While the car itself is obviously the most important aspect of racing in the NASCAR Cup Series, it’s undeniable that the paint scheme can play a huge role in the overall image.
For example, it’s almost impossible to think of the late great Dale Earnhardt Sr. and not picture him driving his black No. 3 Chevrolet Goodwrench with the Richard Childress racing team. The same goes for Jeff Gordon and his rainbow-inspired DuPont Chevy No. 24 with Hendrick Motorsports. Gordon’s cars were so attractive that his nickname became “Rainbow Warrior”.
Because people can’t see a driver’s face during a race, the paint on any driver’s car essentially becomes the easiest way to identify them on the track. Like Earnhardt or Gordon, some of these paint schemes have become part of NASCAR history over the years.
With that in mind, the folks at NASCAR on Fox asked the AI tool ChatGPT to come up with 10 of the most iconic paint schemes in Cup history. Take a look at the results.
First up is Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet Lowe, which he drove for Hendrick Motorsports from 2001 to 2020.
Johnson had great success in the #48 car with 83 Cup Series wins and seven points in NASCAR.
This was followed by the #42 Mello Yello Pontiac, driven by Kyle Petty in the early to mid-1990s. Peak Antifreeze was the primary sponsor of the No. 42 car when Petty signed with SABCO Racing (now Chip Ganassi Racing) in 1989, but Mello Yello took over in 1991.
One would think that the overall popularity of this particular livery scheme is directly related to Rising Thunder since Tom Cruise also wore the exact same livery in the film.
In 1990, Rusty Wallace drove the #27 Miller Genuine Draft for Raymond Beadle’s Blue Max Racing team. But when his contract expired after the 1990 season, Wallace moved to Team Penske (now Team Penske) and removed Miller’s sponsorship.
Over the next few years, the No. 2 Pontiac Miller Genuine Draft became one of the most popular cars in the Cup Series. It certainly didn’t hurt that Wallace had 37 Cup victories with the No. 2 team, including 10 in the 1993 season alone.
You wouldn’t think the most iconic livery in NASCAR Cup Series history wouldn’t include Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 8 Budweiser, would you?
From 1999 to 2007, Junior drove the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc., winning 17 Cup Series races including the 2004 Daytona 500 before moving up to 88th with Hendrick Motorsports.
Bill Elliott used 18 different numbers during his 37-year career in the NASCAR Cup Series, most notably for his work with Melling Racing in the No. 9 Ford.
Elliott was fully sponsored by the Coors in 1984 and won three times that season. He won 11 races the following year, including another victory at the Daytona 500 in 1987 and his only Hall of Fame title in 1988.
Rounding out the top five is Bobby Ellison and his No. 22 car, which he drove in various organizations during his NASCAR career and matched his number multiple times thanks to Miller’s sponsorship of the new team.
In total, Ellison played in 215 Cup Series games in the No. 22 jersey, more than any number he had ever used, and earned 17 checkered flags with it.
To start with, Darrell Waltrip has won nearly three times as many races in the #11 (43) car as he has in the #17 (15) car. Of the 15 victories for the No. 17 car, only nine came with Tide.
You see, from 1987 to 1990 Waltrip only ran Tide for Hendrick Motorsports. Although he took the number 17 car when he formed his team, Tide did not follow suit.
However, ChatGPT seems to consider it the fourth most iconic paint scheme in NASCAR Cup Series history. I guess AI is not always right, is it?
Jeff Gordon drove the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in every race of his NASCAR Cup Series career except for eight races later in his career in the No. 88. To be exact, a total of 797 games were played.
In those 797 races, Rainbow Warrior took the checkered flag 93 times and won four points titles. As mentioned in the intro, it’s impossible to think of Gordon without thinking of his rainbow-inspired cars.
Although Dale Earnhardt Sr. used nine different numbers during his 27-year career in the NASCAR Cup Series, he will always be remembered for driving the No. 3 Goodwrench Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.
The Intimidator won 67 of that famous Game 3, winning all but nine of his 76 career cup series wins. Earnhardt also finished third, his sixth in the championship with seven points.
Conspiracy theory that Richard Petty’s 200th and final NASCAR Cup Series win was played out by the presence of a special guest
Last but not least, we come to the number one car on the list, Richard Petty’s famous STP #43 car.
Although the “King” used several different numbers and paint schemes during his 35-year NASCAR career, he started 1,125 of 1,184 Cup Series races and competed in 200 races with the No. 43 car, scoring 192 victories. Basically everything.
So what do you think? Did ChatGPT correctly list the 10 most iconic paint schemes for the NASCAR Cup Series?
Post time: Jul-12-2023