Paint Scheme Grades-April 2, 2022

By David G. Firestone

Ross Chastain #1 ONX Homes/iFly Chevy Camaro-The only redeeming factor here is a good color scheme. The rest is awful. D

Austin Dillon #3 Bennett Transportations & Logistics Chevy Camaro-The designs are over done, and the light blue isn’t needed. This is still a good scheme, and it earns an A.

Chase Elliott #9 Adrenaline Shoc Performance Energy Chevy Camaro-My only complaint here is the tiger stripes on the rear. Other than that, this is a solid scheme. A-

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

Ryan Blaney #12 Wabash Ford Mustang-Get rid of the yellow, and this would be a solid A scheme. With the yellow, this is an A-

Joey Hand #15 Ford Pass Rewards Visa Ford Mustang-Nothing really wrong with this one, a solid scheme all around! A

Chris Buescher #17 Fifth-Third Bank Ford Mustang-Pastels don’t work in NASCAR, and a horrible design doesn’t work. F

Harrison Burton #21 Freightliner/eCascadia Ford Mustang-Same scheme as #2, same D grade.

William Byron #24 RAPTOR Chevy Camaro-This is a really good look, I love the eye motif, and it gets an A.

Todd Gilliland #38 Boot Barn Ford Mustang-The only good thing I can say is that this scheme has a great shade of red. D-

Cole Custer #41 One Cure Ford Mustang-Nothing really new to say, so this new scheme gets an A.

Ty Dillon #42 Gain Chevy Camaro-I like this look! It’s smooth, it isn’t over designed, and it has a great color scheme. A

Ty Dillon #42 ChevyLiners.com Chevy Camaro-A good color scheme with a bad design scheme earns a C.

Erik Jones #43 Tide Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same B grade.

Andy Lally #78 MaintenanceSupplies.com Ford Mustang-It’s a smooth look, with a great color scheme, and that will always earn an A.

Paint Scheme Grades-March 26, 2022

By David G. Firestone

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

Corey LaJoie #7 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevy Camaro-Bit of a downgrade, but still a good scheme. A-

Ryan Blaney #12 Body Armor Ford Mustang-I didn’t think this scheme could get better, but here we are! A

Kyle Busch #18 Skittles Toyota Camry-This really works well, and I like the smooth design. A

Cole Custer #41 Dixie Vodka Ford Mustang-This is a downgrade from last year. I think the scheme could work better if it was toned down. Still, it isn’t awful. so it gets a B

Ty Dillon #42 Alsco Uniforms Chevy Camaro-The old design was perfect, this design can be described as a great color scheme paired with an awful design scheme, and that gets a C.

Greg Biffle #44 Stillman College Chevy Camaro-It’s a smooth look, with a great color scheme, and that will always earn an A.

B.J. McLeod #78 Celsius Ford Mustang-I like this look, splatter works well when done right, and the car has a very smooth look. A

Paint Scheme Grades-February 26, 2022

By David G. Firestone

Corey LaJoie #7 Built Bar Chevy Camaro-This is a great scheme for 2022, it’s smooth, and it has a great color scheme. A

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

Daniel Hemric #16 Hermitage Pool Supply Chevy Camaro-My only complaint here is that the light blue isn’t really needed here. Other than that, this works very well, it isn’t over designed, and it looks great. A-

Bubba Wallace #23 McDonald’s Toyota Camry-I think with McDonald’s schemes, less is more. Just a plain red would work. This isn’t really awful though. Its over designed, but not horribly. I’ll give this a B.

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

Todd Gilliland #38 Ruedbusch Development and Construction Ford Mustang-Switching the blue and silver would help a lot, and the side designs aren’t needed. It’s not terrible, so I’ll give it a B+

Greg Biffle #44 Grambling State University Chevy Camaro-Normally, I would hate the sublimated stripes, but these are so subtle, they can’t really be seen. Add in a great look, with a great color scheme, and you have an A grade.

Landon Cassill #77 Fox Nation Chevy Camaro-Toning down the stripes gives the car a smoother look. A

The Final Paint Scheme Grades of 2021-November 13, 2021

By David G. Firestone

Quin Houff #00 Creek Enterprises Inc. Chevy Camaro-Nothing really improved here, nothing made worse, it gets a B.

Austin Dillon #3 Behr Dynasty Chevy Camaro-I love the new motif, the splatter works, this looks awesome, and this gets an A.

Ryan Newman #6 Castrol GTX Full Synthetic Ford Mustang-I think the design is over done. I think the gray is pointless. It’s got a decent color scheme. I’ll give this a D.

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

David Starr #13 Bob Menery Ripper Magoo/Club Scottsdale Toyota Camry-A smooth look, and a great color scheme will always earn an A.

Garrett Smithley #15 Carpets of Arizona Chevy Camaro-The black isn’t needed, the yellow stripes are a bit over done, but it’s a decent scheme so it gets a B.

Anthony Alfredo #38 Boot Barn Ford MustangIt’s a very well done patriotic motif, the scheme looks great, this gets an A.

Erik Jones #43 Rellevate Chevy Camaro-It’s a smooth look, with great color scheme, and that will always earn an A.

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. #47 Honey Nut Cheerios Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Cody Ware #51 Nurtec ODT/80th Anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor Camaro-It’s a smooth look, with great color scheme, and that will always earn an A.

Justin Haley #77 Peacock Chevy Camaro-There is nothing really wrong with this scheme, but nothing really right either, so I’ll give this a C.

Paint Scheme Grades-October 30, 2021

By David G. Firestone

Quin Houff #00 Chariton Valley and Creek Enterprise Chevy Camaro-The only good thing I can say here is that I like the white. Everything else about this scheme sucks! D-

Ryan Newman #6 Violet Defense Ford Mustang-The yellow door numbers don’t work here, it clashes with the rest of the scheme, and takes a B scheme down to a B-

Tyler Reddick #8 Cat Dealer Tech Chevy Camaro-I like this scheme, the colors are great, and it isn’t over designed. This gets an A.

Aric Almirola #10 Farmland Ford Mustang-The green really isn’t needed here, the car would look cleaner without it. Also, the FARMLAND logos near the front take away from the scheme. I’ll give this a B.

Timmy Hill #13 CrashClaimsR.us Toyota Camry-NSame scheme as #66 Boathouse Bar and Grill, same B grade.

David Starr #13 Brown & Brown Dealer Services/Steelylumber Ford Mustang-The black is an upgrade, and takes the B- scheme up to a B.

Chase Briscoe #14 DeKalb Ford Mustang-I like the corn motif, and the car looks unique and bold, without being over designed. A

Garrett Smithley #15 Trophy Tractor Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as #13, same F grade.

Ryan Ellis #15 Arrowhead Brass Chevy Camaro-Metallic gold always looks good on a race car, and when you add in some good white and red elements, you get an A scheme.

Kyle Busch #18 M&M’s Halloween Toyota Camry-The changes are minor, and they don’t really affect the scheme, so it gets an A.

Matt DiBenedetto #21 Menard’s/Monster Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

William Byron #24 RAPTOR Chevy Camaro-I like the stone motif, and the green works quite well on the dark background. This is a great scheme, and it gets an A.

Ryan Preece #37 Louisiana Hot Sauce/Southeastern Mills Chevy Camaro-The Southeastern Mills area of the car clashes with the rest of the scheme. It looks so out of place, that it took an A- scheme down to a B+.

Josh Bilicki #52 RBR Aviation Ford Mustang-A great color scheme with a great design scheme will ALWAYS earn an A.

Joey Gase #53 Donor Network Chevy Camaro-There’s nothing really wrong here, but nothing really right either. It’s just meh, and it gets a C.

Justin Haley #77 Circle B Diecast Throwback Chevy Camaro-I like the two Stroker Ace throwbacks on the track, and this is a faithful replica, so this gets an A.

B.J. McLeod #78 Pala Casino Resort and Spa Ford Mustang-I love a good fade, and this is a good fade. A

Parker Kligerman #96 Fast Checkout Toyota Camry-A smooth look with a great color scheme will always earn an A.

Paint Scheme Grades-October 23, 2021

By David G. Firestone

Austin Dillon #3 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Flannel Chevy Camaro-I think this would be perfect with the flannel motif across the whole car, but this is still great. A

Tyler Reddick #8 CC Ready Mix/Clark Pipeline Service Chevy Camaro-Any scheme that reminds me of the old Dale Earnhardt Sr. Goodwrench Monte Carlo is great! A

Aric Almirola #10 Smithfield/Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux Ford Mustang-Normally, I like when when a car is cleaned up, but this is a rare downgrade. The cleaned up sides look odd. It’s not awful, so I’ll give it a B+.

Denny Hamlin #11 Craftsman Toyota Camry-Same scheme as #20, same C grade.

Chris Buescher #17 Fastenal Pink Ford Mustang-Pinkwashing is an automatic F.

Matt DiBenedetto #21 Menard’s/Atlas Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Bubba Wallace #23 Columbia Omni-Heat Infinity Toyota Camry-I like this look, it’s bold, and has a great color scheme. A

Ryan Preece #37 Little Hug Fruit Barrels Chevy Camaro-The blue on the rear is pointless, and it takes away from the scheme as a whole. Other than that, this is a great scheme. A-

Ross Chastain #42 Chevrolet Accessories Chevy Camaro-It’s a smooth look, with a great color scheme, and that will always earn an A.

Josh Bilicki #52 Junction Fuels Ford Mustang-This is a great look, very well designed, and a great color scheme. A

Joey Gase #53 Branson’s Nantucket Chevy Camaro-This is a great look, and the car isn’t over designed. A

David Starr #66 Conectus/Kyocera Ford Mustang-The car is a tad too over designed, and the green, red, and black are pointless. All things considered, this gets a B-

Justin Haley #77 Shavelogic Chevy Camaro-A major downgrade from the amazing Shavelogic scheme from earlier this year. Good color scheme, but way too over designed. C

Daniel Suarez #99 Freeway Insurance Chevy Camaro-Good color scheme here, but the curved stripes are way too over designed. I’ll give this a C.

Paint Scheme Grades-October 16, 2021

By David G. Firestone

Quin Houff #00 Bos Klein/North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame Chevy Camaro-Nothing wrong with this scheme, it’s great. A

Austin Dillon #3 Whelen Chevy Camaro-A smooth look with a great color scheme will always earn an A.

Kevin Harvick #4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang-The black and silver stripes do pop more, but they are very visually distracting. The Mobil 1 on the rear looks forced. The color scheme is good. All things considered, this gets a B-

Ryan Newman #6 Castrol Pink Ford Mustang-Pinkwashing is an automatic F.

Tyler Reddick #8 Lenovo Chevy Camaro-Pinkwashing is an automatic F.

Aric Almirola #10 Ford Warriors in Pink Ford Mustang-Even if this wasn’t a pinkwashing scheme, it’s so badly designed, it would get an F anyway.

Garrett Smithley #15 Boom Mobile Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as #15, same A grade.

Josh Bilicki #15 Insurance King Ford Mustang-I like the look here, and the color scheme is great, so this gets an A.

Justin Haley #16 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevy Camaro-I’d like this scheme more if the water motif was across the car. I don’t like the black on the rear, it jumbles up the scheme. B

AJ Allmendinger #16 Jackpot Party Chevy Camaro-It’s a very well-done scheme, and it looks great. A

Chris Buescher #17 Fastenal Ford Mustang-Pinkwashing is an automatic F.

Matt DiBenedetto #21 Menard’s/Duracel Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

William Byron #24 Valvoline Chevy Camaro-The white on the sides is really odd looking, and really isn’t needed. I might like it more if it was around the whole car. Still, it isn’t awful, so it gets a B+

Anthony Alfredo #38 Citgard Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same B+ grade.

Erik Jones #43 Power to the Patients Chevy Camaro-A smooth look, a great color scheme, and an A grade does this scheme make.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #47 Kroger/Cottonelle Chevy Camaro-If you take a bad front, and add a mediocre rear, you get an F scheme.

Joey Hand #52 Boom Mobile Ford Mustang-Same scheme as #15, same A grade.

Garrett Smithley #53 Sparks Ford Mustang-It’s a smooth look, with a great color scheme will always earn an A.

Garrett Smithley #53 Kendall Motor Oil Chevy Camaro-The cutting edge motif works well here, and the car is well designed, so this gets an A.

BJ McLeod #78 CorvetteParts.net/Keen Parts Halloween Ford Mustang-I would normally say this is over designed, but with the Halloween motif, it works. This really does work. A

Paint Scheme Grades-August 21, 2021

By David G. Firestone

Quin Houff #00 Sherfick Companies Chevy Camaro-The major issue here is that there is too much white. Orange and black work well, but the white is visually distracting. It’s not bad, so I’ll give it a B+

Quin Houff #00 The Frank and Shirley Dick Family YMCA/Creek Enterprise Chevy Camaro-This would work well with just the sky blue and a white hood, but this is actually great, so it gets an A-.

Ryan Newman #6 Oscar Meyer Hot Dogs Ford Mustang-Red with yellow stripes, and hot dogs works very well, and this car looks great. A

Aric Almirola #10 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang-Everything here works well, and this car has a great look. A

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

James Davison #15 Tilson Chevy Camaro-The white with the mountain works well, the car is well designed, this gets an A.

Martin Truex Jr. #19 Auto-Owners Insurance/Martin Truex Jr. Foundation/SherryStrong Toyota Camry-It’s a smooth look, with a great color scheme, and that always earns an A.

Ryan Preece #37 Kroger Chevy Camaro-his new template is much better than the old one. There is room for improvement, but it’s an upgrade. B

Anthony Alfredo #38 Elliott’s Custom Motorcoaches Ford Mustang-The shades of blue work well, and the stripes look good. A

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #47 Hungry Jack Chevy Camaro-It’s a smooth look, with a great color scheme, and that always earns an A.

Josh Bilicki #52 Saved By The King Ford Mustang-It’s a well designed scheme, great colors, and the whole scheme works, even though I never watched Saved By The Bell. A

Paint Scheme Grades-February 27, 2021

By David G. Firestone

Austin Dillon #3 Dow Mobility Science Chevy Camaro-I like the smoother, sharper look this year’s car has, it’s a great scheme, and it gets an A.

Corey LaJoie #7 Netflix’s “The Crew” Chevy Camaro-I hate ugly, over designed messes, and this is as much of an ugly, over designed mess as any. F

Tyler Reddick #8 Cat Rental Store Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Chase Elliott #9 UniFirst Chevy Camaro-Getting rid of the dark green, and cleaning up the sides took a B- scheme to an A scheme.

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

Chase Briscoe #14 Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang-The removal of the black circle cleans up the car a lot, and the car looks great as such. A

William Bryon #24 Axalta Electrolight Color Chevy Camaro-My only complaint here is that the white is pointless, and the car would look better without it. A

Ryan Preece #37 Kroger/Coca-Cola Chevy Camaro-One thing I hate is when a car has two different designs on the front and rear. This is an example. Either of these designs would work by themselves, but together they are awful. F

Anthony Alfredo #38 The Pete Store Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same C grade.

Ross Chastain #42 McDonald’s Chevy Camaro-This is a great scheme! It’s smooth, perfectly designed, and is an amazing look. A

Erik Jones #43 Petty’s Garage Chevy Camaro-My only complaint here is that the white sections should be blue, with white lettering, which would be a much better look, still, this isn’t bad, so I’ll give this an A-.

Erik Jones #43 Tide Chevy Camaro-Get rid of the blue, and the dots, and this scheme would get an A, but with the dots, and the blue, this gets a B

Josh Bilicki #52 Jacob Companies Ford Mustang-Same scheme as 2019 #51 design, same B grade.

Garrett Smithley #53 Clix Wipers Chevy Camaro-I hate ugly, over designed messes, and this is as much of an ugly, over designed mess as any. F

Justin Haley #77 AirMedCare Network Chevy Camaro-I like the color scheme, but I hate the design scheme, so this gets a C

BJ McLeod #78 Diecast Kings Ford Mustang-It’s a smooth look, with a great color scheme, and that will always earn an A.

Scott Heckert #78 Motorsport Games Ford Mustang-I hate ugly, over designed messes, and this is as much of an ugly, over designed mess as any. F

Ty Dillon #96 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota Camry-Same scheme as last year, same B- grade.

Paint Scheme Grades-February 20, 2021

By David G. Firestone

Kurt Busch #1 Advent Health Chevy Camaro-It’s an ugly, over designed mess, and the color scheme is awful. I give this an F.

Kyle Larson #5 Hendrickcars.com Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Denny Hamlin #11 FedEx Toyota Camry-I don’t like the off-center design on the sides, but I do like the overall design as well as the fade. The good and the bad cancel each other out, and this gets a C.

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

Garrett Smithley #13 Trophy Tractor Ford Mustang-Not even a good color scheme can save this disaster from an F grade. This might be one of the worst schemes I have ever seen.

Kaz Grala #16 Hyper Ice Chevy Camaro-I think that the black is over designed a bit, but it isn’t terrible. This gets an A-

Michael McDowell #34 Love’s Truck Stops Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

David Ragan #36 Select Blinds Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same B grade.

Ryan Preece #37 Cottonelle Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same C grade.

Ross Chastain #42 Clover Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Cody Ware #51 Nurtec ODT Chevy Camaro-I love the fade of the stripe, and the blue is really good too. The car has a smooth and bold scheme, and this gets an A.

Joey Gase #53 Page Construction Ford MustangNew scheme for 2021, black, with green and teal stripe. B+

I don’t like the shade of green used, it needs to be darker. Also, the teal is needless. Still, it’s a decent scheme, so it gets a B+

Timmy Hill #66 VSI Racing Ford Mustang-The only thing keeping this scheme above an F grade is the color scheme. Other than that, this is an F scheme.

Jamie McMurray #77 Advent Health Chevy Camaro-A good color scheme balanced by a bad color scheme will always earn a C.