“I’ll see you guys next week with the best and worst (so far) of 2011.”
Um... Yeah. Looks like “next week”, for a multitude of reasons I’m sure you don’t want me to get into, turned into two whole months. Sorry about that! But on the bright side, waiting so long DID give me some more choices to look at for this one, so, silver linings and all that jazz.
So, same rules as last time. The top five best and worst schemes revealed so far for the Sprint Cup Series in 2011, in this designer/writer’s eyes. Schemes reused from 2010 are not eligible, since they’ve already been “reviewed”, and I try to keep retros out as well for the same reason, unless one really catches my eye.
So, hit the jump for some pretty sick looking designs, and some not-so-nice ones as well.
Best and Worst Paint Schemes of 2011: Preseason Edition!
Top 5 Best:
#5: #24 AARP
DAYTONA BEACH FL - FEBRUARY 11: Jeff Gordon driver of the #24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet drives during practice for the NASCAR Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway on February 11 2011 in Daytona Beach Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR)
When I heard Jeff would be getting a new main sponsor, I won’t lie, I, like most fans, was curious as to if the new car could top the rainbow or the flames. It doesn’t, but it’s still a nice, sleek entry into Jeff’s huge library of schemes. It’s simple and effective, but still nice too look at. Mainly because of those metallic colors. My only gripe is the dayglo number, but since that’s been a Hendrick thing for years, I can let it slide.
#4: #39 Haas Automation
An on-track photo of this car isn’t available yet. However, a picture of the diecast will be in the comments!
What a turnaround for this scheme! From a very bland and basic black with red and silver stripes look for the last two years, to a much more eyecatching silver and black design this year. When I first saw this car, it was my original pick for best of the preseason. I've always liked what the SHR designers have done for Tony, so it's about time Rocketman got some love from em too. Easily his best look since leaving Penske.
#3: #14 Mobil 1
DAYTONA BEACH FL - FEBRUARY 11: Tony Stewart driver of the #14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet drives during practice for the NASCAR Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway on February 11 2011 in Daytona Beach Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR)
And so far it's an SHR sweep. While I would've preferred to see Mobil 1 go to Ryan for some sweet throwback potential, I'm very happy with this car too. The design is complex enough to be eyecatching, yet simple enough to not distract from the sponsors and such. Add in the coloring, the blue being especially pretty on that black background, and you've got another winner from Tony's boys.
#2: #11 FedEx
DAYTONA BEACH FL - FEBRUARY 11: Denny Hamlin driver of the #11 FedEx Toyota drives on to the track during practice for the NASCAR Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway on February 11 2011 in Daytona Beach Florida. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR)
So, like I said above, the 39 was my favorite preseason scheme for a bit. Then this baby got unveiled. The 11's been a decent looking car since its debut in 2005, but this absolutely trumps everything that team has ever ran. An eyepopping design in the best possible way, and I really don't know where to start when praising it. Definitely on my short list of diecasts to buy in 2011, despite me not being the biggest Hamlin fan in the world.
I seriously love that car a lot, and when I first saw it I said to myself it'd take something pretty incredible to knock it from the top spot. And that "something pretty incredible" is...?
#1: #22 Pennzoil/Shell
DAYTONA BEACH FL - FEBRUARY 11: Kurt Busch driver of the #22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge drives during practice for the NASCAR Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway on February 11 2011 in Daytona Beach Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR)
I don’t know. I just don’t know. Is it the color? I’ve always been partial to red and yellow... Is it the striping? It’s such a simple look, but it looks fantastic here... Is it my Chrysler fanboyism bubbling to the top? I mean, that IS the best the Dodges have looked in years... Or is it all of the above? Whatever it is, there’s something about this car that makes it an absolute beauty to me. And let’s put this in perspective: I wasn’t happy with how Shell left Kevin, and Kurt Busch has always been on my “naughty list”. Yet one of my first tasks when I get to Bristol or Martinsville this year is to buy this diecast, while ignoring the Harvick ones. Well done, Penske. Well done.
There were actually a couple more cars I would’ve loved to have talked about in that last section. This has been a pretty decent year for paint schemes already, and it actually made this next section hard to do! Not that I’m complaining much, mind you. I’ll take tougher selections over a field full of ugly cars any day.
Top 5 Worst
#5: #18 Interstate Gold
An on-track photo of this car isn’t available yet. However, a picture of the diecast will be in the comments!
I like lime green. I like gold. What I don’t like is them being thrown together. They don’t mesh well at all, and it just looks plain bad. I guess about the only positive I can think of about this one is that it at least forces the new filler decal to blend in for once.
#4: #47 Reese Towpower
DAYTONA BEACH FL - FEBRUARY 11: Bobby Labonte driver of the #47 Reese Towpower-Highland Toyota drives on to the track during practice for the NASCAR Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway on February 11 2011 in Daytona Beach Florida. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR)
A relatively inoffensive one... Well, inoffensive to most, at least. For me, it hits one of my pet peeves in design. This idea that you can just take one generic swoop, throw it on the side, and say “DONE!”. If this were a S&P team, like the ones Bobby drove for last season, I could maybe let it slide, but this is a mid-tier team with some money, sponsors, and a former champion behind the wheel. Step it up, JTG!
#3: #9 Stanley/DeWalt
An on-track photo of this car isn’t available yet. However, a picture of the diecast will be in the comments!
Poor, poor Marcos. I know it’s wrong to make fun of The King’s financial woes, but good lord, this car looks so cheap. The number is terrible looking, and makes me wish they’d just kept the old font and cut off the E, and what is with the dueling yellows? Not changing the yellows on the decals to match the car paint just peeves me to no end. Just a terrible effort from RPM.
#2: #5 GoDaddy.com
DAYTONA BEACH FL - FEBRUARY 11: Mark Martin drives the #5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet during practice for the NASCAR Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway on February 11 2011 in Daytona Beach Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Remember last time, when I criticized this car's eye-searing color scheme? Well, I always though it could be made a little more tolerable if they scaled back the color a bit and went with more black. And what did they do? The exact opposite of that! There's MORE of the eye-searing green on the car this year! How can anyone create this thing and be proud of what they're doing to the fans' eyesight?
And now for number one... And again, it'd have to take a doozy to knock the GoDaddy monstrosity from the top spot... But for me, this one hurts my jaded fanboy eyes far more than dayglo green ever could.
#1: #29 Budweiser 
DAYTONA BEACH FL - FEBRUARY 11: Kevin Harvick driver of the #29 Budweiser Chevrolet drives during practice for the NASCAR Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway on February 11 2011 in Daytona Beach Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR)
I think I may have mentioned this before, but if I haven’t, yes, I am a MASSIVE Kevin Harvick fanboy. Have been since he hit the scene. And I can go on and on about how I don’t like the new sponsor or how the black car with 3s wherever they can legally place em adds to the “oh, you’re just Dale’s replacement” stigma and all that, but that’s not entirely the issue here. You see, one of the reasons I’ve been a fan of Kevin’s for so long is his cars. Over his career, he’s had some truly awesome schemes. From the 2002 Taz car, to ANYTHING he drove in 2004/2005, to the breathtaking Pennzoil Platinum car from 2008, he’s had some showstoppers. And that’s my biggest issue here. This is NOT a Kevin Harvick car. At all. It has his name and his number, but that’s it. None of his trademark personality from previous cars has been carried over. It’s just a generic, boring, black car and nothing more, and to this fanboy, that, frankly, sucks.
Yeah, I think I needed that last little rant quite a bit! Anyways, there you go, your preseason best and worst list. Think differently? Probably! So tell me what’s on your mind here in the comments below. Thanks for reading, and I promise, it won’t be two months before you guys hear from me again.
