Special paint schemes on racing cars

Did You Know?

• The first special paint schemes in NASCAR were at the 1991 Daytona 500, where five unsponsored drivers had cars paying tribute to branches of the U.S. Armed Forces serving in Operation Desert Storm.
• Several cars used patriotic paint schemes for the 2001 MBNA Cal Ripken Jr. 400, the first race after the September 11 attacks.
• German manufacturer BMW has a tradition of art cars starting at the 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans, with contributions from artists such as David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol.

Popular themes

Custom paint schemes frequently highlight special events. An associate sponsor may become the primary sponsor for selected races, especially if that sponsor is also sponsoring the race. Sports teams are a common theme: at the 2001 MBNA Cal Ripken Jr. 400, Bobby Labonte drove a Ripken-themed Pontiac Grand Prix; at the 2007 Lenox Industrial Tools 300, Carl Edwards used a Boston Red Sox car, and David Ragan had a similar car the next year. InBev, sponsor of Kasey Kahne's No. 9, fielded a white car with Olympic rings for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Charities also inspire schemes: Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran a JR Foundation car at the 2010 and 2012 All-Star races; The Home Depot fielded Kaboom-themed cars for Joey Logano and Tony Stewart; Lowe's runs a 'Power of Pride' car benefiting the USO; Dale Jarrett raced a reverse paint scheme in 1999 for breast cancer research. Cartoon characters have appeared, such as the Muppets in 2002 and Looney Tunes in 2001 and 2002. Rock bands like 3 Doors Down have been featured on cars driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart.

Movie themes

Movie-themed cars are considered well-suited to special paint schemes because of the short-term nature of a film's box office run. A sponsor involved in a movie may arrange for the car to reflect the film, or a film studio may work directly with a driver. Examples include The Passion of the Christ on Bobby Labonte's car at the 2004 Daytona 500; Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines driven once by Jamie McMurray; a full green Hulk scheme driven once by Bobby Labonte; Shrek and Shrek the Third schemes driven by Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart, David Gilliland, and Tony Raines; The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie scheme driven by Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch in 2004; I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry on Kasey Kahne's car at the 2007 Pepsi 400; Batman Forever on Bill Elliott's car in 1995; Jurassic Park schemes driven by Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart, and Jeff Gordon (Gordon's 1997 All-Star Race winner known as 'T-Rex'); Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on Kyle Busch's car in 2008; Click driven by Kasey Kahne to victory in 2006; Herbie: Fully Loaded driven by Dale Jarrett in 2005; The Dark Knight Rises on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s winning car in 2012; Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith on Jeff Gordon's winning car in 2005; Minions on Carl Edwards's car in 2015; and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice on cars driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson in 2016.

Throwback themes

Throwback paint schemes, celebrating past driver accomplishments, have gained popularity. Darrell Waltrip, in 1997, had cars painted to resemble different cars from his career, and a special chrome car was also designed. Various teams have created throwback designs for Waltrip, though none reflected his time at Hendrick Motorsports; for his last full-time broadcast race, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Denny Hamlin drove cars based on Waltrip's 1992 Southern 500 win. Jeff Gordon's 2004 All-Star Challenge car resembled his 1992–2000 'Rainbow Warriors' livery; Axalta ran the same livery with current logos at the 2015 Irwin Tools Night Race, and it was used again by William Byron in 2018 at Darlington. In 2009, Gordon drove a replica of Waltrip's 1983 'Pepsi Challenger' at the Aaron's 499, though Waltrip had used a white design at that same event in 1983. At the 2016 Darlington retro round, Gordon drove a Buddy Baker 'Grey Ghost' scheme, which Dale Earnhardt Jr. later used at the 2017 October Martinsville race with contemporary logos.

IndyCar Series

IndyCar Series cars have also used special paint schemes, though less frequently than in NASCAR. Many are retro or tribute schemes depicting notable past cars, often with current sponsors' decals. At the 2000 Indianapolis 500, Andy Hillenburg fielded a throwback entry named the Sumar Special, referencing Pat O'Connor's 1957 pole-winning car. Billy Boat's 2001 entry resembled Parnelli Jones's 1962 'Calhoun' car. Ryan Briscoe's 2007 entry was painted to resemble Rick Mears's 1988 winning car. Marco Andretti's 2008 car promoted Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Oriol Servià's 2009 DAFCA Special resembled Dan Gurney's 1968 Olsonite Eagle. Will Power drove a retro Penske Truck Rental livery in 2009. Sarah Fisher's 2010 final race featured a pink Dollar General car for breast cancer awareness. Hélio Castroneves's 2011 AAA car resembled the 'Gould Charge' scheme. Castroneves also ran a 'Yellow Submarine' Pennzoil scheme at the 2014, 2016, and 2018 Indy 500s.