Special paint schemes on racing cars

Special paint schemes are one-time or limited time variations on a race car's typical appearance. Their use has historically been largely confined to NASCAR racing, partially due to the much larger surface area of a stock car, and longer season, but have entered the IndyCar in a limited fashion. NASCAR's increased media coverage has contributed to their popularity with both fans and sponsors.

However, some sponsors and die-cast makers have advanced the promotion to other codes of motorsport, as Red Bull Racing had a Star Wars paint scheme to promote Revenge of the Sith in Formula One and a similar Superman one to promote Superman Returns. Panther Racing in the Indy Racing League ran a Pennzoil Platinum paint scheme at selected 2005 IRL events instead of the normal yellow design.

Special paint schemes in NASCAR date back to the 1991 Daytona 500. As part of an R. J. Reynolds promotion, five unsponsored drivers had paint schemes on their cars that paid tribute to the branches of the United States Armed Forces serving in Operation Desert Storm:

Alternate paint schemes truly gained notoriety in 1995, when Dale Earnhardt appeared at The Winston with a silver car (in tribute to Winston's silver anniversary) instead of his traditional black car. The car was nicknamed "Silverwrench" or "Silver Select". A year later, Earnhardt continued the trend at the 1996 running of The Winston with an 1996 Atlanta Olympics themed car.

Fan reaction to the paint schemes proved popular such that by the end of the decade, scarcely a race went by without one or more drivers sporting a special paint scheme. Often one-week special sponsorship deals were involved in the schemes, and other times existing sponsors chose to promote alternate products within the firm. Examples of one-week deals include promoting first run films coinciding with the particular race weekend, and promoting other simultaneous events (such as the Olympics).

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