Tag: timmy hill

Paint Scheme Grades-March 18, 2017

By David G. Firestone

Jamie McMurray #1 Credit One/Cessna Chevy SS-The color change works well, and the design looks good.  I give it an A.

Austin Dillon #3 Lucas Oil Chevy SS-The curve stripe doesn’t look good on the middle of the car.  Had it been on the bottom, it would be better.  It’s still not a bad scheme, and it’s worth a B+.

Matt Kenseth #20 PEAK Antifreeze Toyota Camry-Peak always has great schemes, and this is another example,  The more pronounced spikes make the car look good, and it’s a great A scheme.

Matt Kenseth #20 Blue Def Toyota Camry-For some schemes, reversing the colors can be a disaster, this scheme is great!  It works quite well, and has a great look.  A

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Valvoline Chevy SS-The new Menard’s template works very well, and the Valvoline scheme is a great look.  It works very well with the template, and the scheme is an A scheme.

Matt DiBenedetto #32 Keen Parts Ford Fusion-Keen Parts has had some awful schemes up until recently.  This is an example of how well they have advanced as a sponsor with their schemes.  This is a great scheme with a great color scheme.  It works well, and it looks good.  A

Chris Buescher #37 Natural Light Chevy SS-This is something that annoys me to no end, if you are going to do patriotic schemes, USE RED, WHITE, AND BLUE, Dark blue, light blue, and white, doesn’t work as a patriotic scheme.  That said, dumb color scheme aside, the car does have a good look, and the color scheme, while not patriotic, is still good, so I’ll give it a B+.

David Ragan #38 Juice Battery Ford Fusion-This is the worst color scheme I’ve seen in a while, and the car is so over designed, it just looks awful.  I’m going to be generous, and give this scheme an F.

Timmy Hill #51 Dashub Chevy SS-The cutting edge design can work, but with the odd color scheme, it looks off.  It doesn’t look bad, but it looks odd.  It’s a good color scheme, and a good design scheme, but they don’t work together.  It’s a B- scheme.

Derrike Cope #55 Chevy SS-Great color and a smooth design scheme will always earn an A.

Corey LaJoie #83 JAS Trucking Toyota Camry-The police motif doesn’t work here, and the stripes don’t work.  I thought when I first saw this scheme that it was a police sponsor, but it’s a trucking sponsor.  The color scheme is decent, but the design scheme doesn’t work as a scheme.  I’ll give it a D-.

Paint Scheme Tracker-March 15, 2017

By David G. Firestone

CHIP GANASSI RACING TEAM #1

Jamie McMurray #1 GearWrench Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2017, black, with yellow, and red stripes across bottom. A

Jamie McMurray #1 Cessna Chevy SS–No change. B+

Jamie McMurray #1 Cessna/McDonald’s Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, blue front, red rear, stripes between. A

Jamie McMurray #1 McDonald’s Chevy SS–No change. A

Jamie McMurray #1 McDonald’s Grand Mac Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, black, with green front and cutting edge design. A

Jamie McMurray #1 McDonald’s/Cessna Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, same as Cessna/McDonald’s, but with colors reversed. A

Jamie McMurray #1 Credit One/Cessna Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same as McDonald’s/Cessna but white replaces red. A

TEAM PENSKE #2

Brad Keselowski #2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion–No Change A

Brad Keselowski #2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Brad Keselowski #2 Wurth Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Brad Keselowski #2 Auto Trader Ford Fusion–No Change D-

Brad Keselowski #2 SKF Ford Fusion–No Change. A

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #3

Austin Dillon #3 Dow Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, black front, with red designs near wheel well, white fade across quarter panels. A-

Austin Dillon #3 AAA Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme, but with a few minor stripe changes. D+

Austin Dillon #3 American Ethanol Chevy SS–New sponsor for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but many of the stripes have been removed. A

Austin Dillon #3 Dow/Quikrete Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2017, same as Dow but with Quikrete on quarter panels. A-

Austin Dillon #3 Lucas Oil Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2017, similar to 2016 Dow, but with Lucas Oil on quarter panels, and the black stripe is curved. B+

STEWART-HAAS RACING #4

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, all blue with more detail in the mountains. A

Kevin Harvick #4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Light Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, same as 2017 Busch, but with Busch Light on quarter panel. A

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #5

Kasey Kahne #5 Farmers Insurance Chevy SS–No Change. C+

Kasey Kahne #5 Great Clips Chevy SS–No Change. D+

Kasey Kahne #5 Liftmaster Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, silver, with black door, and red stripes. A

Kasey Kahne #5 UniFrst Chevy SS–No Change. A

ROUSH-FENWAY RACING #6

Trevor Bayne #6 Liberty National Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, blue with silver and white across sides, white roof. B-

Trevor Bayne #6 Performance Plus Motor Oil Ford Fusion–Except for the change from 16 to 6, no change. B-

Trevor Bayne #6 Advocare Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, white with multi-colored checkerboard pattern on bottom. A

TOMMY BALDWIN RACING #7

Elliott Sadler #7 Golden Corral Chevy SS–No change. A

STEWART-HAAS RACING #10

Danica Patrick #10 Code 3 Associates Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, white front, green stripe, and blue bottom. A

Danica Patrick #10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, lighter blue, Post-It motif replaced by silver wing, and some minor color changes. F

Danica Patrick #10 TaxAct Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but side and front stripes are bigger. A

JOE GIBBS RACING #11

Denny Hamlin #11 FedEx Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, lighter blue, with an orange paintbrush design on sides. B-

GERMAIN RACING #13

Ty Dillon #13 Geico Chevy SS-No change. A

Ty Dillon #13 Twisted Tea Chevy SS–Aside from the new team, no change. A

STEWART-HAAS RACING #14

Clint Bowyer #14 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion-New scheme for 2017, white top, red and white stripe across side, blue bottom. A

Clint Bowyer #14 Haas Automotion Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, red top, black bottom, white stripes across sides. A

PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS #15

Michael Waltrip #15 Aaron’s Toyota Camry-New scheme for 2017, blue photo motif across car, white hood, yellow door numbers. D-

Reed Sorenson #15 Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, black with white numbers. A

Reed Sorenson #15 The Maids Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2017, yellow with blue lettering and numbers. A

ROUSH-FENWAY RACING #17

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Sunny D Ford Fusion–No change. F

Rickey Stenhouse Jr. #17 Fastenal Comemorative Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme, but the colors have been reversed. A

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Fastenal Ford Fusion–No change. A

JOE GIBBS RACING #18

Kyle Busch #18 M&M’s Toyota Camry–Aside from moving the characters around, no major changes for 2017. A

Kyle Busch #18 Snickers Crispier Toyota Camry–No change. B-

JOE GIBBS RACING #19

Daniel Suarez #19 Arris Toyota Camry–Same basic scheme as 2016, Aaris replaces Surfboard. A

Daniel Suarez #19 Stanley Toyota Camry–No change. B+

JOE GIBBS RACING #20

Matt Kenseth #20 DeWalt/Flexwolt Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, yellow, with black stripes up the sides and hood. A

Matt Kenseth #20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry–New sponsor for 2017, same as 2016 #18. F

Matt Kenseth #20 Tide Pods Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017 orange front with subtle designs, blue rear with subtle designs. F

Matt Kenseth #20 PEAK Antifreeze Toyota Camry–New sponsor for 2017, similar to 2016 #15, but spikes are more pronounced. A

Matt Kenseth #20 Blue Def Toyota Camry-New sponsor for 2017, same as PEAK but with colors reversed. A

WOOD BROTHER RACING #21

Ryan Blaney #21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion–No Change. A

TEAM PENSKE #22

Joey Logano #22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion–No change D

Joey Logano #22 AAA Ford Fusion–No Change. D

Joey Logano #22 Auto Trader Ford Fusion–No Change. D-

Joey Logano #22 AAA of Southern California Ford Fusion–No Change. D

Joey Logano #22 Pennzoil Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2016, all yellow, with some lighter yellow geometrical designs across car. A

BK RACING #23

Joey Gase #23 Best Furnishing Toyota Camry-New sponsor for 2017, blue with paintbrush style white and yellow designs across side. F

Joey Gase #23 Schluter Systems Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme, but stripes have been replaced by geometric designs D-

Joey Gase #23 Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but angled lines replace curved lines. B+

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #24

Chase Elliott #24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but with yellow accents across sides. A

Chase Elliott #24 Kelly Blue Book Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, design similar to #11 FedEx. A

Chase Elliott #24 Sun Energy Chevy SS–No Change. F

Chase Elliott #24 Hooters Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, white sides with orange stripes, orange roof. C-

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #27

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Richmond Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, black front, yellow sides, black at bottom of wheel well. A

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Peak Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, new Menard’s template with Peak colors. A

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Valvoline Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, new Menard’s template with 2016 setup. A

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #31

Ryan Newman #31 CAT Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, white with black cutting edge design on front, black stripe across hood and top of car. B-

Ryan Newman #31 Granger Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, red replaces green, black replaces white and red. A

GO FAS RACING #32

Matt DiBenedetto #32 EJ Wade Foundation Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, white with blue ribbon design on sides. F

Matt DiBenedetto #32 Cosmo Motors Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme for 2017, but circle around door has been removed. B-

Matt DiBenedetto #32 Can Am/Kappa Ford Fusion–No change. F

Matt DiBenedetto #32 Keen Parts Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, white with black stripe and red roof and door numbers. A

CIRCLE SPORT/TMG MOTORSPORTS #33

Jeffery Earnhardt #33 Starter Chevy SS–Aside from the new team, no change. A

Jeffery Earnhardt #33 Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, same as Starter, but with no logos. A

FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS #34

Landon Cassill #34 Love’s Truck Stops Ford Fusion–No change. A

JTG DAUGHERTY RACING #37

Chris Buescher #37 Cottonelle Chevy SS-New team for 2017, white sides with blue roof and bottom. A

Chris Buescher #37 Kroger Checklist Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, same as #47 Kroger. B+

Chris Buescher #37 Bush’s Baked Beans Chevy SS–New sponsor for 2017, aside from team change, no change.B+

Chris Buescher #37 Natural Light Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2017, light blue with white and dark blue patriotic designs. B+

FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS #38

David Ragan #38 Camping World/Good Sam Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, blue front, yellow and red oval design on rear. B-

David Ragan #38 Jacob Companies Ford Fusion–New sponsor for 2017, blue with white and silver zig-zag design across car. C-

David Ragan #38 Juice Battery Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, blue, tan, black and red with a series of stripes across the whole side of the car. F

STEWART-HAAS RACING #41

Kurt Busch #41 Monster Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Kurt Busch #41 Haas Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Kurt Busch #41 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, same as #14, but with green replacing blue. A

Kurt Busch #41 Mobil 1 Annual Protection Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, same as other SHR Mobil 1 schemes, but with gold trim. A

CHIP GANASSI RACING TEAM #42

Kyle Larson #42 Credit One Chevy SS–Aside from the new car number, no change. F

Kyle Larson #42 Target Chevy SS–No change. A

RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS #43

Aric Almirola #43 Smithfield Ford Fusion–No Change. B+

Aric Almiroa #43 U.S. Air Force Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2016, same basic scheme, but with more lightning. A

Aric Almirola #43 STP Ford Fusion–No change. B-

Aric Almirola #43 Fresh From Florida Ford Fusion–No change. F

JTG DAUGHERTY RACING #47

AJ Allmendinger #47 Kroger/Stouffers/Cheez It’s Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, white with blue diagonal stripes, and black and red curves across sides. B+

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #48

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe’s Chevy SS–New scheme for 2016, light blue with diagonal stripes and geometric patterns on side. F

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Chevy SS–New scheme for 2016, dark blue with diagonal stripes and geometric patterns on side. F

RICK WARE RACING #51

Timmy Hill #51 Spoonful Music Foundation Chevy SS-New team for 2017, white with racing stripe design on hood, plain white sides. A

Cody Ware #51 Spoonful Music Foundation Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, same as #51 white, but black and colors reversed. A

Timmy Hill #51 Dashub Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2017, blue with silver, white, and red cutting edge designs across signs.B-

PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS #55

Derrike Cope #55 Wade Tractor/adrenalinpwr.com Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2017, black with Wade Tractor on hood, and adrenalinpwr.com logo on sides. A

Derrike Cope #55 Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, black with white numbers. A

TRISTAR MOTORSPORTS #72

Cole Whitt #72 Florida Lottery Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, black sides, orange and blue hood to roof. D-

Cole Whitt #72 Rinnai Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2017, white with black and red Rinnai logos on sides and hood. B+

BEARD RACING #75

Brendan Gaughan #75 Beard Oil Chevy SS-New team for 2017, all black with white logos and numbers. A

FURNITURE ROW RACING #77

Erik Jones #77 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry–New team for 2017, red front, red and yellow lightning stripe across black sides, red rear. C-

Erik Jones #77 5-Hour Energy Extra Stength Toyota Camry-New scheme for 2017, same as 2017 5-Hour Energy, but with Extra Strength on sides and hood. C-

Erik Jone #77 Sirius/XM Toyota Camry-New sponsor for 2017, black with blue and silver designs across whole car. F

FURNITURE ROW RACING #78

Martin Truex Jr. #78 Furniture Row Toyota Camry–No change. A

Martin Truex Jr. #78 Auto Owner’s Insurance Toyota Camry–No change. A

Martin Truex Jr. #78 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, red and black stripes with a camo stripe at the bottom. C-

Martin Truex Jr. #78 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry-New sponsor for 2017, same as #77. C-

BK RACING #83

Corey LaJoie #83 Dustless Blasting Toyota Camry–No change. B-

Corey LaJoie #83 JAS Trucking Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, black with blue door numbers and white lettering and white stripes. D-

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #88

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Nationwide Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, blue design similar to last year’s. with blue vertical stripes next to silver door numbers. A

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Axalta Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, yellow front, a series of red and yellow geometrical designs across sides, red rear. F

LEAVINE FAMILY RACING #95

Michael McDowell #95 K-LOVE Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same colors, but with stripes across front half of sides. A

Michael McDowell #95 WRL Contractors Chevy SS–No change. A

GAUNT BROS RACING #96

DJ Kennington #96 Lordco Toyota Camry-New team for 2017, blue front, black middle, white rear, curve stripes between the three. C-

Paint Scheme Tracker-March 8, 2017

By David G. Firestone

CHIP GANASSI RACING TEAM #1

Jamie McMurray #1 GearWrench Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2017, black, with yellow, and red stripes across bottom. A

Jamie McMurray #1 Cessna Chevy SS–No change. B+

Jamie McMurray #1 Cessna/McDonald’s Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, blue front, red rear, stripes between. A

Jamie McMurray #1 McDonald’s Chevy SS–No change. A

Jamie McMurray #1 McDonald’s Grand Mac Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, black, with green front and cutting edge design. A

Jamie McMurray #1 McDonald’s/Cessna Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, same as Cessna/McDonald’s, but with colors reversed. A

TEAM PENSKE #2

Brad Keselowski #2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion–No Change A

Brad Keselowski #2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Brad Keselowski #2 Wurth Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Brad Keselowski #2 Auto Trader Ford Fusion–No Change D-

Brad Keselowski #2 SKF Ford Fusion–No Change. A

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #3

Austin Dillon #3 Dow Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, black front, with red designs near wheel well, white fade across quarter panels. A-

Austin Dillon #3 AAA Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme, but with a few minor stripe changes. D+

Austin Dillon #3 American Ethanol Chevy SS–New sponsor for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but many of the stripes have been removed. A

Austin Dillon #3 Dow/Quikrete Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2017, same as Dow but with Quikrete on quarter panels. A-

STEWART-HAAS RACING #4

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, all blue with more detail in the mountains. A

Kevin Harvick #4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Light Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, same as 2017 Busch, but with Busch Light on quarter panel. A

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #5

Kasey Kahne #5 Farmers Insurance Chevy SS–No Change. C+

Kasey Kahne #5 Great Clips Chevy SS–No Change. D+

Kasey Kahne #5 Liftmaster Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, silver, with black door, and red stripes. A

Kasey Kahne #5 UniFrst Chevy SS–No Change. A

ROUSH-FENWAY RACING #6

Trevor Bayne #6 Liberty National Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, blue with silver and white across sides, white roof. B-

Trevor Bayne #6 Performance Plus Motor Oil Ford Fusion–Except for the change from 16 to 6, no change. B-

Trevor Bayne #6 Advocare Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, white with multi-colored checkerboard pattern on bottom. A

TOMMY BALDWIN RACING #7

Elliott Sadler #7 Golden Corral Chevy SS–No change. A

STEWART-HAAS RACING #10

Danica Patrick #10 Code 3 Associates Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, white front, green stripe, and blue bottom. A

Danica Patrick #10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, lighter blue, Post-It motif replaced by silver wing, and some minor color changes. F

Danica Patrick #10 TaxAct Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but side and front stripes are bigger. A

JOE GIBBS RACING #11

Denny Hamlin #11 FedEx Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, lighter blue, with an orange paintbrush design on sides. B-

GERMAIN RACING #13

Ty Dillon #13 Geico Chevy SS-No change. A

Ty Dillon #13 Twisted Tea Chevy SS–Aside from the new team, no change. A

STEWART-HAAS RACING #14

Clint Bowyer #14 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion-New scheme for 2017, white top, red and white stripe across side, blue bottom. A

Clint Bowyer #14 Haas Automotion Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, red top, black bottom, white stripes across sides. A

PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS #15

Michael Waltrip #15 Aaron’s Toyota Camry-New scheme for 2017, blue photo motif across car, white hood, yellow door numbers. D-

Reed Sorenson #15 Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, black with white numbers. A

Reed Sorenson #15 The Maids Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2017, yellow with blue lettering and numbers. A

ROUSH-FENWAY RACING #17

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Sunny D Ford Fusion–No change. F

Rickey Stenhouse Jr. #17 Fastenal Comemorative Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme, but the colors have been reversed. A

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Fastenal Ford Fusion–No change. A

JOE GIBBS RACING #18

Kyle Busch #18 M&M’s Toyota Camry–Aside from moving the characters around, no major changes for 2017. A

Kyle Busch #18 Snickers Crispier Toyota Camry–No change. B-

JOE GIBBS RACING #19

Daniel Suarez #19 Arris Toyota Camry–Same basic scheme as 2016, Aaris replaces Surfboard. A

Daniel Suarez #19 Stanley Toyota Camry–No change. B+

JOE GIBBS RACING #20

Matt Kenseth #20 DeWalt/Flexwolt Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, yellow, with black stripes up the sides and hood. A

Matt Kenseth #20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry–New sponsor for 2017, same as 2016 #18. F

Matt Kenseth #20 Tide Pods Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017 orange front with subtle designs, blue rear with subtle designs. F

WOOD BROTHER RACING #21

Ryan Blaney #21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion–No Change. A

TEAM PENSKE #22

Joey Logano #22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion–No change D

Joey Logano #22 AAA Ford Fusion–No Change. D

Joey Logano #22 Auto Trader Ford Fusion–No Change. D-

Joey Logano #22 AAA of Southern California Ford Fusion–No Change. D

Joey Logano #22 Pennzoil Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2016, all yellow, with some lighter yellow geometrical designs across car. A

BK RACING #23

Joey Gase #23 Best Furnishing Toyota Camry-New sponsor for 2017, blue with paintbrush style white and yellow designs across side. F

Joey Gase #23 Schluter Systems Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme, but stripes have been replaced by geometric designs D-

Joey Gase #23 Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but angled lines replace curved lines. B+

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #24

Chase Elliott #24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but with yellow accents across sides. A

Chase Elliott #24 Kelly Blue Book Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, design similar to #11 FedEx. A

Chase Elliott #24 Sun Energy Chevy SS–No Change. F

Chase Elliott #24 Hooters Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, white sides with orange stripes, orange roof. C-

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #27

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Richmond Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, black front, yellow sides, black at bottom of wheel well. A

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Peak Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, new Menard’s template with Peak colors. A

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #31

Ryan Newman #31 CAT Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, white with black cutting edge design on front, black stripe across hood and top of car. B-

Ryan Newman #31 Granger Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, red replaces green, black replaces white and red. A

GO FAS RACING #32

Matt DiBenedetto #32 EJ Wade Foundation Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, white with blue ribbon design on sides. F

Matt DiBenedetto #32 Cosmo Motors Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme for 2017, but circle around door has been removed. B-

Matt DiBenedetto #32 Can Am/Kappa Ford Fusion–No change. F

CIRCLE SPORT/TMG MOTORSPORTS #33

Jeffery Earnhardt #33 Starter Chevy SS–Aside from the new team, no change. A

Jeffery Earnhardt #33 Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, same as Starter, but with no logos. A

FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS #34

Landon Cassill #34 Love’s Truck Stops Ford Fusion–No change. A

JTG DAUGHERTY RACING #37

Chris Buescher #37 Cottonelle Chevy SS-New team for 2017, white sides with blue roof and bottom. A

Chris Buescher #37 Kroger Checklist Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, same as #47 Kroger. B+

Chris Buescher #37 Bush’s Baked Beans Chevy SS–New sponsor for 2017, aside from team change, no change.B+

FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS #38

David Ragan #38 Camping World/Good Sam Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, blue front, yellow and red oval design on rear. B-

David Ragan #38 Jacob Companies Ford Fusion–New sponsor for 2017, blue with white and silver zig-zag design across car. C-

STEWART-HAAS RACING #41

Kurt Busch #41 Monster Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Kurt Busch #41 Haas Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Kurt Busch #41 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, same as #14, but with green replacing blue. A

Kurt Busch #41 Mobil 1 Annual Protection Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, same as other SHR Mobil 1 schemes, but with gold trim. A

CHIP GANASSI RACING TEAM #42

Kyle Larson #42 Credit One Chevy SS–Aside from the new car number, no change. F

Kyle Larson #42 Target Chevy SS–No change. A

RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS #43

Aric Almirola #43 Smithfield Ford Fusion–No Change. B+

Aric Almiroa #43 U.S. Air Force Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2016, same basic scheme, but with more lightning. A

Aric Almirola #43 STP Ford Fusion–No change. B-

Aric Almirola #43 Fresh From Florida Ford Fusion–No change. F

JTG DAUGHERTY RACING #47

AJ Allmendinger #47 Kroger/Stouffers/Cheez It’s Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, white with blue diagonal stripes, and black and red curves across sides. B+

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #48

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe’s Chevy SS–New scheme for 2016, light blue with diagonal stripes and geometric patterns on side. F

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Chevy SS–New scheme for 2016, dark blue with diagonal stripes and geometric patterns on side. F

RICK WARE RACING #51

Timmy Hill #51 Spoonful Music Foundation Chevy SS-New team for 2017, white with racing stripe design on hood, plain white sides. A

Cody Ware #51 Spoonful Music Foundation Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, same as #51 white, but black and colors reversed. A

PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS #55

Derrike Cope #55 Wade Tractor/adrenalinpwr.com Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2017, black with Wade Tractor on hood, and adrenalinpwr.com logo on sides. A

TRISTAR MOTORSPORTS #72

Cole Whitt #72 Florida Lottery Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, black sides, orange and blue hood to roof. D-

Cole Whitt #72 Rinnai Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2017, white with black and red Rinnai logos on sides and hood. B+

BEARD RACING #75

Brendan Gaughan #75 Beard Oil Chevy SS-New team for 2017, all black with white logos and numbers. A

FURNITURE ROW RACING #77

Erik Jones #77 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry–New team for 2017, red front, red and yellow lightning stripe across black sides, red rear. C-

Erik Jones #77 5-Hour Energy Extra Stength Toyota Camry-New scheme for 2017, same as 2017 5-Hour Energy, but with Extra Strength on sides and hood. C-

Erik Jone #77 Sirius/XM Toyota Camry-New sponsor for 2017, black with blue and silver designs across whole car. F

FURNITURE ROW RACING #78

Martin Truex Jr. #78 Furniture Row Toyota Camry–No change. A

Martin Truex Jr. #78 Auto Owner’s Insurance Toyota Camry–No change. A

Martin Truex Jr. #78 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, red and black stripes with a camo stripe at the bottom. C-

Martin Truex Jr. #78 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry-New sponsor for 2017, same as #77.C-

BK RACING #83

Corey LaJoie #83 Dustless Blasting Toyota Camry–No change.B-

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #88

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Nationwide Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, blue design similar to last year’s. with blue vertical stripes next to silver door numbers. A

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Axalta Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, yellow front, a series of red and yellow geometrical designs across sides, red rear. F

LEAVINE FAMILY RACING #95

Michael McDowell #95 K-LOVE Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same colors, but with stripes across front half of sides. A

Michael McDowell #95 WRL Contractors Chevy SS–No change. A

GAUNT BROS RACING #96

DJ Kennington #96 Lordco Toyota Camry-New team for 2017, blue front, black middle, white rear, curve stripes between the three. C-

Paint Scheme Tracker-March 1, 2017

By David G. Firestone

CHIP GANASSI RACING TEAM #1

Jamie McMurray #1 GearWrench Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2017, black, with yellow, and red stripes across bottom. A

Jamie McMurray #1 Cessna Chevy SS–No change. B+

Jamie McMurray #1 Cessna/McDonald’s Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, blue front, red rear, stripes between. A

Jamie McMurray #1 McDonald’s Chevy SS–No change. A

Jamie McMurray #1 McDonald’s Grand Mac Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, black, with green front and cutting edge design. A

Jamie McMurray #1 McDonald’s/Cessna Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, same as Cessna/McDonald’s, but with colors reversed. A

TEAM PENSKE #2

Brad Keselowski #2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion–No Change A

Brad Keselowski #2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Brad Keselowski #2 Wurth Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Brad Keselowski #2 Auto Trader Ford Fusion–No Change D-

Brad Keselowski #2 SKF Ford Fusion–No Change. A

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #3

Austin Dillon #3 Dow Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, black front, with red designs near wheel well, white fade across quarter panels. A-

Austin Dillon #3 AAA Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme, but with a few minor stripe changes. D+

Austin Dillon #3 American Ethanol Chevy SS–New sponsor for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but many of the stripes have been removed. A

Austin Dillon #3 Dow/Quikrete Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2017, same as Dow but with Quikrete on quarter panels. A-

STEWART-HAAS RACING #4

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, all blue with more detail in the mountains. A

Kevin Harvick #4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Light Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, same as 2017 Busch, but with Busch Light on quarter panel. A

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #5

Kasey Kahne #5 Farmers Insurance Chevy SS–No Change. C+

Kasey Kahne #5 Great Clips Chevy SS–No Change. D+

Kasey Kahne #5 Liftmaster Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, silver, with black door, and red stripes. A

Kasey Kahne #5 UniFrst Chevy SS–No Change. A

ROUSH-FENWAY RACING #6

Trevor Bayne #6 Liberty National Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, blue with silver and white across sides, white roof. B-

Trevor Bayne #6 Performance Plus Motor Oil Ford Fusion–Except for the change from 16 to 6, no change. B-

Trevor Bayne #6 Advocare Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, white with multi-colored checkerboard pattern on bottom. A

TOMMY BALDWIN RACING #7

Elliott Sadler #7 Golden Corral Chevy SS–No change.A

STEWART-HAAS RACING #10

Danica Patrick #10 Code 3 Associates Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, white front, green stripe, and blue bottom. A

Danica Patrick #10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, lighter blue, Post-It motif replaced by silver wing, and some minor color changes. F

Danica Patrick #10 TaxAct Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but side and front stripes are bigger. A

JOE GIBBS RACING #11

Denny Hamlin #11 FedEx Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, lighter blue, with an orange paintbrush design on sides. B-

GERMAIN RACING #13

Ty Dillon #13 Geico Chevy SS-No change. A

Ty Dillon #13 Twisted Tea Chevy SS–Aside from the new team, no change. A

STEWART-HAAS RACING #14

Clint Bowyer #14 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion-New scheme for 2017, white top, red and white stripe across side, blue bottom. A

PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS #15

Michael Waltrip #15 Aaron’s Toyota Camry-New scheme for 2017, blue photo motif across car, white hood, yellow door numbers. D-

ROUSH-FENWAY RACING #17

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Sunny D Ford Fusion–No change. F

Rickey Stenhouse Jr. #17 Fastenal Comemorative Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme, but the colors have been reversed. A

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Fastenal Ford Fusion–No change. A

JOE GIBBS RACING #18

Kyle Busch #18 M&M’s Toyota Camry–Aside from moving the characters around, no major changes for 2017. A

JOE GIBBS RACING #19

Daniel Suarez #19 Arris Toyota Camry–Same basic scheme as 2016, Aaris replaces Surfboard. A

Daniel Suarez #19 Stanley Toyota Camry–No change. B+

JOE GIBBS RACING #20

Matt Kenseth #20 DeWalt/Flexwolt Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, yellow, with black stripes up the sides and hood. A

Matt Kenseth #20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry–New sponsor for 2017, same as 2016 #18. F

Matt Kenseth #20 Tide Pods Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017 orange front with subtle designs, blue rear with subtle designs. F

WOOD BROTHER RACING #21

Ryan Blaney #21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion–No Change. A

TEAM PENSKE #22

Joey Logano #22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion–No change D

Joey Logano #22 AAA Ford Fusion–No Change. D

Joey Logano #22 Auto Trader Ford Fusion–No Change. D-

Joey Logano #22 AAA of Southern California Ford Fusion–No Change. D

Joey Logano #22 Pennzoil Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2016, all yellow, with some lighter yellow geometrical designs across car. A

BK RACING #23

Joey Gase #23 Best Furnishing Toyota Camry-New sponsor for 2017, blue with paintbrush style white and yellow designs across side. F

Joey Gase #23 Schluter Systems Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme, but stripes have been replaced by geometric designs D-

Joey Gase #23 Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but angled lines replace curved lines. B+

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #24

Chase Elliott #24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but with yellow accents across sides. A

Chase Elliott #24 Kelly Blue Book Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, design similar to #11 FedEx. A

Chase Elliott #24 Sun Energy Chevy SS–No Change. F

Chase Elliott #24 Hooters Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, white sides with orange stripes, orange roof. C-

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #27

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Richmond Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, black front, yellow sides, black at bottom of wheel well. A

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Peak Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, new Menard’s template with Peak colors. A

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #31

Ryan Newman #31 CAT Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, white with black cutting edge design on front, black stripe across hood and top of car. B-

Ryan Newman #31 Granger Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, red replaces green, black replaces white and red.

GO FAS RACING #32

Matt DiBenedetto #32 EJ Wade Foundation Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, white with blue ribbon design on sides.F

CIRCLE SPORT/TMG MOTORSPORTS #33

Jeffery Earnhardt #33 Starter Chevy SS–Aside from the new team, no change.A

FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS #34

Landon Cassill #34 Love’s Truck Stops Ford Fusion–No change. A

JTG DAUGHERTY RACING #37

Chris Buescher #37 Cottonelle Chevy SS-New team for 2017, white sides with blue roof and bottom. A

Chris Buescher #37 Kroger Checklist Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, same as #47 Kroger. B+

FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS #38

David Ragan #38 Camping World/Good Sam Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, blue front, yellow and red oval design on rear. B-

David Ragan #38 Jacob Companies Ford Fusion–New sponsor for 2017, blue with white and silver zig-zag design across car.C-

STEWART-HAAS RACING #41

Kurt Busch #41 Monster Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Kurt Busch #41 Haas Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Kurt Busch #41 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, same as #14, but with green replacing blue. A

Kurt Busch #41 Mobil 1 Annual Protection Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, same as other SHR Mobil 1 schemes, but with gold trim. A

CHIP GANASSI RACING TEAM #42

Kyle Larson #42 Credit One Chevy SS–Aside from the new car number, no change. F

Kyle Larson #42 Target Chevy SS–No change. A

RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS #43

Aric Almirola #43 Smithfield Ford Fusion–No Change. B+

Aric Almiroa #43 U.S. Air Force Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2016, same basic scheme, but with more lightning. A

Aric Almirola #43 STP Ford Fusion–No change. B-

Aric Almirola #43 Fresh From Florida Ford Fusion–No change. F

JTG DAUGHERTY RACING #47

AJ Allmendinger #47 Kroger/Stouffers/Cheez It’s Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, white with blue diagonal stripes, and black and red curves across sides. B+

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #48

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe’s Chevy SS–New scheme for 2016, light blue with diagonal stripes and geometric patterns on side. F

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Chevy SS–New scheme for 2016, dark blue with diagonal stripes and geometric patterns on side. F

RICK WARE RACING #51

Timmy Hill #51 Spoonful Music Foundation Chevy SS-New team for 2017, white with racing stripe design on hood, plain white sides. A

TRISTAR MOTORSPORTS #72

Cole Whitt #72 Florida Lottery Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, black sides, orange and blue hood to roof. D-

BEARD RACING #75

Brendan Gaughan #75 Beard Oil Chevy SS-New team for 2017, all black with white logos and numbers. A

FURNITURE ROW RACING #77

Erik Jones #77 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry–New team for 2017, red front, red and yellow lightning stripe across black sides, red rear. C-

Erik Jones #77 5-Hour Energy Extra Stength Toyota Camry-New scheme for 2017, same as 2017 5-Hour Energy, but with Extra Strength on sides and hood. C-

FURNITURE ROW RACING #78

Martin Truex Jr. #78 Furniture Row Toyota Camry–No change. A

Martin Truex Jr. #78 Auto Owner’s Insurance Toyota Camry–No change. A

Martin Truex Jr. #78 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, red and black stripes with a camo stripe at the bottom. C-

Martin Truex Jr. #78 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry-New sponsor for 2017, same as #77.C-

BK RACING #83

Corey LaJoie #83 Dustless Blasting Toyota Camry–No change.B-

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #88

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Nationwide Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, blue design similar to last year’s. with blue vertical stripes next to silver door numbers. A

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Axalta Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, yellow front, a series of red and yellow geometrical designs across sides, red rear. F

LEAVINE FAMILY RACING #95

Michael McDowell #95 K-LOVE Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same colors, but with stripes across front half of sides. A

GAUNT BROS RACING #96

DJ Kennington #96 Lordco Toyota Camry-New team for 2017, blue front, black middle, white rear, curve stripes between the three. C-

Paint Scheme Grades-February 25, 2017

By David G. Firestone

Jamie McMurray #1 Cessna/McDonald’s Chevy SS-It’s a better scheme, much more toned down, great color scheme, and an overall great look. A

Jamie McMurray #1 McDonald’s Chevy SS-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

Jamie McMurray #1 McDonald’s Grand Mac Chevy SS-I’m not a fan of green on race cars, but this works very well. The design scheme looks good, and it’s a really good scheme. I give it an A.

Jamie McMurray #1 McDonald’s/Cessna Chevy SS–It’s a better scheme, much more toned down, great color scheme, and an overall great look. A

Danica Patrick #10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion-For the switch to Ford, Aspen Dental redesigned their car, and at best it can be described as “rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.” The changes did nothing to improve the overall look of the car. It’s not a good scheme, and I give it an F.

Danica Patrick #10 TaxAct Ford Fusion-For the switch to Ford, TaxAct redesigned their car. The changes did not change the grade of the car. It’s still a great looking car, and the bigger stripes are an improvement. It is an A scheme for sure.

Michael Waltrip #15 Aaron’s Toyota Camry-New scheme for 2017, blue photo motif across car, white hood, yellow door numbers. D-

Matt Kenseth #20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry-Same scheme as 2016 #18, same F grade.

Matt Kenseth #20 Tide Pods Toyota Camry-Talk about a downgrade! The 2016 throwback scheme was one of the best. Tide has always had great schemes, but this new scheme is a disaster! I hate the orange/blue separation, the subtle designs, and the overall look. Even a great color scheme can’t save this from an F grade.

Jeffery Earnhardt #33 Starter Chevy SS-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.

David Ragan #38 Camping World/Good Sam Ford Fusion-I’m not big on the design scheme. I think the old Front Row template would have worked better. I do like the color scheme, and the design isn;t horrible, so I’ll give it a B-.

David Ragan #38 Jacob Companies Ford Fusion–It’s a bad design with a mediocre color scheme, and the two don’t work with each other. Taking everything into account, this is a C-scheme.

Timmy Hill #51 Spoonful Music Foundation Chevy SS-Good design, great color scheme, and a great look will always earn an A.

Martin Truex Jr. #78 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry-Same scheme as #77 same C- grade.

Paint Scheme Tracker-February 22, 2017

By David G. Firestone

CHIP GANASSI RACING TEAM #1

Jamie McMurray #1 GearWrench Chevy SS-New sponsor for 2017, black, with yellow, and red stripes across bottom. A

Jamie McMurray #1 Cessna Chevy SS–No change. B+

Jamie McMurray #1 Cessna/McDonald’s Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, blue front, red rear, stripes between. A

Jamie McMurray #1 McDonald’s Chevy SS–No change. A

Jamie McMurray #1 McDonald’s Grand Mac Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, black, with green front and cutting edge design. A

Jamie McMurray #1 McDonald’s/Cessna Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, same as Cessna/McDonald’s, but with colors reversed. A

TEAM PENSKE #2

Brad Keselowski #2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion–No Change A

Brad Keselowski #2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Brad Keselowski #2 Wurth Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Brad Keselowski #2 Auto Trader Ford Fusion–No Change D-

Brad Keselowski #2 SKF Ford Fusion–No Change. A

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #3

Austin Dillon #3 Dow Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, black front, with red designs near wheel well, white fade across quarter panels. A-

Austin Dillon #3 AAA Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme, but with a few minor stripe changes. D+

Austin Dillon #3 American Ethanol Chevy SS–New sponsor for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but many of the stripes have been removed. A

STEWART-HAAS RACING #4

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, all blue with more detail in the mountains. A

Kevin Harvick #4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Kevin Harvick #4 Busch Light Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, same as 2017 Busch, but with Busch Light on quarter panel. A

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #5

Kasey Kahne #5 Farmers Insurance Chevy SS–No Change. C+

Kasey Kahne #5 Great Clips Chevy SS–No Change. D+

Kasey Kahne #5 Liftmaster Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, silver, with black door, and red stripes. A

Kasey Kahne #5 UniFrst Chevy SS–No Change. A

ROUSH-FENWAY RACING #6

Trevor Bayne #6 Liberty National Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, blue with silver and white across sides, white roof. B-

Trevor Bayne #6 Performance Plus Motor Oil Ford Fusion–Except for the change from 16 to 6, no change. B-

Trevor Bayne #6 Advocare Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, white with multi-colored checkerboard pattern on bottom. A

STEWART-HAAS RACING #10

Danica Patrick #10 Code 3 Associates Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, white front, green stripe, and blue bottom. A

Danica Patrick #10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, lighter blue, Post-It motif replaced by silver wing, and some minor color changes. F

Danica Patrick #10 TaxAct Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but side and front stripes are bigger. A

JOE GIBBS RACING #11

Denny Hamlin #11 FedEx Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, lighter blue, with an orange paintbrush design on sides. B-

GERMAIN RACING #13

Ty Dillon #13 Geico Chevy SS-No change. A

Ty Dillon #13 Twisted Tea Chevy SS–Aside from the new team, no change. A

STEWART-HAAS RACING #14

Clint Bowyer #14 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion-New scheme for 2017, white top, red and white stripe across side, blue bottom. A

PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS #15

Michael Waltrip #15 Aaron’s Toyota Camry-New scheme for 2017, blue photo motif across car, white hood, yellow door numbers. D-

ROUSH-FENWAY RACING #17

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Sunny D Ford Fusion–No change. F

Rickey Stenhouse Jr. #17 Fastenal Comemorative Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme, but the colors have been reversed. A

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Fastenal Ford Fusion–No change. A

JOE GIBBS RACING #18

Kyle Busch #18 M&M’s Toyota Camry–Aside from moving the characters around, no major changes for 2017. A

JOE GIBBS RACING #19

Daniel Suarez #19 Arris Toyota Camry–Same basic scheme as 2016, Aaris replaces Surfboard. A

Daniel Suarez #19 Stanley Toyota Camry–No change. B+

JOE GIBBS RACING #20

Matt Kenseth #20 DeWalt/Flexwolt Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, yellow, with black stripes up the sides and hood. A

Matt Kenseth #20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry–New sponsor for 2017, same as 2016 #18. F

Matt Kenseth #20 Tide Pods Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017 orange front with subtle designs, blue rear with subtle designs. F

WOOD BROTHER RACING #21

Ryan Blaney #21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion–No Change. A

TEAM PENSKE #22

Joey Logano #22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion–No change D

Joey Logano #22 AAA Ford Fusion–No Change. D

Joey Logano #22 Auto Trader Ford Fusion–No Change. D-

Joey Logano #22 AAA of Southern California Ford Fusion–No Change. D

Joey Logano #22 Pennzoil Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2016, all yellow, with some lighter yellow geometrical designs across car. A

BK RACING #23

Joey Gase #23 Best Furnishing Toyota Camry-New sponsor for 2017, blue with paintbrush style white and yellow designs across side. F

Joey Gase #23 Schluter Systems Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme, but stripes have been replaced by geometric designs D-

Joey Gase #23 Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but angled lines replace curved lines. B+

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #24

Chase Elliott #24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same basic scheme as 2016, but with yellow accents across sides. A

Chase Elliott #24 Kelly Blue Book Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, design similar to #11 FedEx. A

Chase Elliott #24 Sun Energy Chevy SS–No Change. F

Chase Elliott #24 Hooters Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, white sides with orange stripes, orange roof. C-

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #27

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Richmond Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, black front, yellow sides, black at bottom of wheel well. A

Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Peak Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, new Menard’s template with Peak colors. A

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING #31

Ryan Newman #31 CAT Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, white with black cutting edge design on front, black stripe across hood and top of car. B-

Ryan Newman #31 Granger Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, red replaces green, black replaces white and red.

GO FAS RACING #32

Matt DiBenedetto #32 EJ Wade Foundation Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, white with blue ribbon design on sides.F

CIRCLE SPORT/TMG MOTORSPORTS #33

Jeffery Earnhardt #33 Starter Chevy SS–Aside from the new team, no change.A

FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS #34

Landon Cassill #34 Love’s Truck Stops Ford Fusion–No change. A

JTG DAUGHERTY RACING #37

Chris Buescher #37 Cottonelle Chevy SS-New team for 2017, white sides with blue roof and bottom. A

Chris Buescher #37 Kroger Checklist Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, same as #47 Kroger. B+

FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS #38

David Ragan #38 Camping World/Good Sam Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, blue front, yellow and red oval design on rear. B-

David Ragan #38 Jacob Companies Ford Fusion–New sponsor for 2017, blue with white and silver zig-zag design across car.C-

STEWART-HAAS RACING #41

Kurt Busch #41 Monster Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Kurt Busch #41 Haas Ford Fusion–No Change. A

Kurt Busch #41 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion-New sponsor for 2017, same as #14, but with green replacing blue. A

Kurt Busch #41 Mobil 1 Annual Protection Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, same as other SHR Mobil 1 schemes, but with gold trim. A

CHIP GANASSI RACING TEAM #42

Kyle Larson #42 Target Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, white with a series of Target bullseye logos across on sides. D-

Kyle Larson #42 Credit One Chevy SS–Aside from the new car number, no change. F

RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS #43

Aric Almirola #43 Smithfield Ford Fusion–No Change. B+

Aric Almiroa #43 U.S. Air Force Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2016, same basic scheme, but with more lightning. A

Aric Almirola #43 STP Ford Fusion–No change. B-

Aric Almirola #43 Fresh From Florida Ford Fusion–No change. F

JTG DAUGHERTY RACING #47

AJ Allmendinger #47 Kroger/Stouffers/Cheez It’s Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, white with blue diagonal stripes, and black and red curves across sides. B+

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #48

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe’s Chevy SS–New scheme for 2016, light blue with diagonal stripes and geometric patterns on side. F

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Chevy SS–New scheme for 2016, dark blue with diagonal stripes and geometric patterns on side. F

RICK WARE RACING #51

Timmy Hill #51 Spoonful Music Foundation Chevy SS-New team for 2017, white with racing stripe design on hood, plain white sides. A

TRISTAR MOTORSPORTS #72

Cole Whitt #72 Florida Lottery Ford Fusion–New scheme for 2017, black sides, orange and blue hood to roof. D-

FURNITURE ROW RACING #77

Erik Jones #77 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry–New team for 2017, red front, red and yellow lightning stripe across black sides, red rear. C-

Erik Jones #77 5-Hour Energy Extra Stength Toyota Camry-New scheme for 2017, same as 2017 5-Hour Energy, but with Extra Strength on sides and hood. C-

FURNITURE ROW RACING #78

Martin Truex Jr. #78 Furniture Row Toyota Camry–No change. A

Martin Truex Jr. #78 Auto Owner’s Insurance Toyota Camry–No change. A

Martin Truex Jr. #78 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry–New scheme for 2017, red and black stripes with a camo stripe at the bottom. C-

Martin Truex Jr. #78 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry-New sponsor for 2017, same as #77.C-

BK RACING #83

Corey LaJoie #83 Dustless Blasting Toyota Camry–No change.B-

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS #88

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Nationwide Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, blue design similar to last year’s. with blue vertical stripes next to silver door numbers. A

Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Axalta Chevy SS-New scheme for 2017, yellow front, a series of red and yellow geometrical designs across sides, red rear. F

LEAVINE FAMILY RACING #95

Michael McDowell #95 K-LOVE Chevy SS–New scheme for 2017, same colors, but with stripes across front half of sides. A

GAUNT BROS RACING #96

DJ Kennington #96 Lordco Toyota Camry-New team for 2017, blue front, black middle, white rear, curve stripes between the three. C-

Paint Scheme Grades-October 31, 2015

By David G. Firestone

First we have 2016 paint scheme…

Chase Elliott #24 NAPA Chevy SS-It’s a smooth look, very good color scheme, and it looks great! It earns an. A+

Now on to 2015 paint schemes…

Jamie McMurray #1 Cessna/Bad Boy Buggies Pink Chevy SS-Pinkwashing is an automatic F

Greg Biffle #16 Ford Performance Ford Fusion-It’s a simple design with a great color scheme, and I love the spray design on the door numbers. A+

Carl Edwards #19 Xfinifty Toyota Camry-Let’s be honest, it’s a slightly better redesign of the Great Clips scheme, and even then, it’s only B- level. Too many dark-on-dark designs.

JJ Yeley #26 Adirondack Tree Surgeons Toyota Camry-The mediocre color scheme and insanely overdone design scheme combine to earn an F. There is no part of this scheme I can defend.

Paul Menard #27 Menards/Tarkett Chevy SS-With the Menard’s template, or any template for that matter, some color schemes work, other color schemes don’t. The purple isn’t great, but it isn’t awful. I’ll give it a B+.

Bobby Labonte #32 C&J Energy Services Ford Fusion-Pinkwashing is an automatic F.

Ryan Ellis #33 Science Logic Chevy SS-A great color scheme and an awful design scheme combine for a D+ grade.

Travis Kvapil #33 Chevy SS-A timeless look with a great color scheme will earn an A+ ever single time.

David Gilliland #38 Jerry Cook Tribute Ford Fusion-Great looking throwbacks will ALWAYS deserve an A+.

Kyle Larson #42 Target Plaid Chevy SS-If you paint your car with a houndstooth design and it ends up looking like a picnic table cover, you deserve to get a D-.

Kyle Larson #42 Target Plaid Chevy SS-Plaid doesn’t look good on clothes, and it looks even worse on race cars. The only thing saving this scheme is a good color scheme. D-

Michael Annett #46 Flying J/PJ Fresh Chevy SS-Good color scheme, and I LOVE the tomato sauce and pepperoni motif! It looks great and earns an A+.

Timmy Hill #62 Royal Teak Ford Fusion-Royal Teak has had a lot of great color schemes this year, and this is another one. Great color scheme, great design, no complaints. A+

Michael Waltrip #98 Maxwell House Toyota Camry-Same as Clint Bowyer’s Maxwell House Toyota, same A+ grade.

Paint Scheme Leaderboard-Week 4, The Grand Finale

By David G. Firestone

The Paint Scheme Ranking Executive Committee meetings have been long, but not too contentious, I can’t stay mad at Alejandro when he shows me his belly, so now we present all 55 NASCAR Sprint Cup teams ranked from first to last on how their paint schemes looked. NR has a different meaning this week. NR now specifically referrs to teams that didn’t exist in 2013. Teams that ran different manufacturers in 2013 will be ranked when it came to last year. So, without further ado,

1-Wood Brothers #21 Rank Last Year:1st of 50 -The Wood Brothers always design great cars, and the Quick Lane scheme uses the blue very well. It all looks good!

2-Hendrick Motorsports #48 Rank Last Year:2nd of 50-Classic, smooth looks with no needless clutter. Jimmie always runs great schemes

3-Michael Waltrip Racing #55 Rank Last Year:3rd of 50-The color schemes are good, and the design schemes work very well.

4-Joe Gibbs Racing #18 Rank Last Year:5th of 50-The zebra stripe Interstate Battery scheme wrecks a perfect score for Kyle this year

5-Stewart Haas Racing #4 Rank Last Year:NR-With the exception of Hunt Brothers Pizza, which uses an awful shade of green, Kevin has consistently run a series of great schemes.

6-Team Penske #2 Rank Last Year:18th of 50-The Wurth and Redd’s Apple Ale schemes are a bit over designed, but the white Miller Lite schemes, Alliance Truck Parts, and Detroit Genuine Parts schemes make up for it.

7-Richard Childress Racing #31 Rank Last Year:35th of 50-A lot of great schemes this year, but Wix is overdone, and the Cat/Quicken Loans hybrid looks awful

8-BK Racing #23 Rank Last Year:NR-The Dip Your Car scheme is awful, but the rest of the schemes are very good, and are very attractive.

9-Stewart Haas Racing #41 Rank Last Year: NR-The Slate scheme does not work, but all the other schemes work very well.

10-Roush Fenway Racing #6 Rank Last Year:NR-This would be ranked higher, as it has a somewhat vintage look, but the candy cane on the nose looks odd. It’s still a good scheme.

11-Richard Petty Motorsports #43 Rank Last Year:6th of 50-The Ekcrich camouflage scheme doesn’t work, camouflage schemes rarely do. The Charter green is horrible, but the rest of the schemes look really good.

12-Chip Ganassi Racing #1 Rank Last Year:24th of 50-A pink-washing scheme and a terrible shade of green on the WEMO scheme cost this team the 2nd place spot,knocking them down to 5th. They have run a lot of great schemes this season

13-Levine Family Racing #95 Rank Last Year:45th of 50-The TWD schemes look medicore, but could be worse. The template Levine Family Racing switched too this year looks great and the cars look very good too.

14-Furniture Row Racing #78 Rank Last Year:4th of 50-The World Vision scheme needs work, as the color does not support a fade, but the Furniture Row, and Colorado Freedom Memorial work very well.

15-BK Racing #26 Rank Last Year:50th of 50-Bully Hill Vinyards is an over-designed joke with an awful color scheme. The yellow numbers on the Burger King scheme are awful, but the rest of the schemes are good, and defendable.

16-RAB Racing #29 Rank Last Year:NR-Good color scheme, mediocre design scheme.

17-Hendrick Motorsports #88 Rank Last Year:22nd of 50-National Guard, Mountain Dew, Kickstart, and Superman look good, and work well with the new number design, but Michael Baker, Kelly Blue Book, and Nationwide don’t at all.

18-Chip Ganassi Racing #42 Rank Last Year:11th of 50-While Cottonelle, the Silver Scheme, and Energizer work very well, but the rest of their schemes are mediocre at best. The white on the back doesn’t work.

19-Beard Oil Racing #75 Rank Last Year:NR-If the sides had a sponsor, and the stripe at the bottom was eliminated, it would work a lot better.

20-Front Row Motorsports #34 Rank Last Year:28th of 50-The majority of the schemes look great, but the upside down lettering on the hood of the CSX scheme looks odd. The Wendell Scott scheme is amazing!

21-JTG Daugherty Racing #47 Rank Last Year:15th of 50-While Bush’s, Clorox, Scott’s, Sullivan/Palatek, Kingsford, and Bush’s Grilling Beans work well,Kroger/USO is overdone, Charter Communications uses a horrid shade of green, and Hungry Jack just looks terrible.

22-Hendrick Motorsports #24 Rank Last Year: 36th of 50-Drive to end Hunger is too overdone, and the upside down D on the hood looks terrible. Their orange scheme is even worse. Panasonic is mediocre at best. Pepsi looks good, and all of the Axalta schemes are really good.

23-Humphery Racing #77 Rank Last Year:NR-Plinker Arms doesn’t look great but it could be worse. That applies to Essex Homes as well. The rest of the schemes look good.

24-Joe Gibbs Racing #11 Rank Last Year:31st of 50-The Autisim Speaks scheme works well. The zipper scheme is decent, but odd. Sport Clips is over-designed, but with a good color scheme. The FedEx schemes have decent color schemes, but are over-designed on the front.

25-BK Racing #83 Rank Last Year:7th of 50-Voo Doo Barbecue is an over-designed mess. Dip your car is terrible, as is Zak. Burger King and Borla work well though.

26-Team Penske #12 Rank Last Year:9th of 50-The SKF scheme works very well. The Penske Truck Rental scheme uses a horrible shade of orange, and just looks hideous.

27-Hillman Racing #40 Rank Last Year: NR-When the car doesn’t have a scheme, it looks very good. When it has a sponsor it looks awful.

28-Front Row Motorsports #35 Rank Last Year:27th of 50-The Hefty scheme is a little unorthodox, silver and orange isn’t a great combo, but the design looks good. MDS looks good

29-HScott Motorsports #52 Rank Last Year: NR-The black scheme is good, but the orange Florida Lottery scheme is a trainwreck. Less is more on a paint scheme.

30-HScott Motorsports #51 Rank Last Year:13th of 50-If the car is running a Brandt scheme it looks good, anything else looks terrible.

31-Phil Parsons Racing #98 Rank Last Year: 44th of 50-While I like the Dogecoin,Trench Shoring,iRacing, black Curb Records, and unsponsored black schemes, anything else looks horrendous.

32-Front Row Motorsports #38 Rank Last Year:26th of 50-Most of the schemes are good, but the Love’s Truck Stops, and Love’s Truck Stops Camo schemes are horrific.

33-Joe Gibbs Racing #20 Rank Last Year:23rd of 50-Can all be summed up with medicore color schemes and mediocre design schemes

34-Swan Racing #30 Rank Last Year:50th of 50-The only time the car looked good was when it was unsponsored, but compared to last year’s design it looks amazing!

35-Roush Fenway Racing #17 Rank Last Year:16th of 50-Eco-Power has awful shades of green. Pit for a pair is awful even for a pink-washing scheme. Zest has a good color scheme, but awful design scheme,as does Fifth-Third Bank. Their all-star scheme was terrible. Ford Eco-Boost, NOS, and Nationwide work very well.

36-Richard Childress Racing #27 Rank Last Year: 20th of 50-Neon yellow looks terrible, when they use the stripes on the sides it looks even worse. The Pittsburgh Paints scheme looks really good though.

37-BK Racing #93 Rank Last Year:8th of 50-The Support Millitary scheme is the worst, and although Burger King, Dr. Pepper, and Iowa City Chop House do make up for it, it just isn’t enough.

38-CircleSport/Richard Childress Racing #33 Rank Last Year: 47th of 50-

39-Tommy Baldwin Racing #37 Rank Last Year: NR-Accell Construction has a great color scheme, but the design scheme ruins it.

40-Tommy Baldwin Racing #36 Rank Last Year:29th of 50-Another example of a team where when the car is unsponsored, it looks better.

41-Richard Petty Motorsports #9 Rank Last Year:12th of 50-Can all be summed up with Great color schemes but mediocre design schemes. The camo scheme looks bad, but the upside is that the camo is subtle.

42-Team Penske #22 Rank Last Year:41st of 50-The Shell/Pennzoil scheme has a decent color scheme but a bad design scheme. Anything Pennzoil Platnum is awful, as is Auto Trader. The Auto Club scheme has a great color scheme but a bad design scheme.

43-Identity Ventures Racing #87 Rank Last Year:NR-300 is a mess, and Morris,Hardick and Schinder/SmartBen looks too dull.

44-Michael Waltrip Racing #15 Rank Last Year:38th of 50-The Peak scheme is defendable, the color scheme is good, but the rest of the schemes are just awful.

45-Roush Fenway Racing #99 Rank Last Year:34th of 50-Fastenal looks good, but anything else looks terrible.

46-Go FAS Racing #32 Rank Last Year:25th of 50-The Terry Labonte throwback scheme was amazing, but most of their other schemes are over-designed messes.

47-Stewart Haas Racing #14 Rank Last Year:21st of 50-The over designing of the Bass Pro Shops schemes, as well as the use of orange and camo just look horrible. Mobil 1, Rush Truck Centers, and Code 3 look decent, but to some extent have issues. Mobil 1 is over designed, Rush uses too dark a yellow, Code 3 uses too bright a yellow.

48-Tommy Baldwin Racing #7 Rank Last Year:43rd of 50-Allstate Peterbuilt, and Pilot-St Jude Children’s Network work well, as both have good color schemes and design schemes. Anything else just looks awful.

49-Richard Childress Racing #3 Rank Last Year:NR-Cheerios is very good, and has a classic look. Dow schemes have a great color scheme, but have mediocre design. Anything else looks terrible on this car.

50-Germain Racing #13 Rank Last Year:40th of 50-The blue is too bright, as is the yellow. The car is overdesigned, and the whole car looks like a mess. The camo scheme is much worse.

51-Hendrick Motorsports #5 Rank Last Year:46th of 50-The only half decent scheme is Pepsi. Everything else is an over designed mess.

52-Stewart Haas Racing #10 Rank Last Year:37th of 50-The only scheme that doesn’t make my eyes hurt here is Aspen Dental. Terrible shades of orange and green, with ugly design. The pink-washing scheme is terrible.

53-Xxxtreme Motorsports #44 Rank Last Year: 49th of 50-Every single one of their cars is an ugly, over-designed mess that doesn’t look good at all.

54-Roush Fenway Racing #16 Rank Last Year:19th of 50-Every scheme is terrible.

55-Michael Waltrip Racing #66 Rank Last Year:NR-Nothing about any of these schemes is good.

Paint Scheme Leaderboard, Week #1-Chevy

By David G. Firestone

Starting this week, and for the next four Fridays, we will rank the paint schemes of all 55 race teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup. I will not grade any paint schemes until these rankings are done, but I will still update the Paint Scheme Tracker on Wednesday. The rankings were determined by the Paint Scheme Ranking Executive Committee, made up of myself, and Alejandro my black cat, though all he did was sleep through the proceedings. First up will be Chevy. I will also add the rank each scheme held last year. Teams that did not exist or run Chevy cars will be marked as NR for Not Ranked..

1-Hendrick Motorsports #48 Rank Last Year: 1st of 19-Classic, smooth looks with no needless clutter. Jimmie always runs great schemes

2-Stewart Haas Racing #4 Rank Last Year: NR-With the exception of Hunt Brothers Pizza, which uses an awful shade of green, Kevin has consistently run a series of great schemes.

3-Stewart Haas Racing #41 Rank Last Year: NR-The Slate scheme does not work, but all the other schemes work very well.

4-Richard Childress Racing #31 Rank Last Year: 13th of 19-A lot of great schemes this year, but Wix is overdone, and the Cat/Quicken Loans hybrid looks awful

5-Chip Ganassi Racing #1 Rank Last Year: 9th of 19- A pink-washing scheme and a terrible shade of green on the WEMO scheme cost this team the 2nd place spot,knocking them down to 5th. They have run a lot of great schemes this season

6-Furniture Row Racing #78 Rank Last Year: 2nd of 19-The World Vision scheme needs work, as the color does not support a fade, but the Furniture Row, and Colorado Freedom Memorial work very well.

7-Hendrick Motorsports #88 Rank Last Year: 8th of 19-National Guard, Mountain Dew, Kickstart, and Superman look good, and work well with the new number design, but Michael Baker, Kelly Blue Book, and Nationwide don’t at all.

8-Chip Ganassi Racing #42 Rank Last Year: 4th of 19-While Cottonelle, the Silver Scheme, and Energizer work very well, but the rest of their schemes are mediocre at best. The white on the back doesn’t work.

9-Beard Oil Racing #75 Rank Last Year: NR-If the sides had a sponsor, and the stripe at the bottom was eliminated, it would work a lot better.

10-JTG Daugherty Racing #47 Rank Last Year: NR-While Bush’s, Clorox, Scott’s, Sullivan/Palatek, Kingsford, and Bush’s Grilling Beans work well,Kroger/USO is overdone, Charter Communications uses a horrid shade of green, and Hungry Jack just looks terrible.

11-Hendrick Motorsports #24 Rank Last Year: 14th of 19-Drive to end Hunger is too overdone, and the upside down D on the hood looks terrible. Their orange scheme is even worse. Panasonic is mediocre at best. Pepsi looks good, and all of the Axalta schemes are really good.

12-Hillman Racing #40 Rank Last Year: NR-When the car doesn’t have a scheme, it looks very good. When it has a sponsor it looks awful.

13-HScott Motorsports #52 Rank Last Year: NR-The black scheme is good, but the orange Florida Lottery scheme is a trainwreck. Less is more on a paint scheme.

14-HScott Motorsports #51 Rank Last Year: 5th of 19-If the car is running a Brandt scheme it looks good, anything else looks terrible.

15-Richard Childress Racing #27 Rank Last Year: 6th of 19-Neon yellow looks terrible, when they use the stripes on the sides it looks even worse. The Pittsburgh Paints scheme looks really good though.

16-CircleSport/Richard Childress Racing #33 Rank Last Year: 19th of 19-

17-Tommy Baldwin Racing #37 Rank Last Year: NR-Accell Construction has a great color scheme, but the design scheme ruins it.

18-Tommy Baldwin Racing #36 Rank Last Year:10th of 19-Another example of a team where when the car is unsponsored, it looks better.

19-Stewart Haas Racing #14 Rank Last Year: 7th of 19-The over designing of the Bass Pro Shops schemes, as well as the use of orange and camo just look horrible. Mobil 1, Rush Truck Centers, and Code 3 look decent, but to some extent have issues. Mobil 1 is over designed, Rush uses too dark a yellow, Code 3 uses too bright a yellow.

20-Tommy Baldwin Racing #7 Rank Last Year:16th of 19-Allstate Peterbuilt, and Pilot-St Jude Children’s Network work well, as both have good color schemes and design schemes. Anything else just looks awful.

21-Richard Childress Racing #3 Rank Last Year:NR-Cheerios is very good, and has a classic look. Dow schemes have a great color scheme, but have mediocre design. Anything else looks terrible on this car.

22-Germain Racing #13 Rank Last Year:NR-The blue is too bright, as is the yellow. The car is overdesigned, and the whole car looks like a mess. The camo scheme is much worse.

23-Hendrick Motorsports #5 Rank Last Year:17th of 19-The only half decent scheme is Pepsi. Everything else is an over designed mess.

24-Stewart Haas Racing #10 Rank Last Year:14th of 19-The only scheme that doesn’t make my eyes hurt here is Aspen Dental. Terrible shades of orange and green, with ugly design. The pink-washing scheme is terrible.

25-Xxxtreme Motorsports #44 Rank Last Year:NR-Every single one of their cars is an ugly, over-designed mess that doesn’t look good at all.

Next week, we move on to Ford…See you soon!

Paint Scheme Grades…A Change to the Format

By David G. Firestone

So after giving this some thought after the 2015 tracker, I decided that I need to do more on this blog.  Toward that end, starting on Fridays, I will post paint scheme grades.  I will work on them during the week up to Thursdays, and then post them on Friday morning.  Once the 2015 season starts, I will move this to Wednesdays.  So without further ado…paint scheme reviews!  Let’s start with 2015 grades from new schemes featured on Wednesday…

Brad Keselowski #2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion The same basic scheme as 2014, but the hop design, gold trim, and old Miller crest have been removed, and the look is much smoother and cleaner. I didn’t think they could improve on an A+ design, but they proved me wrong, so I’ll give it an A++!

Austin Dillon #3 Cheerios Chevy SS Good color scheme, great design, A+

Austin Dillon #3 Dow Chevy SS While I like the color scheme and number and logo designs, the white stripe up the side kills the look. It takes an A scheme to a B+ scheme.

Kevin Harvick #4 Budweiser Chevy SS– Same Scheme as last year, same grade, A

Kevin Harvick #4 Jimmie Johns Chevy SS Great color and design, but I still don’t understand why Jimmy Johns sponsors Harvick instead of Jimmie Johnson…still a solid A scheme

Kevin Harvick #4 Outback Steakhouse Same Scheme as last year, same grade, A

Kevin Harvick #4 Ditech Chevy SS New sponsor for 2015, and it has a great look. The blue as a whole is good, and the contrasting blue on the door numbers looks really good. The door design gives the appearance of an old school brake duct, and this car just looks great! I give it an A+!

Kasey Kahne #5 Great Clips Chevy SS Same scheme as this year, same D+ grade

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

Trevor Bayne #6 Advocare Ford Fusion New team, new design for 2015. I love the basic design, and the color scheme is great. However the candy cane stripes on the nose are pointless, and take away from the overall design. I’ll give it an A-

Danica Patrick #10 Aspen Dental Chevy SS Same scheme as last year, same C grade

Tony Stewart #14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevy SS A perfect example of why camo does not work on race cars. If it were just the orange and black, I would give it an A- but the camo takes it down to a B- and the white takes it down to a C+

Tony Stewart #14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevy SS Much smoother look, much better design, I’ll give it an A

Tony Stewart #14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil1 Chevy SS Same design as last year, same C grade

Greg Biffle #16 Ortho Bug-B-Gon Ford Fusion Red and black is a great color scheme, and the fade effects are pretty cool too. The ant design is really good, so for the first time in a while, Greg earns an A+

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 Fastenal Ford Fusion New design for 2014, great color scheme, blue and white is highly underrated, and a good design earns an A

Joey Logano #22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion Same design as last year, same D grade

Paul Menard #27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menard’s Chevy SS Same design as last year, same A grade

Ryan Newman #31 Cat Chevy SS Same color scheme as last year, but with a much smoother and simpler design. I can’t give it anything less than an A+ so I won’t

Ryan Newman #31 Quicken Loans Chevy SS Same scheme as last year, same A+ grade.

Kurt Busch #41Haas CNC Chevy SS Complete redesign, and like Brad Keselowski, I didn’t think they could improve on an A+ design but I was wrong. A+

Kurt Busch #41 Slate Water Heaters Chevy SS Same scheme as last year, same B- grade

Aric Almirola #43 Smithfield Ford Fusion One of the rare instances where I will change a grade. I didn’t like this design initally, I gave it a D+, but it has grown on me, and I think it deserves a B-

Now on to 2014

Jamie McMurray #1 Cessna/McDonalds Monopoly Chevy SS Another instance of two different car designs clashing with each other, and it does not look good at all. D-

Kasey Kahne #5 Pepsi Chevy SS Good color scheme, but much too overdesigned. C-

Trevor Bayne #6 Advocare Ford Fusion See Above

Danica Patrick #10 Go Daddy Chevy SS-Pinkwashing is an automatic F.

Matt Kenseth #20 Home Depot Toyota Camry A fitting end to 15 years of NASCAR sponsorship is with a C- design. Love the color scheme, hate the overall design scheme.

Joey Logano #22 Pennzoil Platnum Ford Fusion Contrasting colors and being over designed to the point of absurdity earns this scheme a solid F.

Cole Whitt #26 Moen Toyota Camry Great color scheme, great overall design, A+

Blake Koch #32 Leaf Filter Ford Fusion Good color scheme, much too over designed, C-

Timmy Hill #33 Retro Infinity Chevy SS Great color scheme, much too over designed. C-

Reed Sorenson #36 Zing Znag Chevy SS It has pinkwashing elements which earn it an automatic F

Corey LaJoie #77 Essex Homes Ford Fusion great design, mediocre color scheme earn this scheme an A-

Ryan Truex #83 Painters Ice Cream Toyota Camry Great color scheme, and simple smooth design earn this scheme an A+

Michael McDowell #95 Pieter’s Pals Ford Fusion Another great A+ Levine Family Racing scheme!