Item Spotlight-Alex Barron 1998 Champ Car Driver Suit

By David G. Firestone
While I typically watched NASCAR growing up, I did also watch IndyCar. That was before “the split” which diluted the value the sport so much that to this day it is still suffering, 6 years after the unification of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League. I got tired of politics and wanted to watch racing, I didn’t care who was sanctioning it. I still watch IndyCar racing and I collect race-used stuff.

I mentioned this a few months ago, when I discussed video matching. My first open wheel driver suit is this Alex Barron suit from 1998.

Not only is this my first open wheel suit, it was also my first suit that featured an FIA safety certification on the back of the neck. Having dealt in NASCAR suits, I didn’t know what to make of it, and through some research, I eventually learned what it was and what it meant. The chest features a FedEx Championship Series patch, probably my favorite sanctioning body patch ever,
and logos for Toyota and Denso. This being my first Sparco driver suit, The cowl tags, and location of the warranty tags were out of place, as compared to a NASCAR driver suit. One thing I do find interesting is that there are no television logos on the sleeves and legs, but as the video at the end shows, that was not uncommon, but more on that later.
The collar has an unusual design. Most collar designs feature either logos on the side, or logos across the front, or sometimes both. This one is unique in that it features a DEGREE logo on the front, as well as a CASTROL logo on the right side, but nothing on the left side…I’ve never seen that before or since, and I can’t understand the need for that particular design…it just looks odd.Alex’s name is embroidered into the belt, and something I love about open wheel suits is that because it is an international sport, much more so than NASCAR, the driver usually has their home country flag embroidered next to their name on their suit, as this suit shows.I also have a 1/18 die cast of Barron’s very sharp looking car from 1998. It is the only die cast I have that has a driver in it. I love the fact that he is wearing a very accurate version of his driver suit. Now as I mentioned, this was the suit Barron wore during his most infamous moment, his crash at Road America, where he wound up on top of Bryan Herta. Someone recently uploaded the whole race to YouTube, and when watching it, notice that nobody has logos for the in-car camera. I find that rather interesting, since it would be very easy to place logos on the sleeves, and it was commonplace in other forms of racing. But it is an interesting race.

Now we have another piece of news to discuss. In the realm of NCAA sports, the two major factions in uniforms are Nike and Under Armour. Nike has a deal with Denny Hamlin for driver suits, and I was wondering when Under Armour would jump on the band wagon, and this week, we got our answer. Under Armour, who has signed deals with Michael Waltrip Racing and Henrdick Motorsports to outfit teams with apparel. This deal does not include the drivers themselves but the car numbers are fair play. I find it a bit unusual that the deal provides apparel for all members of the team, pit crew members, front office personel, and everyone EXCEPT the faces of the franchises. Now that might change in the near future, but for now that is how the deal works. You can read more about the deal here.

Now we move to…

PAINT SCHEME REVIEWS!

Jamie McMurray #1 Bell Helicopters Chevy SS Great look, great color scheme, A+

Austin Dillon #3 Dow Powerhouse Solar Chevy SS The side is somewhat over designed, but I like the product placement on the roof. The color scheme is great so I will give it a B

Denny Hamlin #11 FedEx Office March Of Dimes Toyota Camry Decent color scheme, but the side is a bit overdesigned, and has a messy look to it. C+

Clint Bowyer #15 Willy’s Duck Diner/Buck Commander Toyota Camry Too much camo. Camo doesn’t work they way designers want it to on a car and I give it a D

Greg Biffle #16 Give Kids A Smile Ford Fusion Man! Greg Biffle really wants the Paint Schemie Awards for Most Degraded Paint Schemes, and Worst Paint Scheme Set with another F scheme. Horrible design, and an ugly paint scheme.

Greg Biffle #16 3M Areospace Ford Fusion Take the worst aspects of Greg Biffle 2014 schemes, and add a liberal amount of camo, and you have an F scheme

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Ford EcoBoot Ford Fusion I like the color scheme, I like the overall scheme, and my only complaint is that the orange numbers on the roof should be on the door. Still it is an A scheme

Cole Whitt #26 Swan Energy Toyota Camry Simple design and a great color scheme earns an A+

Paul Menard #27 Menards/Duracel Chevy SS This is the best Menard scheme I have seen! Duracel works very well on the hood, and I give it an A

Parker Kligerman #30 Swan Energy Toyota Camry Just when I thought Swan had learned the error of their ways, and were improving their paint schemes, along comes this one. Now we are back to square one, and this scheme earns a D+

Parker Kligerman #30 SMS Audio Toyota Camry Well things for Swan are looking up, this is a pretty cool design. It works very well, and has a great color scheme. A+

Ryan Newman #31 Quicken Loans Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge Chevy SS I understand what they tried to do, but the scheme as a whole is just bland, boring, and C+.

Travis Kvapil #32 Keen Parts Ford Fusion Decent design, good color scheme, but the logo on the hood is very difficult to see. That is a major issue. When a sponsor pays for a car, the hood design should be easy to see, but this isn’t easy, and I give it a C-

Aric Almirola #43 Ekrich Ford Fusion The red on the roof is pointless, and it takes away from a great scheme. If the roof were Petty Blue, and the red was just a stripe on the bottom, I would give this scheme an A+ but with the red roof, it goes down to a B-

Michael McDowell #95 Triangle Office Equipment Levine Family Racing keeps up the fight with Swan Racing to win the Most Improved Paint Schemie Award with another beautiful A+ scheme!

Introduction to Sports Memorabilia-Kevin Lepage Helmets

This week, on Introduction to Sports Memorabilia, we examine two Kevin Lepage race worn and Signed driver helmets, the first from his rookie campaign in the Busch Grand National Series in 1994, and the second from his time at Roush Racing in 1999.

Ted Musgrave-My Favorite Driver to Collect Part 2

By David G. Firestone

Last week, I discussed my favorite driver to collect, and this week I will examine his most well-known sponsor. From 1994-1997 Musgrave was sponsored by the Family Channel. The distinctive patriotic red white and blue design with that Family Channel logo was eye catching. The Family Channel logo was classic 1990’s design. It was also an idea whose time had come, and is still a great idea.

It was founded by Pat Robertson in 1977 as the CBN Satellite Service, which focused on Christian Broadcast Network programing. By 1981, it had re-branded as the CBN Cable Network, which began to focus more on family-friendly programing. It was a channel where families could watch together without needless violence, and gratuitous sex, something that should be redone today. The major moment was in 1990 when the channel became too profitable for the non-profit Christian Broadcast Network, and was transferred to International Family Entertainment, Inc. The CBN Cable Network became The Family Channel, and began to air recent dramas and sitcoms, as well as cartoons. In 1994, to gain visibility, The Family Channel joined forces with Roush Racing to create the #16 Family Channel Ford Thunderbird. This partnership lasted for 3 years, and Ted raced in 124 races, with 15 top 5’s and 36 top 10’s.

During the 1997 season, The Family Channel was purchased by Fox Kids Worldwide Inc. which was a joint venture between News Corporation, and Saban which re-branded the channel as Fox Family channel. This was out of necessity, as the average age of the viewer under the Family Channel banner was much older, and Fox Family set about trying to win back the younger viewers. The channel was used for everything from movies to cartoons, to Fox programing to Major League baseball. It became clear when the channel went from 10^th in ratings to 17^th in Nielsen ratings, that something was not working. Many outside observers felt that the push for younger viewers alienated the previous viewers.

In July 2001, almost 4 years to the date, the channel was sold to ABC and re-branded it ABC Family, which still operates to this day. It has come up with a format that amalgamates the two different styles of network. Though it hasn’t regained its previous glory, it has created a network that is family-friendly and appeals to families, not just young kids.

The #16 race team it spawned has had just as interesting a history. Roush had started in NASCAR in 1988, with Mark Martin as a driver and Stroh’s Light as the sponsor. They had a lot of success as a combo, and a second team was created in 1992. Wally Dallenbach Jr. started driving the Keystone Beer sponsored #16 Ford Thunderbird in 1992. Changes came in 1994, When Ted Musgrave was taken on as a sponsor. Ted was kept on until midway through the 1998 season, when he was let go from the team, and replaced with Kevin Lepage.

In 1999, TV Guide became one of the primary sponsors, and Lepage had a decent start to the season. As 1999 went on, Primestar left, TV Guide stayed and Lepage slipped in the points standings. I own a Kevin Lepage race-worn and signed helmet from 1999. It has the distinctive red and yellow scheme that TV Guide was known for. In 2000, Family Click took over as a sponsor, but Lepage slightly improved finishing 26^th . At the end of the season, Family Click left the team, Lepage was released, and the #16 team disappeared for the entire 2001 season.

In 2002, the #16 Roush Racing Ford came back to NASCAR with Greg Biffle. They ran a limited schedule with 7 races started of the 10 races Biffle attempted to qualify for. In 2003, Biffle raced in the #16 Ford full-time, winning the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award. Biffle continues to race in the #16 Ford full time and has had a lot of success, having won 19 races between 2003 and 2013. This team has a very bright future ahead of it.

Now on to…

PAINT SCHEME REVIEWS

Greg Biffle #16 Megulars Ford Fusion Best scheme Greg Biffle has run all year…and since that this is a C+ scheme, that is really sad. The color scheme is good, but the car design is awful.

Travis Kvpail #32 SK Handtools Ford Fusion Great design, great color scheme A+

David Stremme #33 Mace Chevy SS Great design, great color scheme, and I think that this is the first self-defense spray I have seen sponsor a car, so A+

David Reuitmann #35 MDS Ford Fusion Great color scheme, great design scheme, works very well, A+

Justin Allgaier #51 SEM Chevy SS Great color scheme, great design scheme, works very well, A+

Justin Allgaier #51 AccuDoc Chevy SS Decent color scheme, yellow is a bit too bright, otherwise a great scheme, A-

Dave Blaney #77 Humphrey Racing Ford Fusion Great color scheme, great design scheme, works very well, A+

Josh Wise #98 Trench Shoring Chevy SS Great color scheme, great design scheme, works very well, A+

Introduction to Sports Memorabilia-Steve Grissom 1998 Race-Worn Helmet

This week, we examine a Steve Grissom 1998 Kodiak Helmet.

Ted Musgrave-My Favorite Driver to Collect Part 1

By David G. Firestone

During a conversation over lunch a few weeks ago, I was asked by a co-worker if I have a favorite driver to collect. My response was “Ted Musgrave” but the longer I thought, the deeper it went. I began to think about why he is my favorite driver to collect, as opposed to Dale Earnhardt Sr. who was my favorite driver to watch on track. From there I began to think about sponsors and teams, and for the next 2 weeks, we will examine these three factors, driver, sponsor and team in depth.

We will start with the driver. Theodore “Ted” Musgrave was born in Waukegan Illinois, which is roughly 28 miles from Evanston where I grew up. Having a hometown driver from your area in the Sprint Cup Series is always a plus. He raced for many years in Wisconsin, and began to drive for the ASA in 1987, winning one event before moving to NASCAR in 1989, where he raced a full Busch Series season. In 1990, he raced 4 Winston Cup events, before joining the series full time in 1991. He would lose the Rookie of the Year award to Bobby Hamilton. He raced for the #55 Jasper Engines machine from 1991-1993, for two different owners.

In 1994 he joined Roush Racing driving the #16 Family Channel Ford Thunderbird. Joining Mark Martin boosted his status immediately. The familiar patriotic red white and blue Thunderbird was an attention getter and he had a number of races that he should have won. In a feature for Winston Cup Illustrated, a number of drivers who hadn’t won a race were featured, and each of these drivers had reasons why they haven’t won as part of the article. For Musgrave, this part of the article read “It’s puzzling.” He had a decent career with Roush, but in 1998, Roush let Musgrave go, and replaced him with Kevin Lepage. After leaving Roush, Musgrave joined NASCAR Hall of Fame owner Bud Moore for two races for Rescue Engine Formula, then bounced aground the Sprint Cup until 2003.

In 2001, he had started driving for the Craftsman Truck Series full-time, and here he found his true calling in NASCAR. From 2001-2010 he won 17 races, had 80 top 5’s and 109 top 10’s. He would win the Truck Series title in 2005, while driving the #1 MOPAR Dodge Ram. That season, he had 1 win, 11 top 5’s, 15 top 10’s as well as an average finish of 9.4 in the 25 races held that year. After that, he raced for 3 more years, but only scored one more win. He retired after 2010.

Now I covered this to some extent in January of 2013, but let’s delve further. I have two Ted Musgrave driver suits, this first one is from 1995.

It has the familiar Family Channel motif. It also has a ROUSH RACING and NASCAR WINSTON CUP SERIES logos. No television logos exist on the arms or legs. And that classic name on the chest design that bit the dust shortly thereafter.From 1996, I have this helmet.

It is clearly from 1996 as Primestar joined the team in 1996, and the design was changed from stars and stripes to red and blue in 1996.

Ted has autographed the helmet, though the signature has faded.This helmet was also the inspiration for a mini helmet, also released in 1996, which is very accurate.

I also have this suit from 1998, which was designed after Musgrave was released from Roush Racing.

It has TV logos, though not in the “proper” configuration for NASCAR, a NASCAR 50^th Anniversary logo,and Ted’s name on the belt.When it comes to die casts, I have 4, two from 1996, as well as a 1996 hauler, and a die cast from 1997. This is a large piece of sheet metal from his days with Germain Racing, which Ted has autographed on the side.

My last two pieces of Ted Musgrave memorabilia are two of the oldest and most cherished pieces in my collection. These two autographed hero cars were given to me from a family friend. She had encountered Ted Musgrave at a party and happened to get these from him directly. I love and treasure these two cards and never get tired of looking at them.

Next week, we will look at his most well-known sponsor, The Family Channel, but now on to…

Paint Scheme Reviews!

Ryan Newman #31 Kwikset Chevy SS Looks exactly like Kurt Busch’s scheme, and it earns the same A+ grade

Landon Cassill #40 CRC Brakleen Chevy SS I like the color scheme, and the design is good. My only complaint is that it doesn’t clarify that CRC Brakleen is a brake fluid. Still it earns an A

Brian Vickers #55 Treatmyclot.com Toyota Camry A good scheme, and the 55 lettering looks really good here, and the gold is a nice touch. The treatmyclot.com logo works better than the Aarons logo, A+

Introduction to Sports Memorabilia-Derrike Cope 1998 Race-Worn Helmet

For the 11th Season Premier of Introduction to Sports Memorabilia, we examine a Derrike Cope 1998 Gumout Helmet, which he has autographed twice.. From here on out, I will upload new videos on Mondays.

Paint Scheme Grades, Some F1 News and Clarification of a Term

By David G. Firestone

I have been neglecting the Paint Scheme grades for the last few weeks, so after this brief post, we will focus on those this week. I want to clarify a term that I use regularly. I use the word “overdesigned” and what it basically means is that the paint scheme has design for design sake. The scheme has design that serves no real purpose, and was just added needlessly. Most things we own are, to a certain extent, over designed, mainly to prevent damage from regular use. But when a car uses needless design in a paint scheme, more often than not, it looks awful.

The other news items I wanted to get to are from Formula 1. I’m not an F1 fan per se, but I felt that these deserved some time on the DSB. First there was a major shift in how cars are numbered in F1. It used to be that were ever the driver finished in the previous season is what his car number was. Now the change has been made and instead it is that the drivers pick a number and then use that for their entire careers. Sky Sports covered the driver’s number choices in full, and I’m now a Daniel Ricardo fan! The 2014 F1 helmet designs have been released and the designs speak for themselves. This last item is about the man who is in charge of painting Lewis Hamilton’s Silver Arrow for the German-based Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team, my favorite team appearance wise in F1. Now we move on to…

Paint Scheme Reviews

Austin Dillon #3 American Ethanol Chevy SS For many years, green was considered an unlucky color in auto racing. That said, this is a decent scheme. The green used is very good, and the overall design is good. The green around the vent on the side is needless, but this scheme still works. A-

Austin Dillon #3 Bad Boy Buggies/Realtree Chevy SS I’m seriously considering giving any camo paint scheme an automatic F because not one that I have seen in the last 5 years looks good at all. This scheme is just awful. The white/camo scheme is hideous and I’m embarrassed to have to grade it. F

Greg Biffle #16 Red Cross Give Blood/3M Ford Fusion One of Greg’s best schemes he has ever run. I can’t say anything bad. It has a simple yet attractive design, and a great color scheme. A+

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Zest Ford Fusion Same scheme as last year, same F grade.

Kyle Busch #18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry Same scheme as last year, same B Grade

Jeff Gordon #24 Texas A&M Engineering Chevy SS Decent color scheme, but the side design is odd. It has a little too much design. The crooked Texas A&M logo looks odd here too. Still it is a decent design and earns a C+

Paul Menard #27 Menards/Quaker State Chevy SS Quaker State has a great shade of green, and it should be the dominant color of the car. The yellow base with green accents looks awkward. I’ll give it a C

Parker Kligerman #30 Swan Racing Toyota Camry Simple design and a great color scheme earns an A+

Travis Kvapil #32 Ask More Get More Ford Fusion Yellow, white and black is a great color scheme. Overall design is great and the car has a great look to it. A+

Travis Kvapil #32 Ask More Get More Ford Fusion Two different schemes in two weeks is unusual and for whatever reason, the new car was a bit over designed. It still has a decent look and earns a B+

Timmy Hill #33 Circle Sport Chevy SS Simple design and a great color scheme earns an A+

David Ragan #34 Taco Bell Ford Fusion Overall design and color schemes are good, and the only complaint is that the Taco Bell logo should be in color as opposed to black and white. A+

David Ragan #34 Dockside Logistics Ford Fusion The car looks great, with a great color scheme and great design scheme…A+

David Ragan #34 Farm Rich Ford Fusion Good color scheme and I love the rolling hills effect…A+

Reed Sorenson #36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevy SS Simple design and a great color scheme earns an A+

David Gilliland #38 Long John Silvers Ford Fusion Great design, great color scheme, great look, A+

Landon Cassill #40 Nabi Tablet Chevy SS Good color scheme, but the the car, like the Nabi Tablet is overdesigned, and earns a C

Landon Cassill #40 CRC Industries / K&W FiberLock Chevy SS A very simple design, though the yellowish-green is unattractive. If the green was darker it would work better. C+

Kyle Larson #42 Clorox Chevy SS AJ Allemdinger has a good Clorox scheme, this is an awful scheme . Why did they choose that shade of yellow instead of white? I can’t give this a passing grade. F

Aric Almirola #43 Farmland Ford Fusion Simple design and a great color scheme earns an A+

JJ Yeley #44 Phoenix Warehouse Chevy SS My first thought when I saw this scheme was it looked like the color scheme from the 1994-1995 NBA All-Star Game jerseys which is a decent color scheme. But to say the car is overdesigned is an understatement. This scheme is awful. Not even a great color scheme can help this car pass. F

AJ Allmendinger #47 Bush’s Grilling Beans Chevy SS Great color scheme and a simple design earns an A+

Justin Allgaier #51 SEM Chevy SS Simple design, great color scheme, looks great, A+

Brian Vickers #55 Xarelto Toytoa Camry Good simple design with a great color scheme earns an A.

Jeff Burton #66 Toyota Toyota Camry The stripe down the side is much too big, and the hood design looks odd. The color scheme is good, but the overall design is a D+

Joe Nemechek #87 SmartBen Toyota Camry Simple design, great color scheme, looks great, A+

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Mountain Dew Kickstart Chevy SS The black and green color scheme is good, and the side is a bit overdeisgned. If the green stripes were scaled back, it would work better. It is work a B- grade.

Michael McDowell #95 WRL Contractors Ford Fusion Levine Family Racing continues to get back into my good graces with another A scheme with great design and a great color scheme.

Carl Edwards #99 Kelloggs/Cheez Its Ford Fusion Too many colors, and the car is overdesigned. F

Sponsor Profiiles-Kodiak Tobacco

By David G. Firestone

As this week’s column is being posted, I am boarding the Texas Eagle in Tucson Arizona, awaiting the train ride back to Chicago to begin. I’ve spent the last week away from the deep freeze of Chicago, and in the warm weather in Arizona.

The colors of the desert are deep and bold. Just like those of one of my favorite racing sponsors to collect, Kodiak Tobacco. Kodiak is a subsidiary of Reynolds American, which also owns Kool, Winston, Salem, Doral, Capri, and Camel cigarettes, and Grizzly tobacco. They were a major sponsor of NASCAR in the 1980’s and 1990’s. They sponsored Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd(as Levi Garrett) Ken Schrader, Ricky Craven, Steve Grissom, and Stacy Compton. They have one of my favorite shades of green used in racing. Interestingly, for many years, green was considered an unlucky color in racing. The most promenent item in my collection is this Ricky Craven suit from 1996.

It does show signs of use, but the big question is “was this worn in the 1996 Winston Select?” which was the race that Ricky Craven suffered his worst wreck…

I asked Ricky about that via Twitter, and got this Private message in response.

So we can eliminate this as that suit he wore in that event. But I have been able to photo-match this suit to a trading card released later in the year. I can’t say when exactly this suit was worn, but it was worn. The design of suits to in-car cameras and replica jackets is still in its infancy, so there is little consideration to either, so it does have both a modern and vintage look at the same time. I also have a small Ricky Craven mini helmet also from 1996.

Ricky Craven left Larry Hedrick Motorsports and Kodiak for Hendrick Motorsports in 1997, and Steve Grissom took over. In 1998, in his second year for Hedrick and Kodiak, Grissom donned this customized race helmet.

It is in great condition, though it has had the microphone equipment removed. The color scheme is that same shade of green that had graced the side of Rusty Wallace’s car during his 1989 Winston Cup Championship. The blue is used in the design of Kodiak Ice packaging, and works surprisingly well. Grissom ran a Kodiak Ice scheme once in 1998, at the Pepsi Southern 500.

I also have a 1/64 die cast car of similar vintage.

Kodiak is one of the many sponsors in NASCAR that I miss. Tobacco advertising has been severely restricted and Kodiak was a casualty. I do miss it but the times have changed.

Again, there will be no paint scheme reviews until next week, when I get back home. I look forward to getting back to normal after a week of relaxation.

The Sprint Unlimited Preview

By David G. Firestone

The 36^th Sprint Unlimited starts tonight at 8:15 ET on Fox. This marks the beginning of the Daytona 500 and the beginning of the NASCAR season. I will be looking forward to it, and I will enjoy it as always.

The field will feature pole award winners and past winners of the event. These include:
· Denny Hamlin (4 poles)
· Kyle Busch (3 poles)
· Joey Logano (2 poles)
· Jimmie Johnson (2 poles)
· Matt Kenseth (2 poles)
· Ryan Newman (2 poles)
· Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2 poles)
· Jeff Gordon (2 poles)
· Carl Edwards (2 poles)
· Marcos Ambrose (1 pole)
· Kurt Busch (1 pole)
· Kevin Harvick (1 pole)
· Brad Keselowski (1 pole)
· Mark Martin (1 pole)
· Jamie McMurray (1 pole)
· Danica Patrick (1 pole)
· Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (1 pole)
· Terry Labonte (past winner: 1985)
· Tony Stewart (past winner: 2001, 2002 and 2007)

The event will feature a number of segments which were voted on by NASCAR fans including myself, and many of you. The first segment will feature laps followed by a second segment of laps, and then a third segment of laps. Many special paint schemes will be run for this race, as is traditional. My personal favorite is the Miller Lite Throwback scheme being run by Brad Keselowski.

Now some factoids about the race.

*There are, in total, Chevy drivers, Ford drivers and Toyota drivers.

*Chevy has 20 wins, Ford has 7 wins, and Toyota has 1 win.

*Mark Martin has competed in 20 consecutive events from 1989-2008.

*Dale Earnhardt Sr. has won 6 events, more than anyone else in 1980, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1993, and 1995 and went on to win the Sprint Cup Championship 4 times in 1980, 1986, 1991, and 1993, he is one of 7 drives to do so.

*From 1979-2011 the event was sponsored by Anheuser-Busch, first called the Busch Clash which was the brainchild of Monty Roberts, brand manager of Busch Beer, who sponsored the Pole Award. It remained the Busch Clash until 1998, when Budweiser took over the Pole Award, and it was renamed the Budweiser Shootout. In 2012, Sprint, the series sponsor took over the sponsorship after Budweiser announced they would drop the sponsorship in favor of sponsoring the Duel Races that determine the starting order of the Daytona 500.

*Petty Enterprises was not eligible to run the Shootout because of a rule stating that only drivers that ran the Busch/Budweiser pole award decal were eligible to enter the shootout. Richard Petty and his family did not support alcohol sponsorship or decals on race cars. So John Andretti, Bobby Hamilton, Jeff Green, and Aric Almirola who all had a number of poles with Petty Enterprises were not eligible to participate. I find it interesting that Petty has reversed course on the alcohol sponsorship rule, since Kasey Kahne was sponsored by Budweiser, and Marcos Ambrose will run at least one race sponsored by Twisted Tea.

*Buddy Baker won the inaugural Sprint Unlimited in 1979, which was a 20 lap sprint.

*Since many top drivers were excluded from the race due to not winning a pole award, they moved to the TV booth as color commentators. These included Dale Earnhardt Sr. in 1981, Richard Petty and AJ Foyt in 1982 and 1983, Neil Bonnett in 1993, Darrell Waltrip in 1994, 1995, 1997, and 1999, and Kenny Wallace in 1998.

*There has never been a driver who has won the Sprint Unlimited, Budweiser Duel and Daytona 500 in the same year. Drivers have won 2 of 3 in a season, but never scored the hat trick.

*One of the first instances of a special paint scheme being used specifically for the Sprint Unlimited was the Chroma Premier scheme run by Jeff Gordon in 1997. He followed it up the next year with the legendary Chroma-lusion scheme, which feature a paint that changed color. Since then, special schemes have become commonplace.

*Richard Childress Racing has 8 Sprint Unlimited wins, most of any team. Hendrick Motorsports has 6 wins, and Joe Gibbs Racing has 5 wins.

The Unlimited starts tonight at 8 PM ET on Fox Sports 1, and I look forward to watching the event as I hope the rest of you do too.

Though I have had a VERY busy week, I still have time for…

Paint Scheme Reviews!

Kasey Kahne #5 Time Warner Cable Chevy SS It is a good color scheme, but the design on the side needs a little tweaking. Get rid of the needless zig-zag pattern and it works a whole lot better. It is still a decent scheme, so I will give it a C

Michael Annett #7 Pilot/Flying J Chevy SS Good color scheme, but the awful template is back for Tommy Baldwin. It is really sad, because this could be a great scheme, but the template takes it from an A to a C-

Michael Annett #7 Accell Construction Chevy SS See Above

Marcos Ambrose #9 Mac Tools Ford Fusion Good color scheme here, and decent design, worth a B

Clint Bowyer #15 AAA Insurance Toyota Camry Great color scheme, good design, worth a B+

Kyle Busch #18 M&M’s Peanut Toyota Camry I like this, it has a great shade of yellow, hard to find in NASCAR these days, and the peanut motif works very well. It is an original design, and I’ll give it an A

Trevor Bayne #21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion This is why The Wood Brothers won the Paint Schemies and took the top spot in the Paint Scheme Leaderboard. A++

Joey Logano #22 Autotrader.com Ford Fusion Sometimes orange works, sometimes it doesn’t. This is an example of an orange scheme that just doesn’t work. If the white was taken out completely it might work, but this is just horrid, and I give it an F

Cole Whitt #26 Speed Stick Gear Toyota Camry This is one of the few schemes that has both a classic and modern look at the same time, and paired with a great color scheme, it earns an A

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Peak Chevy SS Good design, awful color scheme, D+

Terry Labonte #32 C&J Energy Services Ford Fusion I’ll give it a C+ until I can see a picture WITHOUT an Instagram filter!

David Ragan #34 CSX Ford Fusion What in the hell is going on here? Why is the hood decal upside down? Why in the world would they do that? Were they drunk when they decaled the car? The only thing that I can guess is that it is designed for an in-car camera…but that makes no sense either! F-

David Gilliland #38 Loves Truck Stops Ford Fusion Good color scheme, decent design, plus unlike David Ragan, the hood decal is in the correct position, A-

Bobby Labonte #52 Phoenix Racing/HScott Motorsports Chevy SS Great color scheme, very simple yet attractive design, can’t say anything bad about it, A+

Michael Waltrip #66 Blue Def Toyota Camry While I like the field motif, it looks too much like the Windows XP Bliss background for me to take it seriously. I’ll give it a B-

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Kelley Blue Book Chevy SS During my Daytona Preseason Thunder article, I said I wanted to see the #88 they used on a real car. I got my wish, and I like this design overall. The metallic gold is a bold choice, it doesn’t always work well. I give it an A+

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

As many of you know, I don’t just research and collect driver suits and racing items, I collect and research many other things. I recently had a column run in Uni-Watch concerning some lettering from the 1958 Washington Senators, and you can read my column here.

MOMO and Christian Fittipaldi…A Match Made In Heaven

By David G. Firestone

These last few weeks have been hell in Chicago weather-wise. I have been under the weather myself, but this week, I wanted to touch on something that I covered in depth last year. After watching the Rolex 24 at Daytona, I learned that MOMO is celebrating its 50 anniversary this year. I first learned about MOMO when I covered Christian Fittipaldi’s Driver Suits back at the beginning of the blog. MOMO is one of the more ubiquitous racing safety companies in racing.

MOMO is short for “Moretti-Monza” which is Giampiero Moretti’s last name and Monza, a town in the Province of Milan. Giampiero Moretti was a driver who won the 1998 24 Hours of Daytona. He created a company specifically to make racing products. MOMO has gradually expanded over the years, and is now involved heavily in almost all forms of auto racing.

One thing I have noticed is that MOMO steering wheels are used very heavily in NASCAR. Whenever there are in-car cameras, there is always one located near the ignition behind the steering wheel, and almost every one of them has a MOMO logo on them. They are also very involved in F1, and IndyCar racing in terms of parts. When the best and most recognizable teams in the biggest forms of auto racing all use the same group for their parts, it proves that MOMO is the best in what they do.

I also mention Christian Fittipaldi because he won the Rolex 24 at Daytona in an Action Express Coyote Corvette DP. This is his second win, his first one coming in 2004 in a Bell Motorsports Doran JE4-Pontiac. As covered earlier in the year, I own two Christian Fittipaldi MOMO driver suits. In all honesty, these two suits were my first introduction to MOMO as a brand. MOMO however has a large presence in auto racing.In the SCCA Miami Grand Prix, these suits were issued to track workers. MOMO stated that these would be fireproofed for one race only. It feels like an old school chemical dipped suit, but I have no proof of that. It does not appear to have been worn, but it probably is not fireproof any more though. 2014 is the 50^th anniversary of what I’m going to call “The dark week,” May 24-30 1964 when the World 600 and Indy 500 took place. Three drivers were killed by fire, which changed the safety culture of racing forever. I will cover that issue in depth later in the season.

Paint Scheme Reviews

Marcos Ambrose #9 Stanley Ford Fusion Though a tad over designed, the car does has a clean look, and a great color scheme, so I will give it an A-

Marcos Ambros3 #9 DeWalt Ford Fusion See Above

Kyle Busch #18 Skittles Toyota Camry When I first heard about Skittles returning to NASCAR, I thought it would look like this or this, so naturally I was worried, but I like this simple and attractive design. A+

Kyle Busch #18 Peanut M&M’s Toyota Camry Decent scheme, good color scheme, A-

Matt Kenseth #20 Dollar General Toyota Camry My major complaint was the black and silver stripes on the sides were too big and promenent. They solved that issue this season, and the car looks better. In fact, I’ll give it a B!

Jeff Gordon #24 AXALTA Chevy SS Classic Jeff Gordon design, and I like the blue on the flames, and the black flames on the back. A+

Paul Menard #27 Menards/Richmond Chevy SS Love this scheme, great design and color scheme, A+

Paul Menard #27 Menards/Serta Chevy SS Same scheme as last year, same C+ grade

Eric McClure #35 Hefty/Arm and Hammer Ford Fusion Good color scheme, but the car looks over deisgned and it doesn’t look good at all. D+

Kurt Busch #41 Haas Chevy SS Great design and color scheme, A+

Kurt Busch #41 Slate Water Heaters Chevy SS Kurt is running a really good template this year, and this is another example. The condensation design is overdone, and it takes an A scheme down to a B-, otherwise it is a great design.

Aric Almirola #43 STP Ford Fusion This is one of my favorite schemes this year! A classic design, with great colors and a great look earns an A+

AJ Allmendinger #47 Kroger/USO Chevy SS Though the scheme is the same as last year, JTG Daugherty Racing has switched from Toyota to Chevy this season. That being said, I like this scheme, and I will give it an A

AJ Allmendinger #47 Bushes Baked Beans Chevy SS Simple design, great color scheme, A

AJ Allmendinger #47 Kingsford Chevy SS See Above

AJ Allmendinger #47 Scotts Chevy SS See Above

AJ Allmendinger #47 Clorox Chevy SS See Above

AJ Allmendinger #47 Charter Communication Chevy SS I like the overall design, but that is an awful shade of green. Green is not a great color for a race car, neither is yellow, so yellowish-green definitly doesn’t work. I’ll be generous and give it a C-

Joe Nemechek #66 Land Castle Title Toyota Camry If the bottom was a single color stripe, I would give it very high marks, but the over design makes it look awful. C-

Michael McDowell #95 K-Love Ford Fusion Not only is McDowell and Levine Family Racing running a better template this year, the K-Love scheme actually improves on it. I can’t give this scheme anything lower than an A

Carl Edwards #99 Subway Ford Fusion A bad design from last year, earns a D-