Hooters 500, his final race, the car was based on a 1981 paint scheme with Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham.
*
Darrell Waltrip
Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports Color analyst, analyst, author as well as a former national television broadcaster and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NAS ...
** To celebrate 25 years since his first Winston Cup race (1972), during the 1997 season, he had cars painted to resemble different cars during his career. A special chrome car was also designed.
** Has been the subject of various throwback designs by various teams, most notably
Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All-Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 316 Cup Series ra ...
(the team where he won his Daytona 500), though none of the Hendrick throwbacks reflected on his time at Hendrick.
*
Jeff Gordon
Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American stock car racing executive and former professional stock car racing driver who currently serves as the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, d ...
** In celebrating his distinguished career at the
2004 Nextel All-Star Challenge, his car was painted to resemble the 1992–2000 original DuPont "Rainbow Warriors," complete with the DuPont logo and "Automotive Finishes" on the side of the car, instead of the "DUPONT" design on the sides used from 2001-12 (the last race with DuPont; those logos belong to Dow as of 2017). Axalta, the successor company to DuPont Performance Coatings (spun off in 2013), ran the same 1992-2000 livery with the current Axalta logo and text on the cars at the 2015
Irwin Tools Night Race
The Bass Pro Shops Night Race is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race held at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. It is one of two NASCAR Cup Series races held at Bristol, the other being the Food City 500. From 1978 to ...
for his final full-time season. The livery was again used in 2018 by Hendrick Motorsports with current No. 24 driver William Byron at Darlington, which is the series' retro round.
** To celebrate the debut of ''
Pepsi Throwback'', Gordon drove in a replica of Waltrip's 1983 "Pepsi Challenger" at the
2009 Aaron's 499
The 2009 Aaron's 499 was the ninth race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. With a distance of , it was held on April 26, 2009 at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. Fox Sports broadcast the race starting at 1 PM EDT, with ...
, which was involved in an early crash on lap 8. Ironically, Waltrip did not drive the yellow Pepsi Challenger design in that spring Talladega event during the 1983 season, instead opting for a white design. (Pepsi used the yellow Pepsi Challenger livery for other motorsport teams at the time. most notably
All American Racers
All American Racers is an American-licensed auto racing team and constructor based in Santa Ana, California. Founded by Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby in 1964, All American Racers initially participated in American sports car and Champ Car races ...
in CART and
Don Prudhomme
Don Prudhomme (born April 6, 1941, in San Fernando, California), nicknamed "the Snake", is an American drag racer.
He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1991.
Racing career
Prudhomme crewed for "TV Tommy" Ivo on Ivo's ...
in NHRA.)
** At the 2016 Darlington retro round, he drove a Buddy Baker "Grey Ghost" scheme. The 2016 Gordon Darlington car became a theme
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and broadcaster. A third-generation driver, he is the son of the late 7-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt and relative ...
drove at the 2017 October Martinsville race, except it used contemporary logos.
** At the 2019 Darlington Xfinity retro round,
Michael Annett
Michael Wayne Annett (born June 23, 1986) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports.
Racing career
Early career
Save for a fe ...
and sponsor Pilot Flying J had a 1992 Bill Davis Racing Baby Ruth Ford based livery on the
JR Motorsports
JR Motorsports (pronounced "Junior Motorsports") is an American professional stock car racing team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller, L. W. Miller, L.W. Miller, and Rick Hendrick. It c ...
No. 1 Chevrolet. Despite the retro scheme, the car used current logos, including the Baby Ruth (which is being redone after its new owners, Ferrero Group) and Pilot Flying J logos.
*
Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club. Johnson has won seven Cup ch ...
** In 2018, to commemorate the final races of
Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse
Lowe's Companies, Inc. ( ) is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States. As of October 28, 2022, Lowe's and its ...
with Johnson and
Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All-Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 316 Cup Series ra ...
, the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro used a series of throwback liveries. Those included the 2012 Kobalt car at Darlington (Hendrick's 200th win car), the 2001 debut car (Charlotte) at Phoenix, the rookie car from 2002 at Homestead.
** In 2019, at the Darlington round, a Nelson & Nelson Racing Chevrolet Thunder off-road truck livery from his days driving off-road racing was used.
** In 2020, during his final season,
Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All-Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 316 Cup Series ra ...
worked three Johnson schemes into the throwback round while Johnson himself drove a scheme designed to celebrate the sport's three seven-time champions.
***
William Byron drove Liberty University-sponsored car with a livery designed to be the 2013
Holden Commodore
The Holden Commodore is a series of automobiles that were sold by now-defunct Australian manufacturer Holden from 1978 until 2020. They were manufactured from 1978 to 2017 in Australia and from 1979 to 1990 in New Zealand, with production of ...
used to win the All-Star Race.
***
Chase Elliott
William Clyde "Chase" Elliott II (born November 28, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 for Hendrick Mo ...
drove a NAPA Auto Parts Camaro designed to resemble Johnson's 2009 Cup Series winning Chevrolet Impala.
***
Alex Bowman
Alexander Michael Warren Bowman (born April 25, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 f ...
drove a Chevrolet designed to resemble Johnson's 2006 Cup Series winning Chevrolet Monte Carlo (his first championship season).
*
Molson Coors
Molson Coors Beverage Company is a Canadian-American Multinational corporation, multinational Drink industry, drink and brewing company, brewing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Molson Coors was formed in 2005 through the merger of Mo ...
(all brands)
**
Bill Elliott
William Clyde Elliott Sr. (born October 8, 1955), also known as "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville", "Million Dollar Bill", or "Wild Bill" is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Superstar Racing Experienc ...
drove the 2005 Bud Shootout with
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization competing in the NTT IndyCar Series. They have formerly competed in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, Global Rally ...
in a No. 39 Coors Dodge with 1985-88 era Coors livery.
** During
Rusty Wallace
Russell "Rusty" William Wallace Jr. (born August 14, 1956) is an American former NASCAR racing driver. He won the 1984 NASCAR Cup series NASCAR Rookie of the Year, Rookie of the Year and the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup ...
's "Last Call" tour in 2005, one of his cars featured the 1991–1995 Miller Genuine Draft black and gold paint scheme, complete with graphics replete of that era.
** At the 2015
Pure Michigan 400
Stock car races events in the NASCAR Cup Series have been held annually at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan since 1969. The race, currently known as FireKeepers Casino 400 for sponsorship reasons, is currently held as a 20 ...
, Team Penske had
Brad Keselowski
Bradley Aaron Keselowski (; born February 12, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for RFK Racing, a te ...
, who now drove the Miller Lite Ford, drive the car in the Miller Genuine Draft livery as part of the 25 years of Miller and Penske celebration. The same design was used at the 2017 Rebel 500.
** At the
Rebel 500
The Goodyear 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series race held at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. A race was held in May at the track in 1952, however the event did not become a regular one on the NASCAR schedule until 1957, as a race in th ...
weeks later, Keselowski's car reflected the 1983
Miller High Life
The Miller Brewing Company is an American brewery and beer company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1855 by Frederick Miller. Molson Coors acquired the full global brand portfolio of Miller Brewing Company in 2016, and operates the ...
Bobby Allison
Robert Arthur Allison (December 3, 1937 – November 9, 2024) was an American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant ...
livery from the Southern 500 win (the last Labor Day race; in 1984, the race moved to Sunday) and the ensuing Championship season.
** At the 2018 Darlington retro round, the 1990 livery was used.
*
Mark Martin
Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959), nicknamed "the Kid", is an American former stock car racing driver. He most notably drove the No. 6 Ford Motor Company, Ford for Roush Racing for the majority of his career. From 1989 to 2009, Martin wo ...
** During the 2005 "Salute to You" tour, cars were painted to reflect various stages of Martin's career.
**
Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing
Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, doing business as RFK Racing, is an American professional stock car organization that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. One of NASCAR's largest racing teams in the 2000s and early 2010s, Roush formerly ...
has used various liveries inspired by Martin's career.
**
Valvoline
Valvoline Inc. ( ) is an American retail automotive services company based in Lexington, Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky. It licenses the name for a number of Valvoline-labeled Motor oil, automotive oil, Oil additive, additives, and lubricants. It ...
, which has been affiliated as of 2014 with
Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All-Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 316 Cup Series ra ...
, and Martin have authorised schemes based on his Valvoline cars at Hendrick. Alex Bowman will drive one such scheme at the 2022 retro round.
*
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation predominantly specializing in oil and gas. The second-largest direct descendant of Standard Oil, and originally known as the Standard Oil Company of California (shortened t ...
** Prior to pulling out in 2007, Chevron's Texaco Havoline brand had featured special schemes to celebrate the brand's past. Their most notable special scheme was the 1987 Ranier-Lundy "Battlestar" scheme of the late
Davey Allison
David Carl "Davey" Allison (February 25, 1961 – July 13, 1993) was an American NASCAR driver. He was best known for driving the No. 28 Texaco-Havoline Ford for Robert Yates Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. Born in Hollywood, Florida, ...
, which debuted at the 1997
Coca-Cola 600
The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the firs ...
and was later used in the DieHard 500 at the
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway (Alabama International Motor Speedway from 1969 to 1989) is a tri-oval superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Built in 1969, the track has hosted a variety of racing events, primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The track is ...
.
*
Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew, stylized as Mtn Dew in some countries and colloquially known as Dew in some areas, is a soft drink brand owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in 1940 by Tennessee beverage Bottler (company), bottlers Barney and A ...
** The 1981–82 Mountain Dew Championship Seasons of Darrell Waltrip has been used at various times for
Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All-Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 316 Cup Series ra ...
liveries in Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series cars.
*
Richard Childress Racing
Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard C ...
** During the 2004
UAW-GM Quality 500, to celebrate 35 years of Richard Childress Racing, the team ran three throwback schemes, with designs based on Childress schemes from the team's first win in 1983, the team's famed 1987 championship, and 1995 silver car).
*
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and broadcaster. A third-generation driver, he is the son of the late 7-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt and relative ...
** Earnhardt raced two throwbacks in 2006. The first was dedicated to his father at the
2006 Aaron's 499, using a black and silver paint scheme reminiscent of his father's Goodwrench cars. The second ran at the
2006 3M Performance 400
The 2006 3M Performance 400 Presented by Post-it Picture Paper was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series stock car race held on June 18, 2006 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Contested over 129 laps – shortened from 200 laps due ...
using a cream-colored design, similar to his late grandfather
Ralph Earnhardt's 1956 Sportsman championship. The latter car had authentic-looking "#8" graphics from 1956, and Dale Jr's sponsor Budweiser added 1956-era Budweiser logos.
** During the
2008 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
The Sprint Showdown and Sprint All-Star Race XXIV were run on Saturday, May 17, 2008, at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, a suburb outside of Charlotte. The events were telecast live at 7 pm US EDT on Speed Channel with r ...
, Earnhardt raced a car painted similar to
Buddy Baker
Elzie Wylie "Buddy" Baker Jr. (January 25, 1941 – August 10, 2015) was an American professional stock car racing driver and commentator. Over the course of his 33-year racing career, he won 19 races in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the 19 ...
's "Grey Ghost"
Oldsmobile 442
The Oldsmobile 4-4-2 is a muscle car produced by Oldsmobile between the 1964 and 1987 model years. Introduced as an option package for US-sold Oldsmobile Cutlass, F-85 and Cutlass models, it became a model in its own right from 1968 to 1971, spa ...
that won the 1980 Daytona 500 and set a race record that still stands.
** Various regular schemes during Earnhardt's career at
Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All-Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 316 Cup Series ra ...
have influence from past cars. A later-era Baker Oldsmobile 88 scheme (Crisco) was flipped for his 2014-15 Nationwide livery, while the vertical stripes on a 1981
Wrangler scheme from his father are featured in the
Windows 10
Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. The successor to Windows 8.1, it was Software release cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on July 2 ...
design in 2015. TaxSlayer (his father's Wrangler, 1986–87) and Axalta (Xfinity Oreo) all will have influence from past cars in 2016.
** At the Rebel 500 retro round in 2017, his final full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season in 2017, his 1998 Xfinity Series championship livery was used with current Nationwide decals.
** For the October 2017 Martinsville race, the
Jeff Gordon
Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American stock car racing executive and former professional stock car racing driver who currently serves as the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, d ...
Nationwide #88 scheme, except with current-era Nationwide logos, was used. (Gordon's car carried the retro logos because it was used at Darlington.)
** For his final scheduled Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, his 1999 scheme was used as the basis with current Axalta logos as part of a promotion with Axalta's introduction of Cromax EZ paint. It was also the last race in the Series for the
Holden VF Commodore
The Holden Commodore (VF) is a full-size car that was produced by Holden between June 2013 and October 2017. It was the second and last significantly restyled iteration of the fourth (and final) generation of the Holden Commodore to be manufac ...
.
** For the 2018 Xfinity Series round at Darlington,
Tyler Reddick
Tyler George Reddick (born January 11, 1996) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry (XV80), Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing. He is a two-time champion i ...
, then driving for Earnhardt, used an
Old Milwaukee
Old Milwaukee is a brand of American dry lager owned by the Pabst Brewing Company. The brand currently consists of three different brews: Old Milwaukee Lager, Old Milwaukee Light, and Old Milwaukee Non-Alcoholic. Old Milwaukee is brewed througho ...
livery inspired by
Tim Richmond
Timothy Lee Richmond (June 7, 1955 – August 13, 1989) was an American race car driver from Ashland, Ohio. He competed in American Championship Car Racing, IndyCar racing before transferring to NASCAR's Winston Cup Series. Richmond was one o ...
's Cup car in 1983–85, fielded by
Raymond Beadle
Raymond Beadle (December 16, 1943October 20, 2014) was an American drag racer and auto racing team owner.
Beadle was perhaps best known as the driver and owner of the ''Blue Max'' Top Fuel funny car. Beadle won three consecutive NHRA Funny Car ...
, whose son Ryan spearheaded the design as the general counsel for
JR Motorsports
JR Motorsports (pronounced "Junior Motorsports") is an American professional stock car racing team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller, L. W. Miller, L.W. Miller, and Rick Hendrick. It c ...
.
** For his 2019 Xfinity Series start at Darlington, he and sponsor Unilever arranged a livery based on a vintage car his father drove to his first Cup start in 1975, with approval of Norman Negre (son of the car owner).
** Various
JR Motorsports
JR Motorsports (pronounced "Junior Motorsports") is an American professional stock car racing team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller, L. W. Miller, L.W. Miller, and Rick Hendrick. It c ...
cars use liveries inspired by his career during the Darlington round.
*Chevrolet
**During the August 2007 Nextel Cup weekend at Michigan International Speedway, the cars of 11 Team Chevy drivers were decorated with special paint schemes commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1957 Chevrolet. The cars driven by Ward Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Casey Mears, Paul Menard, Tony Raines, Martin Truex Jr., Scott Wimmer and J.J. Yeley all sported cues from the '57 Chevy's memorable design while J.J. Yeley's No. 18 Monte Carlo SS displayed a throwback Interstate Batteries logo.
*
Darlington Raceway
Darlington Raceway is a egg-shaped oval track in Darlington, South Carolina. The track has hosted a variety of racing events since its inaugural season of racing in 1950; primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The venue has a capacity of 47,00 ...
** The Rebel 500 moved from its traditional spring date to September, where the fall race (the Southern 500; note that the history of the current Darlington race dates to the lineage of the
1957 Rebel 300) was held from 1950-2003 until it moved to November in 2004 and eliminated as a result of the
Ferko lawsuit
Ferko is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Alfred Ferko (born 1964), Albanian football player and coach
* Frank Ferko (born 1950), American composer
{{surname
English-language surnames ...
, replaced by the
AAA Texas 500
Stock car races in the NASCAR Cup Series have been held at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas since 1997. The race's trophy is in the shape of a cowboy hat on top of a piston. Traditionally, the winning driver wears a black cowboy ha ...
at the
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway (formerly known as Texas International Raceway from September to December 1996) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. It has hosted various major races since its inaugura ...
a year. Various teams unveiled throwback and special paint schemes as part of a promotion with the track. The weekend has become an annual throwback weekend.
*** For 2021, with the restoration of two Cup meetings at Darlington, the race was lineally returned to the spring, and the Throwback weekend moved to the spring. The fall date will become a playoff-oriented round.
** Some NASCAR Hall of Fame drivers have had multiple schemes from their career influence multiple drivers in the same race. Two teams—Wood Brothers (1976 NASCAR season) and Hendrick Motorsports (1979 Talladega 500), for example, in 2016 use David Pearson liveries on their cars.
Response to throwback themes
After
Ernie Irvan
Virgil Earnest Irvan (born January 13, 1959), occasionally referred to as Swervin' Irvan, is an American former professional stock car racing driver. A retired NASCAR competitor, he is perhaps best remembered for his comeback after a serious head ...
put the throwback "Battlestar" on the pole at the 1997 DieHard 500, fan reaction forced
Robert Yates Racing
Yates Racing was an American stock car racing team that competed in NASCAR through the 2009 season, after which it merged into Richard Petty Motorsports. Previously known as Robert Yates Racing, the team was owned by Doug Yates, who has offici ...
to consider having the "Battlestar" design at Talladega for the rest of the team's association with Texaco. When Chevron (who had bought Texaco) switched to Chip Ganassi Racing, fan reaction forced the sponsor to revert to the old Yates-era 1994-2000 design after Chevron changed the paint scheme in 2001.
Liz Allison (Davey's widow) told the media in announcing the 2003 Battlestar old fans would be cheering heavily when they see the classic design returning for the race, and warned Ganassi driver Jamie McMurray that if he won the race in the Battlestar, "You better bar the door because the Allisons are taking over. We're really excited and very touched (by Chevron's generosity in remembering a legend)."
Military paint schemes

New variations on the military paint schemes have also been used throughout the years. The
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
began sponsoring the No. 01 car owned by
MB2 Motorsports
MB2 Motorsports was a NASCAR Cup Series team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, near the sport's hub in Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte. The team was founded by Read Morton, Tom Beard, and Nelson Bowers, from which the original team name ...
full-time in 2003. For major anniversaries, the cars used a special camouflage design. The Army then went to Dale Earnhardt, Inc. for two seasons before joining
Stewart Haas Racing in 2009 and was the primary sponsor of
Ryan Newman's No. 39 until 2012.
Although the schemes were not military-based, several cars used patriotic paint schemes for the
2001 MBNA Cal Ripken Jr. 400 at Dover, the first race after the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
.
Often
die-cast replicas of the paint scheme cars are produced for the collector market.
Differences between special and alternating paint schemes
With the economics of the sport dictating higher expenses, some sponsors have decided to share sponsor space with other sponsors, leading to two "regular" designs which alternate, such as
Richard Childress Racing
Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard C ...
, where all three teams have multiple alternating primary sponsors. In 2009, the No. 29 team had Shell and Hershey, while the No. 31 had
Caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...
,
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca plc () (AZ) is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, UK. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includi ...
, and Lenox Industrial Tools, and the #07 has Jack Daniel's, DirecTV, and
BB&T
BB&T Corporation (previously known as the Branch Banking and Trust Company) was one of the largest banking and financial services firms in the United States, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In 2019, BB&T announced its intentions to merge ...
as their three sponsors. Other sponsors have decided to promote different products with their sponsor dollars, such as Mars (M&M's, Snickers, Skittles, Wrigley's, Pedigree, Banfield Pet Hospitals), Lowe's (two schemes, one standard which can be configured to promote professional services or have the regular logo, and one Kobalt Tools), and Kellogg's with the standard Kellogg's and Cheez-It snacks (a Kellogg's product) schemes, and FedEx, which uses five different schemes with color differences to promote four different brands—Express, Ground, Freight, and Kinko's. (A fifth scheme was used in 2005 at Darlington, and is a special scheme, to promote the St. Jude Hospital they support in Memphis.) Those are not "special" schemes, but are co-primary schemes to promote various products by a sponsor who may be willing to use the broadcasts to promote their wide variety of products.
The sheer number of special paint schemes has led to criticism that they are no longer "special" at all. However, it should be differentiated between alternating sponsors, different products on cars (especially promotions for special products), and the true special paint schemes, which promote special events.
IndyCar Series
Though not as widespread as
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
, cars in the
IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...
have also participated in special paint schemes. Most that have been used have featured a "retro" or tribute paint scheme, depicting a notable car from the past. In most cases, the sponsors are not the same but carry the current sponsors' decals on the classic liveries.
*1987–1991: Vince Granatelli and later
UNO/Granatelli entries sported a "throwback" paint scheme which featured a day-glow orange, similar to that of the
STP Turbine cars of the late 60s, and other
Andy Granatelli
Anthony "Andy" Granatelli (March 18, 1923 – December 29, 2013) was an American businessman, most prominent as the CEO of STP as well as a major figure in automobile racing events.
Granatelli was born in Dallas, Texas. Along with his broth ...
entries of the early 1970s.

*
2000 Indianapolis 500
The 84th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 28, 2000. The race was sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and was part of the 2000 Indy Racing Northern Lights Series season. After fou ...
:
Hometown rookie driver and co-owner
Andy Hillenburg
Andrew Miles Hillenburg (born April 30, 1963) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current team owner and track owner. His race team, Fast Track Racing, fields multiple cars in the ARCA Menards Series and formerly fielde ...
fielded a "throwback" entry named the Sumar Special, a gesture to the car driven by
Pat O'Connor which won the pole position in
1957
Events January
* January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany.
* January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.
* January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...
.
*
2001 Indianapolis 500
The 85th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 27, 2001. Race rookie Hélio Castroneves, a three-year veteran of the CART series, led the final 52 laps and won his first of four Indy 500 ...
:
Billy Boat
William Leonard Boat (born February 2, 1966) is an American former open-wheel driver who raced in the Indy Racing League.
Racing career
Boat began his career in USAC where he won 11 straight Western Series races on his way to the 1995 champion ...
fielded a "throwback" paint scheme that resembled "Calhoun," the car driven by
1962
The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War.
Events January
* January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...
pole position winner
Parnelli Jones
Rufus Parnell "Parnelli" Jones (August 12, 1933 – June 4, 2024) was an American professional racing driver and racing team owner. He is notable for his accomplishments while competing in the Indianapolis 500 and the Baja 1000 desert race, and ...
. Boat's car was nicknamed "Calhoun II."
*
2007 Indianapolis 500
The 91st Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 27, 2007. It was the twelfth Indianapolis 500 sanctioned by the IndyCar, Indy Racing League and the fifth race of the 2007 IndyCar Series se ...
:
Ryan Briscoe
Ryan John Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian–American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.
In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishin ...
's entry at
Luczo Dragon Racing was painted in a "
retro
Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from the past, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. It has been argued that there is a nostalgia cycle in popular culture.
Definition
The term ...
" paint schemes to resemble
Rick Mears
Richard Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951) is an American former race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (197 ...
'
1988 Indy 500 winning car. It was the first of a small trend of similar instances.
*
2008 Indianapolis 500
The 92nd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 25, 2008. It was the fifth round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season, 2008 IndyCar Series in DIRECTV HD season. Scott Dixon of New Zealand won ...
:
Marco Andretti
Marco Michael Andretti (born March 13, 1987) is an American professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 98 Dallara- Chevrolet for Andretti Global.
He formerly drove in the IndyCar Series fo ...
's car was painted to promote the movie ''
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' is a 2008 American action adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by David Koepp, based on a story by George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson. It is the fourth installm ...
'', and his racing suit was designed to resemble Indiana Jones's outfit.
*
2009 Indianapolis 500
The 93rd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 24, 2009. It was the 14th Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and the premier event of the 2009 IndyCar Series season.
Hélio Ca ...
:
Rahal Letterman Racing
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) is an auto racing team that has participated in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the IndyCar Series. Headquartered in Zionsville, Indiana and Hilliard, Ohio, it is co-owned by 1986 Indianapolis 5 ...
's
DAFCA Special for driver
Oriol Servià
Oriol Servià Imbers (born 13 July 1974) is a Spanish racing driver who competed most notably in the IndyCar Series. He raced for Dragon Racing in the 2014–15 Formula E season, and left the series prior to the 2015 Miami ePrix to become manag ...
was painted to resemble
Dan Gurney
Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, engineer and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of motorspo ...
's 1968 Olsonite Eagle, which finished second in the
1968 Indianapolis 500
The 52nd International 500 Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Thursday May 30, 1968. Bobby Unser won the first of his three Indy 500 victories (1968, 1975, 1981). This was the final Indianapolis ...
.
*2009 Edmonton Indy:
Will Power
William Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian racing driver who competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 12 Dallara-Chevrolet for Team Penske. He won the 2018 Indianapolis 500 and has won the IndyCar Championship twice, in ...
drove a
Penske Racing
Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Da ...
Verizon entry with the retro Penske Truck Rental paint job, resembling
Al Unser
Alfred Unser (May 29, 1939 – December 9, 2021) was an American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser Jr. He was the second of four men ( A. J. Foyt, himself, Ri ...
's
1987 Indy 500 livery.
*2010 Cafes do Brasil 300 (Homestead):
Sarah Fisher
Sarah Marie Fisher (born October 4, 1980) is an American retired professional race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League (IRL, now IndyCar Series) and the Indianapolis 500 intermittently from 1999 to 2010. She also raced in the ...
drove in her final INDYCAR race a special Komen pink
Dollar General
Dollar General Corporation is an American chain of discount stores headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. As of January 8, 2024, Dollar General operated 19,643 stores in the contiguous United States and Mexico.
The company began in 1939 in ...
car (as opposed to the normal yellow and black), in a partnership with ''
Susan G. Komen for the Cure'' to promote
Breast Cancer awareness month
Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), also referred to in the United States as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase aware ...
.
*2011:
Hélio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He competes part-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 06 Dallara-Honda for Meyer Shank Racing. He is one of four drivers to have w ...
AAA
AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Gaming
* AAA (video game industry) - a category of high budget video games
*'' TripleA'', an open source wargame
Mu ...
-sponsored car resembled the classic "
Gould
Gould may refer to:
People
* Gould (name), a surname
Places United States
* Gould, Arkansas, a city
* Gould, Colorado, an unincorporated community
* Gould, Ohio, an unincorporated community
* Gould, Oklahoma, a town
* Gould, West Virginia, an ...
Charge" paint scheme fielded by
Rick Mears
Richard Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951) is an American former race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (197 ...
in the early 1980s. It also resembled
Paul Tracy
Paul Anthony Tracy (born December 17, 1968) is a Canadian professional auto racing driver who participated in Champ Car World Series, the IndyCar Series, and the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). He started kart racing at age five and quick ...
's 1992
Mobil 1
Mobil 1 is a brand of synthetic motor oil and other automotive lubrication products. Originally developed by the Mobil oil company, it is now globally marketed and sold by ExxonMobil.
Mobil 1 engine oil was introduced in 1973. The brand range no ...
-sponsored machine.
*
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
,
2016
2016 was designated as:
* International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
* International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
, and
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
Indy 500s:
Hélio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He competes part-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 06 Dallara-Honda for Meyer Shank Racing. He is one of four drivers to have w ...
Pennzoil
Pennzoil is an American motor oil brand currently owned by Shell plc. The former Pennzoil Company had been established in 1913 in Pennsylvania, being active in business as an independent firm until it was acquired by Shell in 2002, becoming a bra ...
-sponsored car had a special paint scheme, dubbed the "Yellow Submarine" after
Rick Mears
Richard Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951) is an American former race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (197 ...
car. Helio drove the car
in 2014 to second, losing by 0.06 seconds to
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980) is an American professional racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. He currently competes part-time in the IndyC ...
.
Art cars
German manufacturer
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
has a tradition of competing with
arts cars which started in the
1975 24 Hours of Le Mans. Artists such as
David Hockney
David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English Painting, painter, Drawing, draughtsman, Printmaking, printmaker, Scenic design, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considere ...
,
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Fox Lichtenstein ( ; October27, 1923September29, 1997) was an American pop artist. He rose to prominence in the 1960s through pieces which were inspired by popular advertising and the comic book style. Much of his work explores the relations ...
,
Robert Rauschenberg
Milton Ernest "Robert" or "Bob" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combine painting, Combines (1954� ...
,
Frank Stella
Frank Philip Stella (May 12, 1936 – May 4, 2024) was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker, noted for his work in the areas of minimalism and post-painterly abstraction. He lived and worked in New York City for much of his career befor ...
and
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
have contributed to the project. Other teams have done similar liveries, such as
Aston Martin Racing
Aston Martin Racing is a British auto racing team established in 2004 as a partnership between automobile manufacturer Aston Martin and engineering group Prodrive. The partnership was initially created for the purpose of returning Aston ...
and
OAK Racing
OAK Racing is an Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing team specialising in sports prototypes based in Le Mans, France. In 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2013 it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans Prototype, LMP2 class and the 2013 FIA ...
in the
2013 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 81st 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: ''81e 24 Heures du Mans'') was a 24-hour Endurance racing (motorsport), automobile endurance racing event for teams of three drivers entering Le Mans Prototype and LM GTE, Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance ...
.
See also
*
Flame job
A custom car is a passenger vehicle that has been altered to improve its performance, change its aesthetics, or combine both. Some automotive enthusiasts in the United States want to push "styling and performance a step beyond the showroom flo ...
References
External links
Listing with photographs of all special paint schemes used in NASCAR{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704150619/http://www.jayski.com/schemes/paintschemes.htm , date=2018-07-04
Dale Earnhardt Jr Foundation 2010 special paint scheme
Stock car racing
NASCAR terminology
Automotive styling features