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Kyle Larson during the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, 5/12/2024 (Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

The Top 10 Paint Schemes of 2024

Joy Tomlinson

Another Cup Series season has come and gone, and the designers did not disappoint. From iconic throwbacks at Darlington Raceway to special themed schemes, the Next Gen cars looked stellar once again.

Before we completely bid adieu to 2024, let’s take a look back at some of the best paint schemes from this past season.

Read all of Frontstretch‘s content looking back on 2024 here

10. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Jockey Outdoors Chevrolet

Photo-esque designs can look great on a Next Gen car, especially when the extra space on the door is used well. Such was the case for Ross Chastain‘s No. 1 from the spring Talladega Superspeedway NASCAR Cup Series race. The Jockey Outdoors by Luke Bryan scheme was well thought out in the placement of each feature, like Bryan and his dog on the hood and the fish in front of the rear wheel.

The number on the door stands out without taking away from the design itself. Plus, “huntin’, fishin’ and lovin’ every day” is set well and readable on the rear bumper. It definitely was a beauty at the 2.66-mile track.

9. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford

From one drafting track to another, Ryan Blaney‘s Advance Auto Parts car at Daytona International Speedway was one clean machine. A black-and-yellow background looked great beneath the red number and white logo.

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It also has a red stripe separating the black and yellow, which really made the two primary colors pop.

Blaney drove this design in three other races, including at Iowa Speedway when he won his first race of the year.

8. Zane Smith, No. 71 Jockey Outdoors/Luke Bryan Chevrolet

Jockey had some really good designs this year across multiple drivers, including Zane Smith. This particular one was run at Nashville Superspeedway and fit the theme of the city. The door had part of a guitar in the background, which suits the area well.

This race was a memorable one for Smith, and not just because of the design. He earned a career-best result of second, finishing just behind Joey Logano.

7. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Castrol Throwback Ford

Some of the better-looking cars were very unique and resembled non-NASCAR cars. Brad Keselowski‘s tribute to the Castrol TMD’s Toyota Supra GT certainly fit that bill.

Its red-and-green curved strips on the hood and sides, as well as the red Castrol logo, looked great on a white background. It’s no wonder why RFK Racing fans voted this one as the best RFK design of the season.

6. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Columbia Sportswear/Star Wars Toyota

Bubba Wallace joined the dark side at Phoenix Raceway, sporting another Star Wars scheme for the second straight year. This time, Darth Vader adorned the side in a silhouette, with red lightsabers on both the door and the hood.

With this special scheme came a special helmet, with black and gray colors. I’m sure fans look forward to more schemes that feature the Star Wars brand.

5. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Quaker State Throwback Chevrolet

This was another unconventional throwback from Darlington, as Daniel Suarez’s No. 99 honored former NTT IndyCar Series driver Adrian Fernandez. It had the same sponsor, Quaker State, and a similar design of the number. It also mimicked the green-and-red background that was on Fernandez’s car.

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The throwback was a popular one, and well-deserved. It’s not every day you see a design that mimics an open-wheel car.

4. Ryan Preece, No. 41 Wonder Bread Ford

Stewart-Haas Racing brought back the Wonder Bread car in the team’s final year. As you may recall, Ryan Preece and Chase Briscoe ran cars similar to ones in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Well, Preece once again drove this design, and it looked great this year as well.

More teams ought to consider running movie-based schemes, but I digress. It was good to see Wonder Bread at Talladega and is one I hope will return someday.

3. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota

Michael Jordan’s Nike poster from 1986 was featured on Tyler Reddick‘s No. 45 at the Chicago street course. The place setting for the design was perfect, as the Chicago skyline also adorned the car.

Jordan’s famous Jumpman pose also looked good on it. The only thing that was a little off was the bright red number, but with such a good design, this scheme deserved spot number three on my ranking.

2. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker ATVs Toyota

In Martin Truex Jr.‘s last race in his full-time career, his Joe Gibbs Racing team honored him with a scheme that threw back to his series debut in 2004.

This design of the dark red background, black number with yellow outline and small yellow stripes just had so much meaning for Truex. It was a good reflection on where he came from to where he ended his career and should be a mark in history.

1. Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Throwback Chevrolet

This was probably the best paint scheme from the Next Gen era, as it resembled Terry Labonte‘s No. 5 from 1996 so well. The Hendrickcars.com was shaped like the Kellogg’s logo, and had the same red, yellow, green and white colors.

Kyle Larson surprised Labonte before he raced it, which made the whole Darlington throwback weekend that much more special. I don’t think there’ll be another scheme that can top this one.

About the author

Joy Tomlinson

Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor and involved with photos, social media and news editing. A California native, Joy was raised watching motorsports and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.

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