paint scheme grades – Page 42 – The Driver Suit Blog

Paint Scheme Grades-January 30, 2016

By David G. Firestone

Tony Stewart #14 Bass Pro Shops Chevy SS-Same scheme as last year, same C+ grade.

Greg Biffle #16 Kleen Performance Products Ford Fusion-I don’t think I got around to this scheme last year, so I’ll fix that mistake right now. I like the shade of green, and the red looks good too. The interrupted stripe across the side is ugly, and I do not think the black is needed. Also, the liquid design doesn’t make sense. I’ll give it a B+.

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Peak Chevy SS-Bold look, moving away from the Menard’s Template, and, it works. The design scheme looks good, and it has a great color scheme. I give it an A+.

Kyle Larson #42 Target Chevy SS-Vertical fade looks really good, and has a really good color scheme. A+

AJ Allmendinger #47 Kroger’s Chevy SS-Same basic scheme as last year, same A+ grade.

Paint Scheme Grades-January 23, 2016

By David G. Firestone

Brad Keselowski #2 Auto Trader Ford Fusion-Same scheme as Joey Logano, same D- grade.

Kevin Harvick #4 Mobil 1 Chevy SS-Same scheme as Tony Stewart’s, same A+ grade.

Danica Patrick #10 Mobil 1 Chevy SS—Same basic scheme as Tony Stewart’s, same A+ grade.

Greg Biffle #16 KFC Nashville Hot Ford Fusion-KFC has a really good shade of red, and the whole design works well. I also like the flame motif at the back, and the stripes on the roof. All in all, I can’t give it any lower than an A+.

Carl Edwards #19 Subway Toyota Camry-The black car was bold look, but the shade of green here could use some tweaking. The box motif is a bit overdone as well. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be, it’s a B+ scheme.

Joey Logano #22 Auto Trader Ford Fusion-Same scheme as last year, same D- grade.

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe’s/Superman Chevy SS-The Superman motif is really good, and it’s really well done. I like the detail in the suit too. It’s worth an A+.

Brian Scott #44 Albertsons’s Ford Fusion-It’s a simple, yet attractive scheme with a great color scheme. I give it an A+.

Martin Truex Jr. #78 Bass Pro Shops Chevy SS-Of all the schemes I have seen so far, this is the worst of them all. Orange can be a great color when used right, but this is just too much! The yellow clashes with it, the black works, and the camo looks out of place. It’s just a mess, and I give it an F.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Nationwide/Batman Chevy SS-New scheme for 2016, designed to look like Batman’s armor. A+

Ty Dillon #95 Cheerios Chevy SS-Same basic scheme as last year, same A+ grade.

Michael McDowell #95 Thrivent Financial Chevy SS-Bit of a downgrade from last year, the old template, which I really liked, was good, but the new scheme looks forced, and the color change doesn’t help. Still, it’s not horrible, and it’s worth a B+.

Paint Scheme Grades-January 16, 2016

By David G. Firestone

Kasey Kahne #5 Quicken Loans Chevy SS-It’s a downgrade from last year, Kasey fancies himself a designer, but most of his schemes look horrible. This one is saved by a good color scheme, so I’ll give it a C+.

Kasey Kahne #5 Panasonic Toughbook Chevy SS-It’s a distinctive look, and it looks really good. Blue, white, and black is a good color scheme. A+

Clint Bowyer #15 Five-Hour Energy Chevy SS-All my complaints about the 2015 scheme are gone with this scheme, and it looks really good. A+

Clint Bowyer #15 Peak Chevy SS-It’s a bold scheme, with a really good color scheme. It looks really good. A+

Kyle Busch #18 M&M’s Toyota Camry-M&M’s always has a good look, and since 2016 is the 75^th anniversary of the introduction of M&M”s, they decided to add vintage M characters to modern M characters, to create a really good look. A+

Ryan Blaney #21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion-Same scheme as last year, same A+ grade.

Chase Elliott #24 Kelly Blue Book Chevy SS– The lack of metallic gold is a downgrade, and the design went from smooth to more haphazard. It’s not horrible, but not great. Combined with the decent color scheme, I give it a C+.

Chris Buescher #34 Love’s Truck Stops Ford Fusion-New year, new driver, new scheme. It’s really good, Love’s uses a good shade of yellow, and the red rainbow design works well too. All said, I give it an A+.

Brian Scott #44 Twisted Tea Ford Fusion-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

2015 Paint Scheme Leaderboard Part 4-The Grand Finale

By David G. Firestone

The Executive Paint Scheme Ranking Committee has had our final meeting. While I made the decisions, Alejandro slept on my lap and occasionally woke up and purred. All 49 teams are having their paint schemes ranked this week, so here we go:

1-FURNITURE ROW RACING #78 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year:4^thof 55-Black matte with orange numbers works. The ovarian cancer theme is very justifiable, as Truex’s wife is dealing with ovarian cancer. The #78 has earned the top spot.

2-FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS #35 FORD FUSION-Rank Last Year:28^th of 55-Front Row’s new team started their existence with a slew of great schemes. All of them are smooth, simple and great.

3-RAB RACING #29 TOYOTA CAMRY-Rank last year:16^th of 55-Only one scheme, and it was a great one!

4-WOOD BROTHERS RACING #21 FORD FUSION-Rank Last Year:1^st of 55 I thought that the Snap On memories scheme wasn’t as good as it could be,but other than that, The Wood Brothers had a great season.

5-JTG DAUGHTERY RACING #47 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year: 15^thof 55-A lot of great looks, but Bush’s kept them out of the top five in The Leaderboard.

6-HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #24 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year: 36th of 55-Jeff’s last season in NASCAR was one of his best looking. The Penn State Scheme kept Jeff from taking the top spot, but a solid season nonetheless.

7-STEWART-HAAS RACING #4 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year:5^th of 55-Kevin had a great season, though the disaster that is Hunt Brothers Pizza dragged his ranking from 2^nd, possibly first to Fourth in the Chevy Leaderboard.

8-JOE GIBBS RACING #11 TOYOTA CAMRY-Rank last year:24^th of 55-Four brand new, amazing FedEx schemes, a mediocre SportClips scheme, and one mediocre SportClips throwback scheme.

9-JOE GIBBS RACING #20 TOYOTA CAMRY-Rank last year:33^rd of 55-SportClips didn’t do the really good set of schemes any favors.

10-PHIL PARSONS RACING/PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS #98-Rank Last Year:31^st of 55-Due to the midseason switch, the #98 will be ranked in Chevy, Ford AND Toyota. Ran a lot of good schemes, except the Xyience scheme, and the modified scheme with sponsors.

11-TEAM PENSKE #2 FORD FUSION-Rank Last Year:6^th of 55 Detroit Gasket drags down what could easily have been the top pick for 2015. Other than that, no complaints.

12-MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING #15 TOYOTA CAMRY-Rank last year:44^th of 55-I was much too harsh on the 15 last year, and looking at the schemes this year, they are all defendable. I did give extra credit for the hand-painted Buddy Baker scheme.

13-PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS #62-Rank Last Year:N/A-Due to the midseason switch, the #98 will be ranked in Chevy, and Ford-A lot of solid schemes, though Vydrox and Low T Central were a bit too much.

14-FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS #38 FORD FUSION-Rank Last Year:32^nd of 55 While there weren’t a lot of new schemes, the new ones, as well as the camo schemes were not great.

15-LEVINE FAMILY RACING #95 FORD FUSION-Rank Last Year:13^th of 55-Another top contender ruined by one scheme, this one Larry the Lobster. Other than Larry, the schemes are great.

16-FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS #34 FORD FUSION-Rank Last Year:20^th of 55-Front Row uses a template that usually works well, but modifying for Bully Hill didn’t work, and no escape was a disaster.

17-MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING #55 TOYOTA CAMRY-Rank last year:3^rd of 55-New Aaron’s scheme isn’t that great. The Throwback is amazing!

18-HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #25 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year:N/A-Chase Elliott, who is taking over for Jeff Gordon in 2016, used the #25 to get some Cup experience. The NAPA scheme by itself is not bad, but the fauxback Bill Elliott scheme is a disaster.

19-CIRCLE SPORT RACING #33 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year:38^th of 55-Science Logic and Pinkwashing derailed what was otherwise a great looking year for Circle Sport.

20-RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS #43 FORD FUSION-Rank Last Year:11^th of 55-The Nathan’s color scheme does not work well with the Petty color scheme, and the Fresh From Florida scheme is awful. The majority of schemes are good though.

21-TMG RACING #30 TOYOTA CAMRY-Rank last year:N/A-Smokey Mountain Snuff is awful, plain car with no sponsor is great.

22-JOE GIBBS RACING #19 TOYOTA CAMRY-Rank last year:N/A-Nothing really horrible here, though there are many mediocre schemes here.

23-HSCOTT MOTORSPORTS #51 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year:30^th of 55-If the car is running a Brandt scheme it looks good, anything else looks terrible.

24-HILLMAN-SMITH MOTORSPORTS #40 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year:27^thof 55-The schemes were all over the place this year, but this team has had a lot of good looks.

25-CHIP GANASSI RACING TEAM #42 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year:18^thof 55-The plaid, Energizer, camo and Clorox sank them this season, otherwise they looked really good.

26-RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #27 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year:36^thof 55-Part of the problem of using a template is that it can backfire on you, and that is exactly what has happened here. The Menard’s template works well with some color schemes, but terribly with others. The Pittsburgh Paints scheme is horrible by itself.

27-RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #33 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year:38^th of 55-White Tail Lodge, Spongebob, and Kraft dragged down an otherwise great season.

28-HSCOTT MOTORSPORTS #46 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year:N/A-A lot of good schemes and a lot of bad schemes is the story of the #46 season.

29-BK RACING #83 TOYOTA CAMRY-Rank last year:25^th of 55-Many new schemes and sponsors, and they were all over the place. When taking everything into account, I can say that they aren’t horrible.

30-BK RACING #23 TOYOTA CAMRY-Rank last year:8^th of 55-VooDoo, Overture, and Pinkwashing take a decent grade down to a mediocre grade. Otherwise there is a lot of decent schemes here.

31-RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #3 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year:49^th of 55-Some great schemes, but the bad schemes dragged down the final grade.

32-ROUSH-FENWAY RACING #16 FORD FUSION-Rank Last Year:54^th of 55-3M leaving was the best thing that happened to Greg Biffle, especially on this list, though Pinkwashing, Safety Kleen, and Jardiance do drag it down.

33-ROUSH-FENWAY RACING #17 FORD FUSION-Rank Last Year:35^th of 55-Zest and EcoBoost are awful, and dragged Ricky out of a top spot.

34-ROUSH-FENWAY RACING #6 FORD FUSION-Rank Last Year:10^th of 55-Camo and Pinkwashing kill a great rank, including one of my favorite throwbacks outside of Jeff Gordon’s.

35-JOE GIBBS RACING #18 TOYOTA CAMRY-Rank last year:4^th of 55-A lot of changes in paint schemes, some good, some awful, many mediocre.

36-CHIP GANASSI RACING TEAM #1 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year:12^thof 55-McDonalds was either great or awful. Add a pinkwashing scheme, Bass Pro Shops, and Bad Boy Buggies, and they are ranked much lower than they should be.

37-HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #5 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year:51^st of 55-When Kasey has a good scheme, it is still mediocre, and he didn’t have a great scheme all year.

38-HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #48 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year:2^nd of 55-Completely changing their look dragged down Jimmie’s grade. On a separate note, I do think the yellow tribute numbers should stay, since they look better than the white numbers.

39-GO GREEN RACING #32 FORD FUSION-Rank Last Year:46^th of 55-The most different paint schemes of any team in 2015, they ranged from amazing, a great throwback, to vomit inducing.

40-RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS #9 FORD FUSION-Rank Last Year:41^st of 55-Like Go Green, the #9 ran a lot of paint schemes, some were great, but many were awful. I really hope whoever drives the #9 next year helps tone it down.

41-HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #88 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year:17^thof 55-With the exception of Dewshine, everything that Mountain Dew ran was average to awful. Nationwide is decent, but Halo was awful.

42-STEWART-HAAS RACING #14 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year:47^thof 55-Not much change in terms of sponsors. In terms of car design, there were a lot of changes this year. But with the exception of Rush’s, they were all mediocre to awful.

43-TOMMY BALDWIN RACING #7 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year: 48^thof 55-The car looks so much better without a sponsor on average, it isn’t even funny.

44-TEAM XTREME RACING #44 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year:53^rd of 55-Not even the addition of Golden Corral could save Team Xtreme Racing. I’m glad I don’t have to see that Phoenix Warehouse scheme anymore!

45-TEAM PENSKE #22 FORD FUSION-Rank Last Year:42^nd of 55-The Mario Andretti throwback, and the Helio Castroneves mockup were great, but sadly, those were the only highlights of the season for the 22 crew.

46-STEWART-HAAS RACING #10 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year: 52^nd of 55-Hideous design, awful color choices, and pinkwashing…need I say more?

47-PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS #66-Rank Last Year:N/A-Another example of when a car looks so much better without a sponsor on average, it isn’t even funny.

48-GERMAIN RACING #13 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year:50^th of 55-No redeeming schemes at all here.

49-STEWART-HAAS RACING #41 CHEVY SS-Rank Last Year:9^th of 55-Due to the driver’s actions toward his then girlfriend at Dover, the #41 has earned the bottom ranking.

2015 Paint Scheme Leaderboard Part 3-Toyota

By David G. Firestone

The Executive Paint Scheme Ranking Committee(I should pick a different committee name next year) has met for another round of meetings to determine the Toyota Leaderboard for 2015. While Alejandro looked at me sarcastically when I asked his opinion, we got the job done. Here are Toyota’s rankings for 2015.

1-RAB RACING #29-Rank last year: 5^th of 13-Only one scheme, and it was a great one!

2-JOE GIBBS RACING #11-Rank last year:6^th of 13-Four brand new, amazing FedEx schemes, a-mediocre SportClips scheme, and one mediocre SportClips throwback scheme.

3-JOE GIBBS RACING #20-Rank last year:8^th of 13-SportClips didn’t do the really good set of schemes any favors.

4-MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING #15-Rank last year:12^th of 13-I was much too harsh on the 15 last year, and looking at the schemes this year, they are all defendable. I did give extra credit for the hand-painted Buddy Baker scheme.

5-MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING #55-Rank last year:1^st of 13-New Aaron’s scheme isn’t that great. The Throwback is amazing!

6-TMG RACING #30-Rank last year:N/A-Smokey Mountain Snuff is awful, plain car with no sponsor is great.

7-JOE GIBBS RACING #19-Rank last year:N/A-Nothing really horrible here, though there are many mediocre schemes here.

8-BK RACING #83-Rank last year:7^th of 13-Many new schemes and sponsors, and they were all over the place. When taking everything into account, I can say that they aren’t horrible.

9-BK RACING #23-Rank last year:3^rd of 13-VooDoo, Overture, and Pinkwashing take a decent grade down to a mediocre grade. Otherwise there is a lot of decent schemes here.

10-BK RACING #26-Rank last year:4^th of 13-The many awful schemes here take them to back of the pack. Not even the great schemes can save it.

11-JOE GIBBS RACING #18-Rank last year:2^nd of 13-A lot of changes in paint schemes, some good, some awful, many mediocre.

12-BK RACING #26-Rank last year:4^th of 13-The many awful schemes here take them to back of the pack. Not even the great schemes can save it.

13-PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS #66-Rank last year:13^th of 13-Awful last year, awful this year.

Next week, All 49 schemes will be ranked in the Grand Finale!

RAB RACING, JOE GIBBS RACING, MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING,TMG RACING, BK RACING, PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS,

2015 Paint Scheme Leaderboard Part 2-Ford

By David G. Firestone

The Executive Paint Scheme Ranking Committee has met for a second time. Alejandro decided to sleep through the proceedings, since he has to sleep for 18 hours a day. Anyway, this week the Committee has voted on Ford’s rankings for 2015, and here they are.

1-FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS #35-Rank Last Year:8^th of 17-Front Row’s new team started their existence with a slew of great schemes. All of them are smooth, simple and great.

2-WOOD BROTHERS RACING #21-Rank Last Year:1^st of 17-I thought that the Snap On memories scheme wasn’t as good as it could be,but other than that, The Wood Brothers had a great season.

3-PHIL PARSONS RACING/PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS #98-Rank Last Year:10^th of 17-Due to the midseason switch, the #98 will be ranked in Chevy, Ford AND Toyota. Ran a lot of good schemes, except the Xyience scheme, and the modified scheme with sponsors.

4-TEAM PENSKE #2-Rank Last Year:2^nd of 17-Detroit Gasket drags down what could easily have been the top pick for 2015. Other than that, no complaints.

5-PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS #62-Rank Last Year:N/A-Due to the midseason switch, the #98 will be ranked in Chevy, and Ford-A lot of solid schemes, though Vydrox and Low T Central were a bit too much.

6-FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS #38-Rank Last Year:11^th of 17-While there weren’t a lot of new schemes, the new ones, as well as the camo schemes were not great.

7-LEVINE FAMILY RACING #95-Rank Last Year:5^th of 17-Another top contender ruined by one scheme, this one Larry the Lobster. Other than Larry, the schemes are great.

8-FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS #34-Rank Last Year:6^th of 17-Front Row uses a template that usually works well, but modifying for Bully Hill didn’t work, and no escape was a disaster.

9-RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS #43-Rank Last Year:4^th of 17-The Nathan’s color scheme does not work well with the Petty color scheme, and the Fresh From Florida scheme is awful. The majority of schemes are good though.

10-ROUSH-FENWAY RACING #16-Rank Last Year:17^th of 17-3M leaving was the best thing that happened to Greg Biffle, especially on this list, though Pinkwashing, Safety Kleen, and Jardiance do drag it down.

11-ROUSH-FENWAY RACING #17-Rank Last Year:12^th of 17-Zest and EcoBoost are awful, and dragged Ricky out of a top spot.

12-ROUSH-FENWAY RACING #6-Rank Last Year:N/A-Camo and Pinkwashing kill a great rank, including one of my favorite throwbacks outside of Jeff Gordon’s.

13-GO GREEN RACING #32-Rank Last Year:16^th of 17-The most different paint schemes of any team in 2015, they ranged from amazing, a great throwback, to vomit inducing.

14-RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS #9-Rank Last Year:13^th of 17-Like Go Green, the #9 ran a lot of paint schemes, some were great, but many were awful. I really hope whoever drives the #9 next year helps tone it down.

15-TEAM PENSKE #22-Rank Last Year:14^th of 17-The Mario Andretti throwback, and the Helio Castroneves mockup were great, but sadly, those were the only highlights of the season for the 22 crew.

Next week, The Toyota Leaderboard! See you soon!

2015 Paint Scheme Leaderboard Part 1-Chevy

By David G. Firestone

It’s that time of year, so, here we are again, ranking the Chevy paint schemes. The Executive Paint Scheme Ranking Committee, consisting of myself and my cat Alejandro have ranked all 24 of Chevy’s paint schemes. Alejandro was of little use, having found a catnip toy. Anyway, with no further ado, the Chevy Paint Scheme Leaderboard for 2015

1-FURNITURE ROW RACING #78-Rank Last Year:5^th of 25-Black matte with orange numbers works. The ovarian cancer theme is very justifiable, as Truex’s wife is dealing with ovarian cancer. The #78 has earned the top spot.

2-JTG DAUGHTERY RACING #47-Rank Last Year: 10^th of 25-A lot of great looks, but Bush’s kept them out of the top spot in Chevy.

3-HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #24-Rank Last Year: 11th of 25-Jeff’s last season in NASCAR was one of his best looking. The Penn State Scheme kept Jeff from taking the top spot, but a solid season nonetheless.

4-STEWART-HAAS RACING #4-Rank Last Year:2^nd of 25-Kevin had a great season, though the disaster that is Hunt Brothers Pizza dragged his ranking from 2^nd, possibly first to Fourth in the Chevy Leaderboard.

5-PHIL PARSONS RACING/PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS #98-Rank Last Year: N/A-Due to the midseason switch, the #98 will be ranked in Chevy, Ford AND Toyota. Ran a lot of good schemes, except the Xyience scheme, and the modified scheme with sponsors.

6-PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS #62-Rank Last Year:N/A-Due to the midseason switch, the #98 will be ranked in Chevy, and Ford-A lot of solid schemes, though Vydrox and Low T Central were a bit too much.

7-HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #25-Rank Last Year: N/A-Chase Elliott, who is taking over for Jeff Gordon in 2016, used the #25 to get some Cup experience. The NAPA scheme by itself is not bad, but the fauxback Bill Elliott scheme is a disaster.

8-CIRCLE SPORT RACING #33-Rank Last Year:16th of 25-Science Logic and Pinkwashing derailed what was otherwise a great looking year for Circle Sport.

9-HSCOTT MOTORSPORTS #51-Rank Last Year:5^th of 25-If the car is running a Brandt scheme it looks good, anything else looks terrible.

10-HILLMAN-SMITH MOTORSPORTS #40-Rank Last Year:14^th of 25-The schemes were all over the place this year, but this team has had a lot of good looks.

11-CHIP GANASSI RACING TEAM #42-Rank Last Year:8^th of 25-The plaid, Energizer, camo and Clorox sank them this season, otherwise they looked really good.

12-RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #27-Rank Last Year:15^th of 25-Part of the problem of using a template is that it can backfire on you, and that is exactly what has happened here. The Menard’s template works well with some color schemes, but terribly with others. The Pittsburgh Paints scheme is horrible by itself.

13-RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #33-Rank Last Year:16^th of 25-White Tail Lodge, Spongebob, and Kraft dragged down an otherwise great season.

14-HSCOTT MOTORSPORTS #46-Rank Last Year:N/A-A lot of good schemes and a lot of bad schemes is the story of the #46 season.

15-RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #3-Rank Last Year:21^st of 25- Some great schemes, but the bad schemes dragged down the final grade.

16-CHIP GANASSI RACING TEAM #1-Rank Last Year:5^th of 25-McDonalds was either great or awful. Add a pinkwashing scheme, Bass Pro Shops, and Bad Boy Buggies, and they are ranked much lower than they should be.

17-HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #5-Rank Last Year:23^rd of 25-When Kasey has a good scheme, it is still mediocre, and he didn’t have a great scheme all year.

18-HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #48-Rank Last Year:1^st of 25-Completely changing their look dragged down Jimmie’s grade. On a separate note, I do think the yellow tribute numbers should stay, since they look better than the white numbers.

19-HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #88-Rank Last Year:7^th of 25-With the exception of Dewshine, everything that Mountain Dew ran was average to awful. Nationwide is decent, but Halo was awful.

20-STEWART-HAAS RACING #14-Rank Last Year:19^th of 25-Not much change in terms of sponsors. In terms of car design, there were a lot of changes this year. But with the exception of Rush’s, they were all mediocre to awful.

21-TOMMY BALDWIN RACING #7-Rank Last Year: 20^th of 25-The car looks so much better without a sponsor on average, it isn’t even funny.

22-TEAM XTREME RACING #44-Rank Last Year:25^th of 25-Not even the addition of Golden Corral could save Team Xtreme Racing. I’m glad I don’t have to see that Phoenix Warehouse scheme anymore!

23-STEWART-HAAS RACING #10-Rank Last Year: 24^th of 25-Hideous design, awful color choices, and pinkwashing…need I say more?

24-PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS #66-Rank Last Year:N/A-Another example of when a car looks so much better without a sponsor on average, it isn’t even funny.

25-GERMAIN RACING #13-Rank Last Year:22^nd of 25- No redeeming schemes at all here.

26-STEWART-HAAS RACING #41-Rank Last Year:3^rd of 25-Due to the driver’s actions toward his then girlfriend at Dover, the #41 has earned the bottom ranking.

Next Week, We do The Ford Leaderboard… See you then!

Paint Scheme Grades-November 28, 2015

By David G. Firestone

Kyle Larson #42 Target Plain Chevy SS-I really hope the plaid thing is done with, because these cars are brutal to look at. D-

Ryan Preece #98 Mowhawk/East West Marine Chevy SS-The sponsorship destroys an otherwise solid scheme, taking it from an A to a B+.

With that, my winter sabbatical begins. I will occasionally update the tracker and grades, but for the most part, I’m going to decompress, and enjoy the holiday season. The paint scheme leaderboard will go ahead as planned. I want to thank you for another successful year, and see you in 2016!

The 3rd Annual Paint Scheme Awards!

By David G. Firestone

For the end of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season, the Paint Schemies have returned! The Schemies will reveal the best,and worst paint schemes of 2015. I’ve eliminated the exhibition and improved categories for 2015, with exhibition replaced by throwback 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 Alejandro, 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 Schemie Award for Worst Regular Season Single Paint Scheme .

The nominees are:

Austin Dillon #3 Bass Pro Shops Chevy SS

Sam Hornish Jr. #9 Lyons Financial Ford Fusion

Matt DiBenedetto #83 Voodoo Grills Toyota Camry

The Schemie Award for Worst Regular Season Single Paint Scheme goes to…

Sam Hornish Jr. #9 Lyons Financial Ford Fusion

The next award is for Worst Paint Scheme Set, meaning the team that is running consistently bad schemes all year. The nominees are:

GERMAIN RACING #13 CHEVY SS

TEAM PENSKE #22 FORD FUSION

BK RACING #26 TOYOTA CAMRY

PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS #66

The The winner of the Award For Worst Scheme Set of 2015 goes to…

GERMAIN RACING #13 CHEVY SS

The next Paint Schemie Award is for Throwback Paint Schemes. This category is a little different, as the Schemies will go to the best and worst throwback. For 2015, the nominees for Worst Throwback Paint Scheme are…

Chase Elliott #25 NAPA Fauxback Chevy SS

Denny Hamlin #11 Sport Clips Throwback Toyota Camry

Sam Hornish Jr. #9 Winn Dixie Throwback Ford Fusion

The Schemie for Worst Throwback Paint Scheme of 2015 goes to…

Chase Elliott #25 NAPA Fauxback Chevy SS

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

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

Jamie McMurray #1 Cessna/McDonald’s Chevy SS

Brad Keselowski #2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion

Denny Hamlin #11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry

Kyle Busch #18 Skittles Toyota Camry

Matt Kenseth #20 DeWalt Toyota Camry

Ryan Blaney #21 Motorcraft/Quicklane Ford Fusion

Jeff Gordon #24 Drive to End Hunger Chevy SS

David Ragan #34 CSX Ford Fusion

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Windows 10 Chevy SS

And the winner of the Paint Schemie Award for Best Regular Season Single Paint Scheme is…

Ryan Blaney #21 Motorcraft/Quicklane Ford Fusion

The next category is best throwback, and it should come as no surprise that the competition was strong this year.

Brad Keselowski #2 Miller Genuine Draft Ford Fusion

Trevor Bayne #6 Advocare Mark Martin Throwback Ford Fusion

Clint Bowyer #15 Buddy Baker Throwback Toyota Camry

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Cargil David Pearson Throwback Ford Fusion

Jeb Burton #23 Estes Cat Throwback Toyota Camry

Jeff Gordon #24 Axalta Throwback Chevy SS

Josh Wise #32 Beer Frost/Corvetteparts.com Tide Throwback Ford Fusion

Mike Bliss #33 Harry Gant Throwback Chevy SS

Kyle Larson #42 Mello Yello Chevy SS

Aric Almirola #43 STP 1972 Throwback Ford Fusion

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Valvoline Buddy Baker Throwback Chevy SS

The Schemie for Best Throwback of 2015 goes to…

Clint Bowyer #15 Buddy Baker Throwback Toyota Camry

The final award of 2014 is the Paint Schemie for Best Paint Scheme Set of 2015. The nominees are:

TEAM PENSKE #2 FORD FUSION

JOE GIBBS RACING #11 TOYOTA CAMRY

MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING #15 TOYOTA CAMRY

JOE GIBBS RACING #20 TOYOTA CAMRY

WOOD BROTHERS RACING #21 FORD FUSION

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #24 CHEVY SS

RAB RACING #29 TOYOTA CAMRY

FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS #35 FORD FUSION

JTG DAUGHTERY RACING #47 CHEVY SS

FURNITURE ROW RACING #78 CHEVY SS

PHIL PARSONS RACING/PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS #98

The Schemie goes to…

FURNITURE ROW RACING #78 CHEVY SS

Now for my annual top 10 list, this year, we are looking at the 10 worst paint schemes of all time…

10. Tony Stewart 2011 #14 El Monterey/Office Depot Chevy Impala-Dark red, Petty blue, and gold do not work as a color scheme.

9.Jimmie Johnson 2013 #48 Yellow Lowe’s Chevy SS-As awful as this scheme is, at least he didn’t wear a yellow uniform, or he would look like a peep, though I do like the chrome helmet.

8. AJ Allmendinger 2003 #51 Neil Bonnett Tribute Chevy SS-This scheme worked in 1994, and really should have stayed there. Also, you couldn’t have used throwback door numbers?

7. Marty Robbins 1978 #42 Marty Robbins Dodge-As deomnstrated above, pink and yellow is NOT a good color scheme.

6. Any paint scheme run by Travis Pastrana in NASCAR-This is just a representation, but anything Travis Pastrana has driven in NASCAR is awful.

5. Brian Keselowsk 2014 #52 Support Millitary Toyota Camry-There is a reason this scheme won the Worst Single Scheme Schemie for two years in a row.

4. Jeff Green 2003 #43 Yu-Gi-Oh Cheerios Dodge Avenger-”Hey! NASCAR fans really like Yu-Gi-Oh, so we should advertise to them” said no one ever.

3. Various Teams 2007 57 Chevy Monte Carlo-To celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the 1957 Chevy, one of the most beautiful cars ever made, Chevy convinced NASCAR to run one of the ugliest paint schemes ever run.

2. Kenny Irwin 1997 #27 Tonka/Winner’s Circle Ford Thunderbird-I really think, given the sponsor, a 9 year old helped design this car.

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2000 #3 Peter Max Chevy Monte Carlo-I was a die hard Dale Earnhardt Sr. fan since watching my first race, the 1990 Twin 125’s. I loved that black #3 with the silver stripe on the bottom. For what would be his last race, Dale raced this car, which looks like a clown threw up all over it. I have yet to find a Dale Sr. fan who will defend this scheme. At least he didn’t wear a matching driver suit.
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Paint Scheme Grades-November 14, 2015

We have a 2016 paint scheme…

Danica Patrick #10 TaxAct Chevy SS-This is a good look, I like the large X behind the door numbers, and the color scheme is really good too. A+

Casey Mears #13 Geico Chevy SS-Much improved design from 2015, much smoother and simpler look. I give it an A+.

Casey Mears #13 Geico Millitary Chevy SS-While I support the troops, I grade tribute schemes on the same scale as any other scheme. In this case, this does not look good. It’s the Geico design, but with a black and camo motif. It looks forced, and awkward. F

Now on to the 2015 schemes…

Austin Dillon #3 Dow Plastic Additives Chevy SS-I like the design here. The plastic particle design does look good, and combined with a great color scheme earns an A+.

Austin Dillon #3 Bad Boy Buggies Chevy SS– Same scheme as last year, same F grade.

Danica Patrick #10 GoDaddy Tribute Chevy SS-It’s a decent tribute, but a tribute based on an F scheme.

Greg Biffle #16 Jardiance Ford Fusion-Yellow, white, and teal doesn’t work, and the design is over done. As a result, it earns an F.

JJ Yeley #23 Overture Toyota Camry-I HATE ORANGE AND BLUE! I will scream that from the mountains! The design might work if it were a fade, then I could give it a C, but the zigzag design is horrible, and I can’t give it better than an F.

Jeff Gordon #24 Axalta/Service King Chevy SS-Same as Axalta, same A+ grade.

Ryan Newman #31 CAT Command Chevy SS-This is one of the few designs that works perfectly. I love the look, it’s unique, and the circular design on the rear wheel is great. I give it an A+.

Kyle Fowler #32 Corvette Parts Pink Ford Fusion-Pinkwashing is an automatic F. Thank God October is over!

Joey Gase #32 Zak Ford Fusion-Great color and design schemes will always earn an A.+

Joey Gase #32 R Factor 2 Ford Fusion-Not even a great color scheme can save this over designed mess of a paint scheme from a passing grade. F

Brett Moffitt #34 Visit Dallas Ford Fusion-Great color and design schemes will always earn an A.

Cole Whitt #35 Moen Ford Fusion-One of the few schemes where it has a great color scheme and a great design scheme, but for some reason, they don’t work together. Still, I will give it a B+.

Landon Cassill #40 Fiberlock Chevy SS-Too many contrasting shades of green, the shamrock motif is awful, and the whole car is overdone. I can’t give this scheme anything but an F.

Landon Cassill #40 Chevy SS-The color scheme is good, but the side design is a bit overdone. I’ll give it a B+.

AJ Allmendinger #47 Fry’s Chevy SS-Same scheme as Kroger, same A+ grade.

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowes Patriotic Chevy SS-A tad overdone, but a really good patriotic scheme. B+

Justin Allgaier #51 Texas Lottery Chevy SS-This was a bit of a bold attempt, and it worked quite well. I like the stripe design on the sides, it’s bold, and the color scheme works well too. I give it an A+

Michael McDowell #95 TWD Ford Fusion–The design is bit overdone, nothing really bad, and the color scheme works well too. I give it a B+.

Ryan Preece #98 Xyience Energy Ford Fusion-Green, silver, and orange don’t work as a color scheme, and the car is so over designed, it is just hideous. F

Ryan Preece #98 Vydrox Plus Ford Fusion-Same scheme as #62, same A grade.z