The Crittenden Automotive Library

NASCAR Decals Through the Ages

Topics: NASCAR

NASCAR Decals Through the Ages

Lucy Wyndham
7 February 2020

Despite a slight dip in attendance recently, NASCAR remains the most popular motorsport in the USA. The sights, speed, and sound at a race is unlike anything else you will ever experience making it not surprising that every race attracts an average of 60,000 attendees. While die-hard NASCAR fans often count down the days until the next big race, the drivers are equally as thrilled as they watch their stock cars being built up from the ground and transformed into glorious speed-machines. The days of simply slapping a few layers of paint on a stock car to make it look reasonably-presentable are long over. Today, each car gets an expert paint job before it is personalized using the colors, logos, and decals of its sponsors which not only makes the racing landscape a lot more colorful but also puts a huge smile on the faces of said sponsors.

A lot has changed in the world of NASCAR paint jobs

While the purpose of a NASCAR race hasn’t changed, its look most definitely has. One-color, single-sponsor cars have made way for speeding billboards in an array of bright colors and sporting countless brand names. The first season of what has since become known as the Monster Energy NASCAR CUP, which was held back in 149, was a dull affair. Red Byron’s Oldsmobile sported nothing but his number (22) and the name of his one and only sponsor, Parks Novelty. Both the number and the name were rather haphazardly painted on the car by hand. Seventy years later, in 2019, Joey Logano’s Ford (which, ironically, is also a No 22) was donned in Ford blue, deep red, canary yellow, and a variety of other colors together with the names of no less than 26 sponsors.

Designs are becoming more vibrant and intricate

Over recent years, stock car decals have become increasingly intricate. Where cars used to sport little more decorative detail than a number and a few racing stripes, many current cars are nothing short of artworks on wheels. Some of the most striking cars ever to grace a NASCAR circuit donned Timber Wolf Racing’s bright blue and green colors along with bold lettering and eye-catching graphics of an animal that is admired and feared – the wolf. More During the 2019 season, William Byron’s No 24 car for the July race at Daytona featured a white body, fades, flames, and glitter and has been hailed one of the most beautiful stock cars in history. Unfortunately, the masterpiece never made it into the actual race as Byron crashed during the practice run after being hit from behind by none other than Brad Keselowski.

Everything is not always as it seems

Apart from the car number and sponsor names, one of the most common decals found on a stock car comes in the form of head- and brake lights. As stock cars don’t need lights, they rarely have them. NASCAR, however, is very big on the promotion of its sponsors and manufacturers, who all tend to have very distinctive lights. For this reason, many drivers choose to use decals to make their cars look as realistic as possible to make it as easy as possible for fans and sponsors alike to identify the make and model of the car. While not all drivers do this, those who do have found that their efforts are very well-received by the racing community as a whole.

NASCAR has come a long way since stock cars were one color and largely un-sponsored. Considering the rapid rate at which graphic design and printing are evolving, the future of NASCAR looks very colorful indeed.