Racing Design Blog

Remembering Kenny Irwin Jr.

It was nine years ago today that the racing world lost one of its rising stars, and I lost a friend. On this day in 2000, Kenny Irwin Jr. raced his last lap in practice at the New Hampshire track. Kenny's loss was just one in a series of tragic accidents that affected the NASCAR family and has had the tendency to get lost in the shuffle as time has passed by.

I had the good fortune of getting to know Kenny through my association with Hasbro and the Winner's Circle brand. Kenny had driven cars sponsored by Winner's Circle in 1997 and many of the people I worked with there had the good fortune to work closely with him that season. It was in October of 1998, after joining the Winner's Circle team, that I got the chance to meet Kenny Irwin at an event at the headquarters of Action-Performance in Charlotte. This was the weekend that Kenny and Dale Jarrett were participating in the Batman and Joker promotion.

I had long been a fan of the famous RYR Texaco Havoline #28 and was a fan of Kenny's as soon as it was announced that he would drive the car in 1998. Prior to my association with Hasbro, I was your typical NASCAR fan who loved his driver, wore his gear each Sunday and had his number on the back window of my car. I was extremely excited to know that I was going to attend this special event in Charlotte, knowing many drivers would be there. As the night went on, I had the chance to meet Kenny and a group of his close associates. When I introduced myself to him, I whipped out my Kenny Irwin Fan Club card and he was quite surprised to see it. I had a few minutes to talk with him and he invited me to look for him the next day at the track.

Over the rest of the 1998 season, I would see Kenny at the track when I was there and he always had a smile and a kind word. He would signal me from the car when he was heading out to practice and would always invite me to come into his pit stall to watch the race. He always had a smile and took some time to chat each time we were around.

 When I rolled into Daytona for the first part of Speedweeks in 1999, I was the proud owner of a NASCAR hard card. Kenny was quite impressed at the site of my new found stature. Over the course of the 1999 season, Kenny would again be the friendly face I would look for each time I was at the track. At Martinsville in late 1999, Kenny broke the news to me that he would be moving over to drive the #42 for the 2000 season. He even asked if I would take a shot at designing some paint schemes for him. Later that season in Charlotte, Kenny had us stop by his motor coach to look over some ideas and watch the Busch race. That was a really great moment.

Over the years, I was privileged to have designed t-shirts and logos for Kenny's Fan Club. In 2000, he had me do his t-shirt design featuring the #42 car he would be driving for that season. When we arrived at Daytona in 2000, I could see a new spirit in his eyes, looking forward to a new start for the 2000 season. He seemed full of optimism and ready to get the season going. I would see him a few times as the season wore on as I traveled to the track. At Richmond that summer, I got a chance to spend some time with him on pit road and talked about how his season was going and about how well he had done at that track in the past. Little did I know that it would be the last time I would ever get the chance to talk with him.

I was in Daytona for the July race but I was never able to catch up with him that weekend. My schedule was full of events and though I was able to give a wave hello as I passed him in a car, I never got the chance to talk with him. I figured that I would just catch up with him at the next event I traveled to. I listened in on Kenny during the race that night, and then made my way back home like I had so many times before.

I was working a summer hours half day on Friday, July 7, 2000. I had just gotten home from Hasbro at lunchtime when I got a call from a family member telling me to turn on the news. I can't even describe the feelings I had when I heard the news that Kenny had been lost in a practice accident. I had never felt such a profound feeling of unexpected loss.

Kenny Irwin Jr. was a driver who had so much talent and opportunity in front of him. We never knew the heights that he may have achieved in his career. On July 7, 2000, the sport of NASCAR not only lost a great future talent, but a warm, kind person as well. Each and every July 7th, I continue to pray for his family and send them my words of encouragement. I will never forget Kenny Irwin Jr. and the simple acts of friendship he showed to me. I want to make sure that the name Kenny Irwin Jr. is never forgotten and will always do everything I can to keep his memory alive in the minds of NASCAR fans.

In honor of Kenny Irwin Jr., you can do something that can make a difference. In his memory today, please visit the Kenny Irwin Jr. Foundation's website and make a donation. The Dare to Dream camp was started by Kenny's parents, Kenny Sr. and Reva Irwin and the camp provides a special place for kids in need to experience things they might not otherwise be able to do. This would be a great way to honor the memory of Kenny Irwin Jr. on this July 7th.

Monday Morning Breakdown: Tuesday Edition

Well, the Coca Cola 600 became the race that just would not quit. After a Sunday night of waiting, the rain finally got the best of the event and it was postponed until Monday. This was bad news for the fans in the stands who spent a long day at the track hoping to see racing action. The news was OK for those who were watching from home, as they would now have a race to watch with the family on a Monday holiday.

The event got off to a good start, but was plagued by rain off and on all day long. Most fans wondered if this event was even going to make it to the halfway mark or if the teams would be returning on Tuesday to finish up. As the event neared the halfway mark, NASCAR did something very unusual and silenced the cars at 3:00 in honor of Memorial Day. The tribute was an outstanding gesture to those who we honored on Monday, but could have really affected the ability of the race to reach halfway with rain threatening.

The event finally restarted and made it to half way. By not pitting, David Reutimann gained the lead just prior to the rain delay. This proved to be the most important move of the day, as the race never restarted due to rain, and Reutimann was declared the winner of the event a few hours later when NASCAR determined that the race had gone long enough. The rain just wouldn't let go and the race finally came to an end, well short of the finish.

On the paint scheme front, the race featured a few special looks. The #48 of Jimmie Johnson carried an appropriate patriotic look for the Memorial Day event. The car's design featured the names of the 12,548 Lowe's employees who are military veterans or reservists. The rest of the design was inspired by Chad Knaus, who recalled the red, white and blue schemes his father used to drive in Rockford, Illinois.

Kurt Busch competed in the Coca Cola 600 with the same special Miller Lite Taste Protector Lid scheme he raced last week in the All-Star event. The #16 of Greg Biffle featured the Red Cross on the hood of his Roush-Fenway #16. The #43 of Reed Sorensen carried the colors of the US Air Force. Matt Kenseth took to the track in special colors for R&L Carriers.

The Coca Cola 600 (or actually the Coca Cola 340.5) was certainly not the event everyone was looking forward to, due to the numerous rain interruptions. NASCAR now turns its attention to a meeting of the drivers, owners, and NASCAR officials at the Research and Development center in Concord. The sport faces uncertainty in the auto industry, sponsor loss from the economic downturn, boring racing, Car of Tomorrow issues, recent drug policy violations, sinking TV ratings, low race attendance and the lack of noteworthy personalities in the sport. There are many issues facing NASCAR, and hopefully this meeting will shed some light on how the sport plans to handle them.

Memorial Day

Please take some time today to remember the sacrifices of the heroes who gave their lives to give us the opportunity to live free in the greatest country on earth.

And enjoy the race!

NASCAR News: Coca-Cola Ignites Summer BBQ Season With Quarter-Mile Grill

Photo Credit: Worth Canoy
(Left to right) NASCAR stars Kyle Petty and Bobby Labonte join Food Network chef Tyler Florence to ignite the nation’s longest grill, officially kicking off summer barbecue season on Friday, May 22. Measuring an astonishing 1,320 feet, the oval-shaped ring of fire can cook 30,000 hot dogs at a time, requires 7,000 pounds of charcoal and would span the length of four football fields if stretched end to end.  The monster-sized grill was the centerpiece of the Coca-Cola Quarter-Mile Cookout, a special event to celebrate the start of the summertime Memorial Day weekend.  Chef Florence and members of the Coca-Cola Racing Family of NASCAR drivers cooked up a free feast for thousands of fans in Concord, NC for the 50th running of the Coca Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

What ever happened to Dale Earnhardt's Taz car?

For the 2000 Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt took to the track in a special #3 car featuring the famous Looney Tunes character Taz. The Taz character was part of a GM Goodwrench advertising campaign at the time. The car featured a red paint scheme with Taz on the hood. The number 3 on the roof was day-glo red, indicating Dale's inclusion in the Winston million dollar promotion. Dale ran well all day in this car but was involved in a late race incident that left him in the 21st position.

After the race, you would think that this car might end up in a museum or on display somewhere. Surely the car's shell would be immortalized in someone's collection? Well, at first, that was not the case. This photo shows the shell of the Taz car behind the race shops of Richard Childress Racing. The car's shell was not sitting in a museum, but was sitting in some tall grass outside the race shop.

That year, the design team at Hasbro was looking for a unique product idea that would bring a part of the race to the fans. The idea was to bring a piece of the actual race car and deliver it to the collectors of Winner's Circle products. The team found out about this piece of NASCAR history wasting away behind the RCR shop and decided to purchase it. The team had the body of the car shipped to its facility in the Cincinnati area and began a process to deliver pieces of the car to the fans. The product was eventually called the Team Authentics Series.

The car was shipped with the entire body in place. No chassis or motor, just the shell, windows and all. The Winner's Circle team disassembled the car and began a complicated process that would divide the sheetmetal into 1 inch squares that would be placed inside Winner's Circle product. The hood, windows, nose, rear and roof flaps were removed and the remaining sheetmetal was used to create the squares. The squares were then placed inside a plastic container and were included with a 1/64th scale diecast with the Taz car paint scheme.

The Team Authentics product was randomly inserted into packages of regular Winner's Circle product in 2001. The series also included other drivers and in addition to sheetmetal, there was a set that included swatches of drivers' uniforms as well. Of all of the Team Authentics pieces, none had more history than the Dale Earnhardt Taz car set. In a way, the Taz car no longer exists, but in another way, it lives on because it is now in the hands of Dale Earnhardt fans everywhere.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Sports Illustrated Covers

In a stick-and-ball sports world, it is sometimes difficult for NASCAR to crack the mainstream sports media and be considered on par with the other major sports. One way to know that your sport is being accepted by the masses is to have it featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Today we'll take a look at a few times the Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been featured on the cover of the country's premier stick-and-ball sports magazine.

This issue of Sports Illustrated hit the shelves on December 13, 2003. The issue was the special collector's issue commemorating the 2003 NASCAR season and previewing the 2004 season. The cover features Dale Earnhardt Jr. in his Budweiser colors from the 2003 season. The image on the cover is particularly interesting because it features an image of Dale Earnhardt in Junior's sunglass lense. The image is a striking reminder of the legacy that Dale Earnhardt Jr. has to uphold and the pressures that come with it.

This next cover ran on December 5, 2007, as the season review for 2007 and preview for 2008. The cover features Dale Earnhardt Jr. with his new teammates at Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears. The headline on the cover features Hendrick Motorsports as the team to beat in 2008. The news of Dale Jr.'s arrival at Hendrick was big enought to propel him to the cover of SI again.

This next Dale Earnhardt Jr. cover ran on February 18, 2008 just prior to Dale Jr.'s debut in the Amp Energy Hendrick Motorsports #88. The image features a relaxed Dale Jr. on the hood of his new Amp Energy ride. Again, the news of Dale's departure from Dale Earnhardt Inc. and his arrival at Hendrick Motorsports was important enough to grab the cover of Sports Illustrated one more time. The headline is "Time to Win?" in anticipation of Dale Jr.'s potential success with Hendrick Motorsports.

Classic Paint Schemes: Dale Earnhardt All-Star History

In honor of NASCAR's All-Star Weekend, today's Classic Paint Schemes takes a look at the man who started the All-Star special paint scheme craze and the special schemes he drove in the race over the years. In 1995, Dale Earnhardt arrived at the Winston in a special all silver GM Goodwrench Chevrolet that was commemorating Winston's 25 years as the title sponsor of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Racing Design Blog profiled this famous car here. This all silver GM Goodwrench Chevrolet definitely set the standard that was to become the special paint scheme craze at the All-Star race.

In 1996, Dale participated in All-Star Weekend with a #3 Chevrolet featuring the colors of the 1996 Summer Olympics. The 1996 Olympics were held in Atlanta and this paint scheme was to celebrate the event. The scheme featured a solid blue front with red and white stripes down the back, creating a truly classic USA look. The famous #3 was featured in silver, rather than its traditional white.

For the 1997 all-Star Race, Dale Earnhardt drove a special paint scheme featuring Wheaties. This special paint scheme saw the famous #3 take on an orange base color with the familiar Wheaties brand logo on the hood.

In 1998, Dale's famous #3 arrived in Charlotte for the All-Star race featuring sponsorship from Bass Pro Shops. The car featured a paint scheme based in black and gold. The sponsorship was a natural for Dale Earnhardt, who was an avid outdoorsman. The Bass Pro Shops sponsorship is still associated with the Dale Earnhardt Inc. team today, as the primary sponsor for Martin Truex Jr. and the #1.

The car that Dale drove in the 1999 event brought back many special memories for long-time Dale Earnhardt fans. Dale took to the track under the Charlotte lights with a scheme that featured his early career sponsor Wrangler. This car's paint scheme was a familiar look that Dale had used for many years prior to the GM Goodwrench sponsorship. More information on Dale's Wrangler era cars can be found here.

The 2000 event was the last that Dale would paticipate in. For that race, Dale drove what was perhaps the strangest combination of sponsor and driver in NASCAR history. The car featured a brightly colored scheme designed by famed artist Peter Max. The car's bright colors and use of the color pink made this scheme a controversial one that received very mixed reviews during that race weekend. Racing Design Blog profiled this famous paint scheme pairing here.

Classic Paint Schemes: NASCAR and the King of Rock-n-Roll

In today's Classic Paint Schemes we take a look at the times that the King, Elvis Presley, has graced the panels of a NASCAR race car. The image of Elvis has been featured several times, especially when paired with the race in Las Vegas. Here is a look at a few of the appearances on the track for the King of Rock-n-Roll in NASCAR.

In 1998, the King made an appearance of the car of Rusty Wallace at the inaugural event in Las Vegas. The hood of the #2 Miller Lite Ford featured a classic image of the King and a piano pattern around the bottom. This special paint scheme was a popular one since it coincided with the first race in the city well known Elvis.

Rusty Wallace's car featured Elvis a few more times. This Elvis Presley scheme ran on his Miller Lite Ford in 2002, again at Las Vegas. This car featured a 1970's Elvis on the hood and images of a younger Elvis on the sides. The car featured navy and silver base colors on the car that were split by a musical note pattern.

In 2004 there was a Bill Elliott car that featured Elvis to be run in the Busch Series. This Elvis car featured the theme "He Dared to Rock". This car featured a black base paint scheme with a stylized image of a young Elvis on the hood. Again, the design featured a musical note pattern down the sides of the car.

In 2007, Dale Earnhardt Jr. got into the Elvis act a bit with a special # 8 Elvis Cherolet that ran at Richmond in September. The theme of the car was an Elvis 30th Anniversary. The white based paint scheme featured a black and white image of a 1968 Comeback Special era Elvis on the hood and rear quarterpanels along with primary sponsor Budweiser.

In 2009, Motorsports Authentics created a show car that featured the pairing of two of the most legendary names in American history. This special #3 car featured the images of Elvis Presley and Dale Earnhardt. This car never ran on the track, but was created to celebrate the lives of these two American icons. The car is loaded with Elvis imagery and also features an image of Dale Earnhardt as well.

NASCAR fans and Elvis fans are a natural match and any time the King of Rock-n-Roll makes an appearance on a NASCAR race car it is always a popular promotion.

Paint Scheme Profile: Darlington Preview

Today's Paint Scheme Profile takes a look at the cars that will be running special colors this Saturday night at Darlington. Each week there are many cars on the track in unfamiliar colors and we will take a look at them so you can identify them under the Darlington lights.

Denny Hamlin will be running the race without his familiar FedEx colors on the car. The #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota will be featuring a Farm Bureau Insurance paint scheme. This will be the first time since the 2005 Daytona 500 that a car will not be featuring FedEx as the primary sponsor.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will bring the colors of Mountain Dew to the track this weekend. We've discussed this scheme in the past and it is a really nice look for the #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet. The hood features the new Mtn Dew logo that the company debuted earlier this year on a black background. The primary color of black is complimented by silver and Mtn Dew green. This paint scheme should be one of the best under the lights on Saturday night and it is always great to see an Earnhardt driving a black car.

Clint Bowyer's #33 RCR Chevrolet will be featuring BB&T as it's primary sponsor. The familiar colors of Cheerios move to the rear quarterpanels and BB&t takes over the primary look. The car has a very simple design and the company logo on the hood is very easy to read.

The #19 of Elliott Sadler will be running the Stanley Tools paint scheme. Stanley Tools shares the car with Best Buy. The car is all black with some Stanley Tools yellow flames on the nose and sides. This is another clean look that features the sponsor very well. Flamed covered hot rods are all the rage, and this car is a nice example.

There will be several other cars at Darlington in special paint this weekend. The #24 of Jeff Gordon will return to the silver and black National Guard colors. The #43 of Reed Sorensen will feature a special Valvoline paint scheme that will be a tribute to crew chiefs and will honor legendary crew chief Dale Inman. Carl Edwards hits the track in a special scheme promoting the Disney/Pixar movie "Up".

David Stremme returns to the track in his Star Trek colors from last weekend at Richmond. The car promotes the new Star Trek movie that opens this weekend. Hopefully Scotty will install some better shields on it this weekend! Marcos Ambrose and the #47 team will run the Bush's Baked Beans sponsorship again at Darlington. Mark Martin runs the Cheez-it colors again this week as well. Bobby Labonte's #96 will feature Academy Sports and Outdoors as it's primary sponsor.

Classic Paint Schemes: Dale Earnhardt Brickyard 400 1999

Today's Classic Paint Schemes takes a look back at the Brickyard 400 in 1999 and the GM Goodwrench Chevrolet driven by Dale Earnhardt that day. The GM Goodwrench car did not have its normal Goodwrench logo on the hood, but featured a graphic of the GM Goodwrench Service sign that you might see in front of a Chevrolet dealership. The sign graphic replaced the traditional hood logo that had become Dale's signature look at the Brickyard 400 in 1999.

The look was a drastic departure from what fans had come to expect for a Dale Earnhardt #3 car. The #3 featured the word "Plus" in red on the hood for the 1998 season. The #3 returned to the basic GM Goodwrench logo prominently on the black hood in 1999, with the only real change being the addition of the word "Plus" at the end. The use of the sign gave the #3 a very different look and was drastically different than anything Dale Earnhardt fans had seen before.

The debut of the new hood logo was not the only "design" related news from that race weekend. The real news that was buzzing around the track that weekend was the news that Dale had shaved off his famous mustache and changed his personal "design" a bit. Not only did the car have a new look, but the person with the most famous mustache in America was sporting a new look as well. Dale apparently shaved the mustache while vacationing just prior to that race weekend and showed up at the Brickyard with a fresh new look. The move created quite a buzz and Dale spent the weekend with an entirely new look that fans had not seen since early in his racing career. The mustache quickly returned in the following weeks, but that Brickyard 400 weekend will go down in history as one where Dale Earnhardt not only arrived with a new look on his car, but a new personal style as well.