Supporting the aesthetics, uniforms, and memorabilia of auto racing since 2013.
By David G. Firestone
Skoal makes its first appearance in this 1995 Chevy Monte Carlo, driven by Robert Pressley.
I like the design of the car, it looks like a modification of the Terry Labonte Kellogg’s scheme. I like the shade of green used. The big Skoal logos used on the sides are cut off by the wheel well. I also wish that the Skoal Bandit logos on the sides were bigger, but I do like the use of the Bandit logo to tell the pit crew where to put the jack. It’s a good look.
By David G. Firestone
1995’s first entry, this John Andretti Little Ceasers/K-Mart Ford Thunderbird is our subject.
The white background looks good. The red stripe works. The red drop shadow on the roof isn’t needed. The hood looks crowded, given the number of logos present. I can’t complain on the sides, they aren’t cut off by the wheel well. I really like this car, it’s a really good look.
By David G. Firestone
Kodak makes its return with this 1994 Chevy Lumina, driver by Sterling Marlin.
Kodak still has the best shade of yellow in auto racing. I do like the red door numbers, though I could do without the black drop shadow. I think the side logos are too far forward. I do like the design on the sides, under the logos. I don’t like logos cut off by the wheel well. All things considered, it’s a decent scheme.
By David G. Firestone
The Main and Tall/Straight Arrow Chevy Lumina driven by Derrike Cope is our subject.
First off, why is there a defined red stripe on the bottom? It clashes with the amazing fade that dominates the middle of the car. I also hate the sudden transition from green to blue, instead of fading. If those two changes had been made, the paint scheme would be amazing! Also, instert standard gripe about cut off wheel well logos here. It is a scheme that could be really good, but too many things are wrong with it to be good, so it’s just mediocre.
By David G. Firestone
Dave Marcus drove this 1994 Chevy Lumina to the Olive Garden for their awesome breadsticks.
The green works well, but I hate the white striping on the sides. The Olive Garden script looks really good on the hood, and decent on the sides, but the wheel well thing is present here. I don’t like the drop shadow on the side numbers. Also, why in the world is the roof number a completely different design than the friggin door numbers? Here is what annoys me about that. The door font is really good, and the roof font is really good, but they clash with each other. Its just an odd look, and the car as a whole is mediocre.
By David G. Firestone
Bill Elliott’s 1993 Budweiser Ford Thunderbird is our subject this week.
Any scheme Budweiser ran between 1990 and 1999 is really good. This example has one addition, the white line on the side, between the wheel wells. It doesn’t expand to the front or rear of the car, and looks awkward. The red Budweiser uses is always good, the borderless white numbers look good, and I don’t like the fact that the logo is cut off by the wheel well, but otherwise, it’s a decent scheme.
By David G. Firestone
Sterling Marlin returns in his Raybestos Ford Thunderbird from 1993
Raybestos used to be a much more involved sponsor in NASCAR than they are now. Another really good shade of blue, and the white design on the hood and decklid looks good, but the roof is still blue. If the roof were white, and matched the hood and decklid, they would look better. The Raybestos logo isn’t cut off by the wheel well, and it looks good. It’s a great scheme, but the white roof would look even better.
By David G. Firestone
Troy Beebe is making a run for the border in his 1991 Taco Bell Chevy Lumina
One logo I really miss is that old Taco Bell logo. That logo looks really good on the car. The shade of yellow they use is really good, and the red door numbers and logos look really good too, though I don’t particularly like the white outline of the door numbers. The white hood and top look decent, though I wish they would have had the yellow stay on the sides. Not a bad look at all.
By David G. Firestone
The two shades of blue look good, and the gold stripe separating them is a really good look. It’s a bold move that looks really good. The numbers without borders look really good too. My only complaint about this paint scheme is the small amount of the bottom logo that has been cut off by the wheel well. Other than that’ its a solid scheme.
By David G. Firestone
Pennzoil returns, this time on Michael Waltrip’s 1991 Pontiac Grand Prix.
I’m weirdly particular about shades of yellow in NASCAR. I don’t get upity about any other color as much as I do about yellow. It’s a hard color to have as a base color, because if the shade is too bright, as visible as it is, it just doesn’t look good. That said, this particular shade is bright, but not too bright, and it’s unique. It looks really good. I like the red door numbers too. The logo getting cut off by the wheel well annoys me, not just this car, but race cars in general. It’s visually distracting, and doesn’t look good at all. This is a really good look, and a really good car.
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