Sam’s Schemes: Previewing the Best (and Worst) Paint Schemes at Darlington This Week
· Yahoo Sports
The final Crown Jewel of the 2026 season is here: the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, and we’ve got some paint schemes to review. Let’s take a look at some of the premier paint jobs that will ride around Darlington on Sunday.
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“Did They Wrap This in the Dark?” Award (Worst Scheme of the Week): Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota.
Thankfully, there aren’t really any eyesores to speak of this week for the start of the Chase, but I’ve got a bone to pick with the Sports Clips scheme.
The giant white space on half the car just pisses me off, earning NASCAR’s regular season champion the “Did They Wrap This in the Dark?” Award.
Fifth Place: Riley Herbst will drive the No. 35 GoGo Squeez Toyota.
There were many paint schemes to choose from, but I ultimately landed on the 35. Herbst’s ride is pretty clean and brings a childhood staple to life.
Fourth Place: Chris Buescher in the No. 17 Kroger / Gold Peak Ford.
Thank goodness they didn’t ruin this beautiful paint job with a white hood. This scheme is very easy on the eyes and would probably be higher in these rankings if not for the heat that’s to come.
Third Place: Brad Keselowski in the No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford.
RFK knocked it out of the park to start the Chase as Bad Brad’s ride is also quite tough. The No. 6 will dawn its typical blacked-out Build Submarines scheme, but also features the names of more than 450 military heroes.
Second Place: Ross Chastain in the No. 1 Busch Light Chevrolet.
Chastain may be eliminated from the Chase, but at least he gets to fly around the track in an iced-out automobile. The Busch Light cars are almost always great, and this one is no different with its rigid white mountains on the side.
Sam’s Scheme of the Week: Joey Logano in the No. 22 Pennzoil Ultra Platinum Ford
I very nearly eliminated Logano from contention due to this scheme not being available on NASCAR.com; however, I cannot deny how incredible this alternate Pennzoil paint job looks.
It’s an even year, which means Mr. Giggles will probably land an improbable championship, but more importantly, the 22-team has won the second-ever Sam’s Scheme of the Week and first on a Crown Jewel.