Category: paint scheme grades

Paint Scheme Grades-February 9, 2019

By David G. Firestone

Landon Cassill #00 Permatex Chevy Camaro-The shades of orange and blue work well, but I think that there are too many white stripes. It’s not that bad, but they do take an A scheme to an A-.

Chase Elliott #9 Hooters Chevy Camaro-Cleaning up the sides does help a bit, but it’s still a mediocre scheme. Still, it is an improvement, so I’ll give it a B.

Chase Elliott #9 Kelly Blue Book Chevy Camaro-Another example of a new scheme not improving, but also not making it worse. This scheme is getting the same B- that last year’s scheme did.

Ryan Blaney #12 Menard’s/Knauf Ford Mustang-Last year’s Menard’s template was great. If this is the new Menard’s template, I’m not impressed. The blue front, and stripes are a downgrade. That said, it’s still a decent scheme, so I’ll give it a B+.

Kyle Busch #18 M&M’s Chocolate Bar Toyota Camry-The chocolate bar motif could work, but this is just too cluttered to be great. It’s a decent scheme though, so I’ll give it a B-.

Martin Truex Jr. #19 Auto Owner’s Insurance Toyota Camry-I could get behind the cutting edge look, and I could get behind the plain black look, if they were separate. Together, this scheme looks like two different people designed one half of the car. These schemes NEVER look great. It’s not terrible, so I’ll give it a B+, all things considered.

Paul Menard #21 Motorcraft Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

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

Ryan Truex #71 Accell Construction Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as 2017, same A grade.

Paint Scheme Grades-February 2, 2019

By David G. Firestone

Denny Hamlin #11 FedEx Toyota Camry-White could work here, but there is a bit too much blue and orange for it to work effectively. The designs are a bit much, but not too over done. This new scheme is not an improvement, nor is it worse, so I’ll give it the same B+ grade that the last scheme got.

Chris Buescher #37 Kleenex Wet Wipes Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same B+ grade.

Jamie McMurray #40 Advent Health Chevy Camaro-Too many bad colors, check. Colors that don’t work together, check. Pointlessly over designed, check. F grade, check.

Daniel Suarez #41 Haas Automotion Ford Mustang-Red with a fade to black works. Red with a fade to black, gray and dark gray camouflage doesn’t work. Camouflage doesn’t work on race cars. It never has, and it never will. This change is so bad, it take s an A scheme down to an F.

Darrell Wallace Jr. #43 Plan B Sales Chevy Camaro-Plan B Sales seems to enjoy bad schemes, so much so that they outsourced their new #43 design to an independent designer by way of a Twitter contest. This result is a pointlessly over designed mess, that has way too much going on. Not even a good color scheme can save this. F

Ryan Preece #47 Kroger Chevy Camaro-The patriotic design works well, and the color scheme is great, so I’m going to give this an A.

Matt DiBenedetto #95 Dumont Jets Toyota Camry-Cleaning up the side design a bit doesn’t really make any change warranting the changing of the grade. As such, I will give this the same B- it got last year.

Paint Scheme Grades-January 26, 2019

By David G. Firestone

Daniel Hemric #8 ALSCO Chevy Camaro-White and light green can work quite well, when there is a decent amount of dark green added. In this case, there needs to be more dark green. It’s not terrible, but there needs to be more dark green. All things considered, I give it a B.

Kyle Busch #18 M&M’s Toyota Camry-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Kyle Busch #18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry-Same scheme as last year, same F grade.

Martin Truex Jr. #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry-Same scheme as last year, same C- grade.

Erik Jones #20 DeWalt Toyota Camry-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Jamie McMurray #40 McDonald’s/Cessna Chevy Camaro-I loved the McDonald’s/Cessna scheme from last year, and this toned down version is even better! This is a great scheme, and I can’t give this anything less than an A.

Kyle Larson #42 Credit One Chevy Camaro–It’s a re-imagining of a great scheme, and the results look quite good, and I give it an A

Paint Scheme Grades-January 19, 2019

By David G. Firestone

Austin Dillon #3 American Ethanol Chevy Camaro-Getting rid of the black is a great move, and the new design works well with the color scheme. All things considered, this gets an A.

Ryan Newman #6 Oscar Meyer Ford Fusion-The color scheme works well, and the hot dog motif works well with the color scheme. I’ll give this an A.

Daniel Hemric #8 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevy Camaro-The new design scheme is decent, though I think it is over done. The color scheme is decent, though it does work with the design scheme. It’s not great, but it’s decent, so it gets a B.

Ty Dillon #13 Twisted Tea Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Erik Jones #20 Craftsman Toyota Camry-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Jimmie Johnson #48 Ally Financial Chevy Camaro-I like the designs on the wheel well, and the overall design is great, and not over designed. Add in a great color scheme, and you have an A scheme.

Paint Scheme Grades-January 5, 2019

By David G. Firestone

Landon Cassill #00 StarCom Fiber Chevy Camaro-The new stripe design doesn’t work here, even with a great color scheme. The cluttered design doesn’t look good, and earns a D+.

Kurt Busch #1 Monster Energy Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Brad Keselowski #2 Miller Lite Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Austin Dillon #3 Dow Chevy Camaro-Get rid of the silver, and this would be a solid A scheme, but with the silver, this scheme gets a B+.

Austin Dillon #3 Dow Gold Chevy Camaro-Metallic gold and black is a great color scheme, and the overall design is great. I can’t say anything bad about this scheme, so I won’t. A

Austin Dillon #3 AAA Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Kevin Harvick #4 Jimmy Johns Ford Mustang-The new stripes are visually distracting, but aren’t as bad as they could be. It’s not a bad scheme, just a step down from last year’s scheme. A-

Kevin Harvick #4 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion-Black with gray flames is a great look. A

Kevin Harvick #4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang-A good look with a great color scheme will always earn an A.

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Light Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Daniel Hemric #8 Bass Pro Shops/CAT Gold Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as #3, same A grade.

Daniel Hemric #8 Liberty National Chevy Camaro-This new toned down scheme is so much better than the overly cluttered design used last year. This is a great design. Add in a good shade of yellow to boot, and you have a great scheme all around. A

Daniel Hemric #8 Caterpillar Chevy Camaro-This scheme is an improvement on the Mini Excavators scheme used last year, and I like this scheme a lot. It has a great design, and a great color scheme, and that will always earn an A.

Chase Elliott #9 NAPA Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same B+ grade.

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

Aric Almirola #10 Smithfield Foods Ford Mustang–New scheme for 2019, slash patterns have been expanded. A

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

Clint Bowyer #14 Rush’s Truck Stops Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Fifth-Third Bank Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same B- grade.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Fastenal Ford Mustang-When used with the right color scheme, hourglass designs can work well, this isn’t the right color scheme. It’s not horrible, but this isn’t great. I’ll give it a B-.

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

William Byron #24 UniFirst Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same B- grade.

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

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

Corey Lajoie #32 Keen Parts/Corvette Parts Ford Mustang-Keen Parts had a great design last year, but this new design is over done. Add in the pointless addition of black, and an A scheme got take down to a B-.

Corey LaJoie #32 Schluter Systems Ford Mustang-This is a great shade of orange, and the black designs work very well. It’s a great look. A

Darrell Wallace Jr. #43 Air Force Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Alex Bowman #88 Valvoline Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Alex Bowman #88 Nationwide Chevy Camaro-This new scheme is a smooth, simple look, and it has a great color scheme. This gets an A.

Matt DiBenedetto #95 Procore Chevy Toyota Camry-Same scheme as last year, same F grade.

The Final Paint Scheme Grades Of 2018-November 24, 2018

By David G. Firestone

Landon Cassill#00 Local Knowledge Mahi Chevy Camaro-The mahi is an amazing looking fish, but it does NOT translate well to the side of a race car. The car is over designed, and it looks like a mess.

DJ Kennington #7 APC Chevy Camaro-The front was changed from blue to red, which neither adds nor subtracts from the overall look of the car. As such, B-

Martin Truex Jr. #78 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry-It’s a smooth look with a great color scheme, and that will always earn an A.

Tanner Berryhill #97 Brand South Africa/Vroom! Brands Toyota Camry-It’s a smooth look with a great color scheme, and that will always earn an A.

Kyle Weatherman #99 International Marine Marlin Chevy Chevy Camaro-While the marlin is much better than a mahi as the motif for a race car, it’s still over designed. The color scheme is better, as is the design as compared to the #00, but it’s still not great. All things considered, I give it a C

Paint Scheme Grades-November 17, 2018

By David G. Firestone

Landon Cassill #00 Ashurt American Honey Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as Brookshire’s Foods, same B+ grade.

Jamie McMurray #1 Cessna/EZGO Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as Cessna, same A grade.

Brad Keselowski #2 Miller Lite Holiday Ford Fusion-The ugly sweater motif works very well here, and it works well with the already great color scheme, so this is getting an A

Ross Chastain #15 Blockcard Chevy Camaro-The front stripes don’t look good.  Those stripes barely work for a fade, but this isn’t a fade.  Add in that the shade of green used isn’t great, and you have a scheme that could be better.  Still, it’s not awful, so I’ll give it a B+.

J.J. Yeley #23 SHE Beverage Toyota Camry-I think the car is somewhat over designed, and the pink just doesn’t work with the rest of the scheme.  It’s not awful, but it’s not great, so it gets a C-.

Ryan Newman #31 Cat Global Mining Chevy Camaro-The black and yellow look is good, the car has a great design, and I can’t find anything wrong with this car. A

David Ragan #38 Trident Seafoods Wild Alaska Pollock Ford Fusion-The fish motif works very well.  It’s a bold look, and while some may say it’s over designed,  I say it looks like an A scheme

Mark Smith #73 Standard Plumbing Supply Chevy Camaro-The car has a smooth look with a great color scheme, and that will always earn an A.

Tanner Berryhill #97 Excel Therapy/Maximum Off-Road Toyota Camry-The zigzag design is a touch over done, but the color scheme works, and the car does look good.  All in all, I’m giving this an A-

Paint Scheme Grades-November 10, 2018

By David G. Firestone

First, a couple of 2019 schemes.

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Ford Mustang-Same scheme as 2018, same A grade.

Alex Bowman #88 LLumar Window Film Chevy Camaro-It’s just a meh scheme. The color scheme isn’t great or awful. The design scheme is neither great nor awful. It’s just meh.C

Now on to the 2018 schemes.

Landon Cassill #00 Brookshire’s Food & Pharmacy Chevy Camaro-I hate the light green used with the red, and the design is over designed. It’s not awful, so I’ll give it a B+.

Jamie McMurray #1 Sherwin-Williams Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as 2017, same B+ grade.

Reed Sorenson #7 Sustainable Quarry Chevy Camaro-I like the fade from black to blue, and the shades of blue and black used is very good. No complaints here! A

Aric Almirola #10 Smithfield Spiral Sliced Ham Ford Fusion-The packaging design translates quite well to the design of a race car. The color scheme works well, as does the design. All in all, I’m giving this an A.

Ryan Blaney #12 Carlisle Tools Ford Fusion-I like the light blue with the Penske template. Considering how difficult the Penske template to use with certain colors, this is a good scheme. A

Clint Bowyer #14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford Fusion-Same scheme as Rush’s Truck Stops, same A grade.

Paul Menard #21 Menard’s/Cardell Ford Fusion-Another example of how great the new Menard’s template is. A

J.J. Yeley #23 Maximum Elevation Offroad Toyota Camry-Black and white is a great color scheme, but the zig-zag design is not a great look. It if were toned down, it might be better, but this is not a good look. Still, it’s not the worst, so I’ll give it a C.

David Ragan #38 Earthwater Ford Fusion-Same scheme as #23, same A grade.

Joey Gase #51 Donate Life Texas Ford Fusion-Same scheme as #55, same A grade

Corey LaJoie #72 Gas Monkey Garage Chevy Camaro-It’s not an over designed car, unlike some of Gas Monkey Garage’s cars. The color scheme is great, and the car has a great look. A

David Starr #97 Toyota Camry-It’s a smooth look and it has a great color scheme, so that will always earn an A.

Kyle Weatherman #99 International Marine/Native Chevy Camaro-It has a decent design, but talk about an ugly over designed mess! This is the worst look, I’ve seen in a long time. This is really bad. The stripes are awful, and the design would be awful without them. This is getting the F it deserves.

Kyle Weatherman #99 Rewads.com Chevy Camaro-New scheme for 2018, same as #66 throwback. B-

Kyle Weatherman #99 Star Com Racing Fan Experience Chevy Camaro-It’s a smooth look and it has a great color scheme, so that will always earn an A.

Paint Scheme Grades-November 3, 2018

By David G. Firestone

Joey Gase #00 Nevada Donor Network Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as #55, same A- grade.

Brad Keselowski #2 Thomas Built Buses Ford Fusion-Black and red works with the Penske template, and the shades used are really good.  Nothing wrong here! A

Austin Dillon #3 Dow/Tachi-S Chevy Camaro-The white stripe with Tachi-S is visually distracting, and it clashes with the rest of the scheme.   It takes an A scheme down to an A-.

Matt Kenseth #6 Wyndham Rewards Pink Ford Fusion-Pinkwashing is an automatic F.

Hermie Sadler #7 Virginia Lottery Chevy Camaro-The shades of green used aren’t great, and while the car is somewhat over designed, but it’s not as bad a some of the schemes, so I’ll give it a B-.

Ross Chastain #15 Terino Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as #66, same A grade.

Ryan Newman #31 E-Z-GO Chevy Camaro-The car is a little over designed, but it has a great color scheme.  All things taken in to account, I give this a B+.

Ryan Newman #31 Next Generation Mini Excavators Chevy Camaro-My only complaint is that the the honeycomb design isn’t really needed here.  Otherwise the scheme is great,and I give it an A-

Michael McDowell #34 Love’s/Luber-finer Ford Fusion-Same scheme as Love’s, same A grade.

Chris Buescher #37 Bush’s Chili Beans Chevy Camaro-The new design is neither an upgrade, or a downgrade from the other scheme, so I will give it the same A- I previously gave them.

Kyle Larson #42 First Data-Clover Chevy Camaro-The car is beyond over designed, and the color scheme is not only not good, but it clashes with the design scheme.  Then again, this is the kind of design scheme that clashes with itself. F

Darrell Wallace Jr. #43 Pioneer Records Management Chevy Camaro-Plain Petty blue…if I need to say anything more than that, then I give up. A

Cole Whitt #72 Moen Chevrolet Camaro-It’s just a meh scheme, with a color scheme that could be tweaked a little bit.  It’s worth a C-

Paint Scheme Grades-October 27, 2018

By David G. Firestone

First, another 2019 scheme…

Clint Bowyer #14 Blue Def Ford Mustang-Changing white to black neither helps or hurts this particular scheme. C

Landon Cassill #00 Share Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support Chevy Camaro-Pinkwashing is an automatic F.

Jamie McMurray #1 McDonald’s Trick Treat Win Chevy Camaro-The drip motif works, and the color scheme works well with the design scheme.  All in all, it’s a great scheme. A

Reed Sorenson #7 Harrah’s Casino Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as #55, same A grade.

Ross Chastain #15 Durkin Tactical Chevy Camaro-It’s a smooth look with a great color scheme, and that will always earn an A.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Fastenal Pink Ford Fusion-Pinkwashing is an automatic F.

Kyle Busch #18 M&M’s Halloween Toyota Camry-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Matt DiBenedetto #32 Can-Am/Wholey/Plan B Sales Pink Ford Fusion-Pinkwashing is an automatic F.

Michael McDowell #34 Coburn Supply Company Ford Fusion-The shade of blue is great, the white works well with the blue, and the whole car looks great. A

Kyle Larson #42 McDonald’s Trick Treat Win Chevy Camaro-While I liked the #1, replacing yellow with blue doesn’t help that much.  It’s not terrible, but the color change takes an A grade down to a B+.

Darrell Wallace Jr. #43 Transportation Impact Chevy Camaro-Petty blue and white is a great color scheme, and the design scheme works well.  All in all, it’s worth an A.

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