Category: paint scheme grades

Paint Scheme Grades-May 13, 2023

By David G. Firestone

Ross Chastain #1 Worldwide Express Throwback Chevy Camaro-I love Dale Jarrett, and I love a Dale Jarrett Throwback! This gets an A!

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Light #Break4Busch Ford Mustang-The car is a little too cluttered. Getting rid of the corn would take this to at least a B+ if not an A-, but this gets a B.

Brad Keselowski #6 King’s Hawaiian/Guardians of the Galaxy Ford Mustang-I loves me a good fade, and the fade from orange to a space motif looks amazing! A

Aric Almirola #10 Smithfield Foods Throwback Ford Mustang-I’m kind of shocked this hasn’t been thrown back to more, but it’s still a good solid look. A

Ryan Blaney #12 Menards/Dutch Boy Throwback Ford Mustang-That shade of blue and shade of gold works well with the Menard’s colors, and the design scheme works well too. A.

AJ Allmendinger #16 Campers Inn RV Chevy Camaro-The red is really pointless here, and the green designs, as well as the shade do NOT look good. This gets a B, since it isn’t too over designed.

Chris Buescher #17 Fastenal Body Guard Ford Mustang-The gray and blue looked great. The gray and orange, not so much. This went from an A- down to a B.

Joey Logano #22 Shell/Pennzoil Throwback Ford Mustang-Yes! Yes! A thousand times YES! This is a damn good throwback of a damn good car from a dammed good driver in Mark Donohue! I can’t give this anything less than an A, and this is a top contender for throwback of the year!

Bubba Wallace #23 Dr. Pepper Zero Sugar Toyota Camry-It’s a smooth look, with a great color scheme, and that will ALWAYS earn an A.

William Byron #24 Axalta Throwback Chevy Camaro-Even if this doesn’t change colors, this is still a great looking car, and it does take me back! This is another contender for best throwback of the year! A

Tyler Reddick #45 McDonald’s Toyota Camry-For a company with two really good base colors, red and yellow, McDonald’s is really keen on using gray for some reason, and I have to say, it just doesn’t work. McDonald’s should stick to their simple, yet effective and iconic colors. Since this isn’t over designed, this gets a D.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #47 Kroger/Country Crock Throwback Chevy Camaro-Where the #1 had more authentic logos, this is not as good, and the grilled cheese sandwich just doesn’t work as well. If this wasn’t a throwback, this would get an A, but the inaccuracies take it to a B+

Alex Bowman #48 Ally Financial Throwback Chevy Camaro-I never really liked any non plain black Texaco Havoline schemes at the time, but they’ve grown on me, and this is a rather faithful throwback, so this gets an A in my book!

BJ McLeod #78 Camden Medical Center Chevy Camaro-A good color scheme combined with a mediocre design scheme will earn a C.

Daniel Suarez #99 Quaker State Throwback Chevy Camaro-This might be one of the most perfect throwback schemes, something which Justin Marks and Trackhouse do very well. Design, color, theme, and sponsor all come together to create another contender for best throwback of the year. A

Paint Scheme Grades-May 6, 2023

By David G. Firestone

Austin Cindric #2 Menards/Great Stuff Ford Mustang-Same scheme as Richmond, same A grade.

Kevin Harvick #4 Hunt Brothers/Realtree Ford Mustang-The black works well with the camo, the green, not so much. The good and bad cancel each other out, and this gets a C.

Corey LaJoie #7 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same A- grade.

Brennan Poole #15 Millennium Jet Card Ford Mustang-A good color scheme with a bad design color scheme gets a C

Christopher Bell #20 Mac Tools Toyota Camry-A smooth look with a great color scheme will always earn an A.

Christopher Bell #20 DeWalt Throwback Toyota Camry-I like the look, the car is well designed, and this gets an A.

Justin Haley #31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same B+ grade.

Justin Haley #31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection/World Autism Month Chevy Camaro-The way the puzzle pieces are forced looks really odd, and it takes the scheme down to a C.

Michael McDowell #34 A&W Root Beer Float Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Todd Gilliland #36 Gener8tor Skills Accelerator Ford Mustang-Simple, bold, and perfect, this gets an A.

Ryan Preece #41 Mohawk Northeast Ford Mustang-I like the color scheme here, but the car is a tad too over designed. This gets a B+

Erik Jones #43 STP Chevy Camaro-At the time of writing, this is my favorite throwback so far! This is a great look, and earns an A.

Tyler Reddick #45 Ronald McDonald House Toyota Camry-Get rid of the black rear, and this scheme will get a solid A, this gets an A-.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #47 Kroger/Icy Hot Chevy Camaro-The shades of blue work well, and the design is great, so this gets an A.

Daniel Suarez #99 Pitbull/Freeway Insurance Chevy Camaro-The new look isn’t great, and I think that the car is over designed, so this gets a D.

Paint Scheme Grades-April 29, 2023

By David G. Firestone

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

Corey LaJoie #7 AeroVanti Chevy Camaro-I don’t like the yellow, other than that, this is a good scheme. A-

Kyle Busch #8 McLaren Custom Grills Chevy Camaro-Great color scheme, the smoke is a nice touch, and it isn’t over designed. A

Chase Briscoe #14 Mahindra Tractors “You Old Goat” Ford Mustang-A smooth look with a great color scheme will always earn an A.

Riley Herbst #15 Mechanix/Monster Ford Mustang-There are two contrasting styles here, and they look odd together. F

A.J. Allmendinger #16 Black’s Tire Chevy Camaro-This is a great look, especially when compared to last year’s scheme. A

Bubba Wallace #23 Columbia Sportswear Toyota Camry-This is a good fade, and the fish motif works well. This gets an A.

Ryan Preece #41 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang-Same scheme as #4, same A grade.

Noah Gragson #42 Wendy’s Chevy Camaro-A smooth look with a great color scheme will always earn an A.

Erik Jones #43 Bommarito Automotive Group Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same C grade.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #47 Kroger/Cheez-It Chevy Camaro-Get rid of the blue stripes and this will be a solid A. With the blue stripes, this gets an A-.

JJ Yeley #51 Jacob Companies Ford Mustang-The new stripes don’t really detract from the scheme, and this gets an A.

Paint Scheme Grades-April 22, 2023

By David G. Firestone

Ross Chastain #1 Worldwide Express/Unishippers Chevy Camaro-This is actually worse than World Wide Express, the added colors do NOTHING to help, and everything to hinder. F

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

Kevin Harvick #4 Hunt Brothers/Realtree Ford Mustang-No white, no orange, perfect ratio of black to camo, this is a good scheme that gets an A.

Kyle Busch #8 Mark III Employee Benefits Chevy Camaro-A smooth look with a great color scheme will always earn an A.

JJ Yeley will drive the #15 Isaacson Concrete & Excavating Ford Mustang-Get rid of the white, and this would be a solid A scheme, but with the white, it’s an A-

Chris Buescher #17 Esperion Therapeutics Ford Mustang-Blue replacing beige is a major step up, and if this wasn’t already an A graded scheme, would make it an A scheme.

Christopher Bell #20 DeWalt Power Stack Toyota Camry-First off, I swore that this was a scheme last year, but I was wrong. With that said, the black lightning works, the yellow works, but this just doesn’t. It looks like two different people designed the same scheme. As such, this gets a C.

Christopher Bell #20 SHINGRIX Toyota Camry-Same scheme as #11, same A grade.

Joey Logano #22 Verizon Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Michael McDowell #34 Long John Silver’s Ford Mustang-Same scheme as #38 same C grade.

Todd Gilliland #38 Frontline Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same F grade.

Anthony Alfredo #78 Andy’s Frozen Custard Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as #3 same A grade.

Daniel Suarez #99 Worldwide Express Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as #1 same F grade.

Paint Scheme Grades-April 15, 2023

By David G. Firestone

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Light #Break4Busch Ford Mustang-I like the idea, but this isn’t well done. The dirt looks off, and it’s over designed. It’s not awful, so this gets a C.

Ryan Blaney #12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Ryan Blaney #12 Menards/Maytag Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Chase Briscoe #14 Magical Vacation Planner Ford Mustang-I hate picture motifs, and this would be much better without it. With the mosaic, this gets an F.

JJ Yeley #15 Public SQ Ford Mustang-Same scheme as #51, same B+ grade.

AJ Allmendinger #16 Gain Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Bubba Wallace #23 McDonald’s/Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry-I hate this look, it’s not great, the random white areas are just awful, and I can’t say anything good. F

Justin Haley #31 Tide Chevy Camaro-These new designs are too much. They don’t look good, and it takes a B scheme down to a D, I do like Tide as a car sponsor.

Erik Jones #43 Club Wyndham Chevy Camaro-A smooth look with a great color scheme and earn an A.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #47 Kroger/Irish Spring Body Wash Chevy Camaro-This is a better look with the cleaned up sides. This goes from a C to a B

Austin Hill #62 Realtree Chevy Camaro-As much as I hate camo, this isn’t bad. The lack of orange helps, and this gets a C.

Anthony Alfredo #78 Dude Wipes Chevy Camaro-I like the look here, the color scheme is good, and the car looks great. A

BJ McLeod #78 GUNK Chevy Camaro-I would like this with smaller logos. The giant GUNK logo is so visually distracting, that it takes an A grade down to a B+

Paint Scheme Grades-April 8, 2023

By David G. Firestone

Brad Keselowski #6 Solomon Plumbing Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same B grade.

Ryan Blaney #12 Menards/Moen Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

JJ Yeley #15 CW & Sons Infrastructure Ford Mustang-Good color scheme with a great design scheme will always earn an A.

Harrison Burton #21 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same F grade.

Michael McDowell #34 Stage Front Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same B grade.

Tyler Reddick #45 SiriusXM Toyota Camry-Same scheme as last year, same B grade.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #47 Kroger/Kraft Mac & Cheese Chevy Camaro-I think that the car is a bit too over designed, but this isn’t bad. B

Paint Scheme Grades-April 1, 2023

By David G. Firestone

Kevin Harvick #4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang-It’s a smooth look, with a great color scheme, and that will ALWAYS earn an A.

Brad Keselowski #6 Wyndham Rewards Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Corey LaJoie #7 OpTic Gaming Chevy Camaro-The paint splatter motif could be better, but the giant logo along with it is just horrible, and I can’t give this higher than an F.

Ryan Blaney #12 Menard’s/Knauf Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Bubba Wallace #23 MoneyLion Toyota Camry-This is even worse than last year, and that fade helps NOTHING! F

Noah Gragson #42 Black Riffle Coffee Resort Chevy Camaro-The small stripes alone would get an A, but this looks so awful, it gets taken down to a C.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #47 Kroger/Blue Buffalo Chevy Camaro-I get the use of blue, but there are too many blues here. Add in that the front is a bit over designed, and this gets a C.

Cody Ware #51 Public SQ Ford Mustang-If the black on the front was replaced with the fade, this would get an A, it’s still good enough to get a B+

Jimmie Johnson #84 Club Wyndham Chevy Camaro-It’s a smooth look, not over designed, and it gets an A.

Daniel Suarez #99 Quaker State Chevy Camaro-This color scheme works a little better than the Freeway Insurance color scheme. B-

Paint Scheme Grades-March 25, 2023

By David G. Firestone

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

Kyle Busch #8 Lenovo Chevy Camaro-A slight difference between last year and this year doesn’t really change anything. A

Ryan Blaney #12 Body Armor Ford Mustang-Very clean, very sharp, great color scheme, gets an A.

Chase Briscoe #14 HighPoint Ford Mustang-A slight difference between last year and this year doesn’t really change anything. A

Jenson Button #15 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang-I like the basic, yet bold design, and the color scheme is great! A

J.J. Yeley #15 Barnett Southern Corporation Ford Mustang-It’s a little over designed, especially in the front. It’s got a good color scheme, and that earns an A.

Chris Buescher #17 Violet Defense Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same C- grade.

Kevin Harvick #29 Busch Light Ford Mustang-Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! This might be one of my favorite throwback schemes EVER! This gets a solid A!

Todd Gilliland #38 Wellcare Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same B grade.

Todd Gilliland #38 Gary Martin Hays & Associates Ford Mustang-This isn’t pinkwashing, and I like the look here, smooth, clean and bold. A

Ryan Preece #41 Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Tyler Reddick #45 Xfinity 10G Network Toyota Camry-It’s a smooth look with a great color scheme, and that will ALWAYS earn an A.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #47 Kroger/Nature Valley Chevy Camaro-This is another example of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. This cleaned up scheme is still awful, and gets the same F grade as last year. F

Paint Scheme Grades-March 18, 2023

By David G. Firestone

Ross Chastain #1 Moose Fraternity Chevy Camaro-Nothing really wrong with these new changes, still a bold look with a great color scheme. A

Austin Cindric #2 Menards/Quaker State Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same C grade.

Austin Cindric #2 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Austin Dillon #3 BetMGM Chevy Camaro-It’s amazing how getting rid of clutter makes the scheme so much better! A

Aric Almirola #10 Go Bowling Ford Mustang-No real change here. A

Denny Hamlin #11 SHINGRIX Toyota Camry-I like the color scheme, you can’t go wrong with red and white. A

Ryan Blaney #12 Dent Wizard Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same B grade.

Chris Buescher #17 Socios.com Ford Mustang-I like this look, the blue and green work really well with each other, and the design scheme is great. A

William Byron #24 Valvoline Chevy Camaro-Too many stripes, too over done, this gets a B.

Tyler Reddick #45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry-It’s a smooth look, with a great color scheme, and that will ALWAYS get an A.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #47 Thomas English Muffins and Bagels Chevy Camaro-It’s amazing how cleaning up the sides makes a car look better! A

Alex Bowman 48 Ally/Best Friends Chevy Camaro-This is not a good look, the orange stripes look forced, and this is just awful! F

Ty Gibbs #54 He Get us Toyota Camry-It’s a smooth look, with a great color scheme, and that will ALWAYS get an A.

Ty Dillon #77 Mutoh/General Formulations Chevy Camaro-The design is decent, but could be toned down more. B+

BJ McLeod #78 Circle B Diecast Chevy Camaro-Horrible color scheme combined with a terrible design scheme will ALWAYS earn an F

BJ McLeod #78 Superior Logistics Chevy Camaro-The new design is a bit more cluttered and over designed from last year. B+

Kimi Räikkönen #91 ONX Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same C grade.

Paint Scheme Grades-March 11, 2023

By David G. Firestone

Brad Keselowski #6 Fastenal Ford Mustang-The blue lettering is hard to see without a black outline, and that takes this scheme from an A to an A-

Corey LaJoie #7 EnviroXstream Chevy Camaro-I like the shades of blue, but this isn’t a good look. D

Corey LaJoie #7 Bluegrass Vacations Chevy Camaro-The green looks awful, and the car is somewhat over designed. I give this a C-.

Ryan Blaney #12 Menard’s/Pennzoil Ford Mustang-The newer black numbers stand out more, and have a bolder look. This gets an A.

J.J. Yeley #15 OTR Employment Service Ford Mustang-I like the color scheme, but the car is very cluttered at points, and the odd X logo on the side is confusing. C

Joey Logano #22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang-This takes me back to the Steve Park era Pennzoil scheme, which was a great scheme, and a great look! A

Bubba Wallace #23 Columbia Sportswear Chevy Camaro-This is a hell of an upgrade from last year’s multi-colored pastel mess. This is a great look, and gets an A.

Todd Gilliland #38 Ruedbusch Development and Construction Ford Mustang-The cleaner look makes for a better look, and goes from a B+ to an A.

Tyler Reddick #45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry-The giant eye in a sea of black is an amazing look, and it reminds me of of the horror game Iron Lung. This is worth an A.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #47 Coke Zero Chevy Camaro-The lack of white really works here, and the car has a bold and smooth look. A

BJ McLeod #78 Hartford Gold Ford Mustang-A smooth look with a great color scheme will ALWAYS earn an A.