Category: throwback thursday

By David G. Firestone

The best driver to never win a championship Mark Martin races in his 1991 Folgers Ford Thunderbird this week.

Red, metallic gold, and white is always a great combination. I think metallic gold should be used more on race cars. The two-stripe design works well, but I don’t like the fact that the top stripe is interrupted by the window. The Folgers logo cut off by the wheel well, and fuel intake is annoying, and the over-sized Valvoline logo looks a little out of place. I also don’t like the black drop shadow on the white door number. A decent scheme, but there is a lot that can be improved it.

By David G. Firestone

Bill Elliott drives his pre-Silver Bullet Coors Light Ford Thunderbird in 1991.

Bill’s Coors Ford was an iconic scheme, and the blue version looks pretty good too. The shade of blue looks good, and does the shade of red. The diagonal stripe on the rear looks good, and the Coors Light logo isn’t cut off by the wheel well. I think that the door number should be bigger, though it does look really good. I do like the fact that advertisers, at that time, didn’t really know what to do with the B-posts, and so it’s almost always the team name and/or car manufacturer.

By David G. Firestone

Dave Marcus is paying tribute to the United States Coast Guard in his 1991 Chevy Lumina.

The aqua works well with the sponsor, and the red and white stripes look good too. The door numbers look better on the door than on the roof for some reason. The black border doesn’t look good on the numbers. I do like the “We Support the Troops” motif on the back bumper. I also like the fact that the rear logo doesn’t really get cut off by the wheel well. I also like the Dave Marcus signature on the name rail.

By David G. Firestone

In his last season for Raymond Beadle, Rusty Wallace poses with his Miller Genuine Draft Pontiac Grand Prix in 1990.

The metallic gold, red, and black scheme works quite well. The metallic gold numbers look good, but the black outline is bad, and it makes the car look odd. The bottom stripes look good, and it’s a very smooth look. The rear logo is good, and isn’t cut off from by the wheel well. I also like the decals of the headlights. I like this look.

By David G. Firestone

Upset winner of the 1990 Daytona 500 Derrike Cope poses with his Purolator Chevy Lumina before the race.

Another odd shade of red, a bit too light to be red, but not light enough to be pink. The #10 has an odd fade design, that clashes with the rest of the car. It’s not a bad look, but it’s out of place on this car. The checkered design looks good on the back of the car. I would prefer the side lettering would be red, rather than blue, it does clash with the car design. The one thing I don’t understand is the checkered pattern on the hood. It just doesn’t look good at all.

By David G. Firestone

Davey Allison’s first all-black Texaco Havoline Ford Thunderbird waits to get going in 1990.

For the most part, the scheme is good. The metallic gold works well on the door numbers, but the stripe, and side logos look a little odd. I do not like that white outline. It’s not needed, and makes the car look cluttered. Black is a really good background color for a race car. The color scheme is good, though I would make the metallic gold a tad lighter, so the white outline can be eliminated. All things considered, it is a really good scheme.

By David G. Firestone

Mike Alexander getting ready to run in his 1990 Raybestos Buick.

The red on this car looks odd. It’s a bit to light to be red, but too dark to be pink. The scheme as a whole looks good, but I can’t get past that shade of red. Also, I hate that black outline on the door numbers, and I think they would look better without it. I’m also wondering what is going on with the silver on the headlights going down the side. It doesn’t look bad, it looks odd though. Like I said, it’s a good scheme, but it just has a few oddities.

By David G. Firestone

Kyle Petty returns, this time driving his Peak Pontiac Grand Prix in 1989.

Peak was using a much darker shade of blue back then, and the red, while a good shade, it looks out of place. The design is very odd too. If it were plain blue, I could accept it, but the needless design makes the scheme horrible. The scheme is an unattractive mess.

By David G. Firestone

Hut Stricken is running with his needle in the red in his 1989 Heinz Pontiac Grand Prix.

Red, white, and gold is a good color scheme, and I like the gold stripe up the side. The diagonal Heinz logo on the side looks decent. The second Heinz Ketchup logo is a bit unnecessary, but it does look good. The gold wheels look a bit odd, and out of place on a red car. Red wheels would work much better.

By David G. Firestone

Dick Trickle is racing around in his 1989 Miller High Life Buick.

Metallic gold is an attractive and underused color when it comes to race cars. The lettering loosk really good, and the red Miller Logo works well on the wheel well. The overall design looks good. The gold wheels look good with the car. I don’t like the yellow rookie stripe on the back bumper, but I understand why it’s there.