mobile Patriotic Ford Mustang-The Patriot Mobile look works well with blue. A

AJ Allmendinger #16 Barger Precast Chevy Camaro-The colors might work better reversed, too much white, and the cutting edge designs are over done. C

Erik Jones #43 VsEverybody.com Chevy Camaro-I hate mosaic schemes, and the sublimated words don’t help. F

Tyler Reddick #45 Jordan Brand Toyota Camry-The neon green looks out of place here, and the designs are just childish. F

Tyler Reddick #45 Jordan Brand Toyota Camry-Well, more neon green, and over done designs don’t do this scheme any favors. F

Ty Gibbs #54 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry-Holy hell! This is a massive improvement over the green look! This is a great scheme! A

Ty Dillon #77 Shelton Energy Solutions Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same B+ grade

Daniel Suarez #99 Aerial Recovery Chevy Camaro-A smooth look with a great color scheme will always earn an A.

Daniel Suarez #99 Kubota/Onx Homes Chevy Camaro-Reversing the colors worked well here. A

Paint Scheme Grades-September 23, 2023

By David G. Firestone

Austin Cindric #2 Menard’s/Monster Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Chase Elliott #9 NAPA Gold Filters Chevy Camaro-A great look, with a great color scheme will always earn an A.

Bubba Wallace #23 Columbia Sportswear Toyota Camry-Take last week’s amazing paint scheme, add a horrific color scheme, and you have an F scheme.

Justin Haley #31 MTN Dew Chevy Camaro-The front is fine, but the rear is too over designed to get anything than an F.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #47 Kroger/Scott Chevy Camaro-Getting rid of the stripes would make this an A scheme, with the stripes, this is an A-

Paint Scheme Grades-September 16, 2023

By David G. Firestone

Kevin Harvick #4 Sunny Delight Ford Mustang-Adding more blue does not change the fact that this car is an over designed mess. F

Kyle Busch #8 Casey’s General Store Chevy Camaro-Great color scheme, great design scheme, great pizza, A.

Aric Almirola #10 Smithfield/Whataburger Ford Mustang-Adding orange to all of the black would work better, but this is still pretty good. A-

J.J. Yeley #15 Jungle Law Ford Mustang-This is a horrible, over designed mess. F

Christopher Bell #20 DEWALT Perform & Protect Toyota Camry-This is a bold look, and a unique look. It isn’t over designed, and it works well. A

Harrison Burton #21 Menard’s/Masterforce Tools Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Bubba Wallace #23 Columbia Sportswear Toyota Camry-A good fade is a good look, and this is a great look! A

Carson Hocevar #42 Sunseeker Resort Chevy Camaro-Holy hell is this a great look! They should have done this from the start! A

Ty Dillon #77 Raze Tea Chevy Camaro-Another awful, over designed Raze scheme, this time with another bad color scheme. F

Paint Scheme Grades-September 9, 2023

By David G. Firestone

Kevin Harvick #4 Mobil 1/Take 5 Ford Mustang-Nothing wrong wit this, though making the car Take 5 red might work better. A

Chase Briscoe #14 HighPoint.com Lady in Black Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

JJ Yeley #15 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Ford Mustang-I think the added black takes the scheme down from an A to an A-.

Ty Dillon #77 Raze Energy Chevy Camaro-Sometimes reversing the color scheme works, other times it doesn’t. Here, it doesn’t. F

BJ McLeod #78 Affliction Chevy Camaro-Not even a great color scheme can save this over designed mess from an F.

Paint Scheme Grades-September 2, 2023

By David G. Firestone

Austin Cindric #2 Menard’s/Cardell Cabinetry Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Austin Dillon #3 Morgan & Morgan Chevy Camaro-It’s a smooth look, with a great color scheme, and that will ALWAYS earn an A.

Corey LaJoie #7 The Jessie Rees Foundation Chevy Camaro-Adding the black looks better, but it’s still over designed. B-

Kyle Busch #8 Morgan & Morgan Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as #3, same A grade.

Denny Hamlin #11 FedEx Cars/Operation Warm Toyota Camry-A smooth, yet bold look, this is a simple design but it speaks volumes. A

Brennan Poole #15 Finance Pro Plus Ford Mustang-It’s way too over designed, and the scheme as a whole is a mess! F

Martin Truex Jr. #19 Bass Pro Shops/Ducks Unlimited Toyota Camry-Getting rid of the white would earn this a solid A, with the white, this earns an A-.

Bubba Wallace #23 Columbia Sportswear/Luke Combs Toyota Camry-The black with fish look is really good, it’s really bold, and it works. A

Michael McDowell #34 Fr8 Auctions Ford Mustang-This works even better with more black, and the stars work well too. A

Riley Herbst #36 Monster Energy Zero Sugar Ford Mustang-Same scheme as #54, same A grade.

Todd Gilliland #38 Serial 1 E-Bikes Ford Mustang-The tan look is a unique look, but it isn’t over designed, and it gets an A.

Ryan Preece #41 RaceChoice.com Ford Mustang-The pink looks out of place, and the car is over designed. F

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #47 Kroger/Entenmann’s Donuts Chevy Camaro-I like the look of Ball Park, and I like the donuts on the side, so this gets an A.

Alex Bowman #48 Ally Arena/Fortnite Chevy Camaro-The car is over designed, and the horrible color scheme earns this an F.