One core memory for me as a kid was going into my grandpa’s shop hidden down my grandparents long driveway. Inside were showroom quality Chevrolet C/K series trucks, tractor pulling awards, playboy calendars and all the Earnhardt merchandise you could imagine. He was a mechanics mechanic, and about as blue collar as you can get.

Tucked away in a small corner of the shop was a small office he built for himself. Among the stacks of invoices from his local mechanic business were rows and rows of various NASCAR diecasts. Many Earnhardt and his son, but some gems like Buddy Baker or The King.

I spent hours meticulously studying the cars and their paint schemes. The creativity and inspiration the artists used to create these amazing machines really captivated me, and hey, many had sponsors for things I either actively used or wanted.

For a small city kid who liked rap music and football, these were my gateways into the world of stock car racing. Those memories mean a lot to me, and I decided why not get that desire to study paint schemes back and apply it to the page?

So, I’d like to introduce The Peak of The Paint Booth, a bi-weekly series focusing on the best paint schemes for drivers in the last two races. The way I’ll rank this is per driver, so it’ll come down to having two good schemes rather than one stellar one and one bad one (i’m working on this alright).

#5. Joey Logano

Coming in at five is ole smiles himself, Joey Logano. In a somewhat rare instance, Logano ran two different Shell Pennzoil schemes at Daytona and Atlanta, both making some changes that I love. First we have the Daytona scheme that took the gradient from Josef Newgarden’s back to back Indy 500, and man do I absolutely love it.

Usually gradient is an easy way to get me to say no (see: Atlanta Falcons) however on a racecar it’s really sleek. It helps that this scheme has pedigree and history behind it, but I’d like to factor those things in anyway to these lists.

It’s a fun nod to the entire organization, shame the streak ended when Logano met Barry R in the Great American Race.

He followed Daytona up with what seems to be 2025’s Shell Pennzoil car. I really like the changes they’ve made to the design overall. Instead of having a stripe on the fender going down to the side skirt, they’ve added more modern stripes around the car, including some black ones that really pair well with the skirts and rims. Subtle changes but it earns him the first spot.

#4. Denny Hamlin

It’s been a rough go sponsorship wise for Dennis Hamlin and the entire #11 team in 2025. FedEx announced their departure from JGR last season after a slow exit, and Mavis Tires and Brakes has pulled back from sponsorship after two seasons. Despite this, his first two schemes of the season were pretty great, with his Yahoo scheme from Atlanta really wowing me.

The three time Daytona 500 champion found National Debt Relief as a primary for this year’s edition of the race, and it ended up being a pretty good scheme all in all. The space could’ve been used better by the sponsor, but the colors and patriotic design never fail and turn out well on this hot rod.

The reason Denny even makes this list at all is the new 2025 Yahoo scheme he ran at Atlanta. Whoever designed that car made some fire.

The choice to stretch out “yahoo” and make it look like the slogan itself is not only clever but conventional, as it takes up a perfect amount of space on the car. The two tone purple is a great new addition as well.

Overall, Yahoo as a sponsor has much more character in 2025 and this car screams it.

#3. Noah Gragson

Noah Gragson’s switch to the #4 of Front Row Motorsports this season has presented a lot of if’s for the young Cup Series driver, but the paint schemes are not one of them at all.

One interesting note about the car is that it looks identical to the #4 SHR cars from seasons past, which has taken some getting used to.

Regardless, he started off the season at Daytona with Rush Truck Centers remaining a big supporter of his, and they cooked some major fire with their new scheme. I love the colors first and foremost, but the stripes coming from the hood are fantastic in contrast along with the V shape that starts at the bottom of the hood being a mean addition as well.

My one gripe would have to be the Rush logo in general. The block logo works on the hood but can’t take enough space up on the side panel.

His follow up scheme at Atlanta by sponsor TitleMax gave me some major Captain America vibes and I absolutely love the colors chosen here. Space is used effectively around the car and the way the cherry red contrasts with the blue is phenomenal. I don’t even know what TitleMax is but it earns a spot on the list for this banger of a scheme.

#2. John Hunter Nemechek/Legacy MC

Legacy MC is such an interesting team to me, they’re a very forgotten Toyota team in the land of Joe Gibbs Racing and the surging 23XI. What was once Petty Motorsports is long gone, with only the number font on the cars remaining of his influence.

Nonetheless, Jimmie Johnson’s team still has hype around it with drivers like Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek, and their cars absolutely flash on the track.

John Hunter has run his 2025 Dollar Tree scheme for the entire season with minor associate sponsor changes, and it’s HOT. I mean man, it checks all the boxes off for me.

The kelly green with gold accents is fantastic and the stripe going along the bottom is great. Dollar Tree is also a sponsor that people may pass by everyday, it’s a very welcoming scheme and sponsor to new fans of the sport and I love that

Now of course, I can’t break my rule and give him a spot for running the same scheme three times, so I have to give a shoutout to Erik Jones and owner Jimmie Johnson’s schemes this year as well. Erik Jones’ blacked out Family Dollar scheme from the Clash is very sleek, along with his new AdventHealth scheme from the past two races, the bronze trim on the Petty font is well done.

Jimmie ran a Shaq/Carvana scheme at Daytona that is a clear callback to the old Orlando Magic uniforms that O’Neil himself wore back in the 90s. What a fun sponsorship too, a great way to attract new fans and fans of other sports with a recognizable style. Finished third place in the 500 too!

#1. Bubba Wallace

I know it seems like I’m just throwing my driver in a piece because I want to again, but can this choice really be argued? The designers of the 23 car in the clash and the first two races have knocked it out of the park.

The Leidos scheme was a nice way to start, but the team has really cooked the first two regular season races of 2025. The 2025 McDonald’s scheme has been given a little more character than 2024’s. The steady rise of the sponsors’ schemes since the 2023 abomination is nice to see, and a return to form for them.

The scheme retains the concept of racing stripes as a sleeve of fries, but this time the fries are flying out of the sleeve with ketchup on them (Hilarious sentence to write) and it’s not only clever but very functional. The red and black is a timeless choice, and i’m happy to see that we’ve moved on from the minimalistic grey that haunted the car a few years ago.

Wallace followed that up with his simply unbelievable 2025 Columbia scheme. Straight from the 80s, the neon pink and blue design on the black is a sure eye catcher, and I always knew where my driver was in the race this past weekend.

Columbia is also an Oregon product, which I am heavily biased towards. All in all it’s a great scheme for the sponsor and I’m hoping the diecast makes MOQ (2023 All Star race did not, which was a similar car).

Hopefully the heat that shows up to the track is reflected in his performances.

If you made it this far, thanks so much for reading. I’d like to keep this series bi-weekly as it’s truly a ton of fun to write. I absolutely love diving into these schemes and dissecting them. Thanks for reading!