2026 NASCAR Paint Scheme Tracker: Every Special Scheme Graded, From Blaney's Pocono Throwback to Red Bull's Return

This is our running tracker for every 2026 NASCAR Cup Series special paint scheme, newest first, updated every time a team pulls the covers off something worth looking at. Each scheme gets the full ColorWay treatment, and where we have already published a complete breakdown, the entry links straight to it. Reveal week loaded the tracker from both ends of the calendar. This Sunday's Pocono race brings the showpiece: Ryan Blaney's Team Penske 60th-anniversary Wabash throwback, our top-graded scheme of the season so far, with Penske and Hendrick rolling out their full Tricky Triangle grids alongside it. And next weekend's inaugural San Diego street race at Naval Base Coronado is the bigger headline — Red Bull is back in NASCAR, on two Trackhouse cars, with a patriotic Chase Elliott NAPA #9 for that same Navy-250 weekend.

Updated Thursday July 16 for the inaugural Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, NASCAR's first points-paying Cup race at the historic short track in 30 years. Bubba Wallace's Coca-Cola No. 23 is now officially confirmed and running there, 23XI Racing's own reveal replacing the earlier shop leak, with the soccer ball still on the door as the World Cup final arrives. Also new: Austin Dillon's Winchester "Supreme Long Range" buck car at RCR, and the Hendrick Motorsports lineup led by William Byron's All-Pro red-and-yellow No. 24 and Chase Elliott's LLumar debut. Previously updated July 9 with Richard Childress Racing's "Legends Always Live On" Kyle Busch tribute on Austin Hill's No. 33. Previously updated June 27 with the Sonoma Raceway reveals: Joe Gibbs Racing's wine-country lineup led by Denny Hamlin's purple Yahoo car, Hendrick Motorsports' four-car "California bound" set, and Brandon Jones's highlighter-yellow NIBCO scheme. Earlier entries: the San Diego reveals (Red Bull's return on Trackhouse's #88 and #97, and Chase Elliott's patriotic NAPA Gold Filters #9), the full Penske and Hendrick Pocono lineups, Ryan Blaney's Wabash throwback, both RCR Kyle Busch tribute schemes, and the Coca-Cola 600 Memorial Day tributes.

1. CONFIRMED: Bubba Wallace's Coca-Cola #23 Puts a Soccer Ball on a Cup Car · North Wilkesboro

It is official. What started as a shop photo making the rounds is now a confirmed 23XI Racing reveal, and Bubba Wallace's No. 23 Toyota will run the Coca-Cola scheme at the inaugural Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro on July 19. The detail everyone zoomed in on when the leak first surfaced is still the whole story: the soccer ball sitting right beside the wordmark on the door.

Coca-Cola is one of the longest-running global partners in world soccer, the 2026 World Cup final lands July 19 on American soil the same day this car races, and this is what it looks like when those two calendars collide in a Cup garage. A stock car carrying a soccer ball through the middle of a World Cup summer is the kind of crossover we almost never get, and the timing is too clean to be an accident.

The look itself is pure Coca-Cola, and that is the point. The car is drenched in that unmistakable Coke red, with the white Spencerian script running down the flanks and across the hood, a white 23 outlined on the doors and roof, Bubba's signature on the quarter panel, and the ball worked in beside the wordmark. It is a corporate livery, but it is arguably the most recognizable corporate color story on earth. Red and white with that script needs no explanation from any camera angle, at any speed, to anyone on the planet.

Grade: A- — Coke red and the white script are instantly readable at 190 mph, and the soccer ball is a genuinely clever, timely hook with the World Cup final landing the very same day. It stops just short of an A because it leans on a standing corporate palette rather than a daring one-off swing, but as a crossover moment it is hard to beat.

2. Austin Dillon #3 Winchester "Supreme Long Range" · RCR · North Wilkesboro

Richard Childress Racing brought a hunting camp to the short track. Austin Dillon's No. 3 Chevrolet runs a Winchester "Supreme Long Range" scheme for North Wilkesboro, a white-and-silver car with a full-color whitetail buck airbrushed across the rear decklid and the Supreme Long Range wordmark stamped over it like an ammo box. The Winchester red "W" sits on the rear bumper, Bass Pro Shops rides along, and the whole thing leans all the way into the outdoors theme instead of just dropping a logo on a primary.

For a nostalgic weekend at a track that spent decades off the schedule, an airbrushed animal is a wonderfully old-school swing. NASCAR has a long history of hunting and outdoors sponsors going full wildlife on the sheet metal, and this is a clean, modern take on that tradition. The buck is the kind of detail that reads on a die-cast shelf as much as it does on the broadcast, and it is easily the most distinctive one-off in the North Wilkesboro field outside the throwbacks.

Grade: B+ — a bold, characterful outdoors scheme with genuine personality, and the airbrushed buck is a real stop-and-look moment. It lands just short of A- because the white-and-silver base around the artwork plays it a little safe, but on charm and theme commitment it is one of the more fun cars of the weekend.

3. Hendrick Motorsports' North Wilkesboro Lineup: Byron's All-Pro Red, Elliott's LLumar Debut

"Geared up for North Wilkesboro." Hendrick Motorsports rolled out all four Chevrolets for the Window World 450, and this is a primaries-first drop rather than a throwback set. William Byron's No. 24 flies the All-Pro Aluminum colors for the first time since April, a bright red-and-yellow package with the big yellow 24 that is the clear pop of the lineup. Chase Elliott's No. 9 debuts its red LLumar look for 2026. Kyle Larson's No. 5 runs the familiar blue HendrickCars.com scheme and Alex Bowman's No. 48 wears the standard Ally blue, both of them standing liveries.

For a milestone weekend, the return of Cup points racing to North Wilkesboro after 30 years, this is Hendrick playing it straight while other teams reach for throwbacks and one-offs. Byron's red-and-yellow No. 24 is the one that draws the eye, and Elliott's LLumar red gives the set a second bright note, but two of the four cars are business-as-usual primaries. Sharp and camera-friendly, just not built for the occasion the way Austin Cindric's Rusty Wallace black-and-gold tribute down pit road is.

Grade: B — clean, high-recognition Hendrick primaries led by Byron's All-Pro red-and-yellow No. 24, but a mostly standing-livery lineup on a weekend that was begging for throwbacks. Solid, not special.

4. Austin Hill #33 "Legends Always Live On" · RCR Kyle Busch Tribute · Atlanta

Richard Childress Racing unveiled a new Kyle Busch tribute for this Sunday's Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta, and it lives in a single line of lettering. Austin Hill's No. 33 Chevrolet, the Cup entry that carried on after Busch's death this past May when RCR retired his No. 8 and set it aside for his young son Brexton, runs a Bank OZK scheme in black, silver, white, and red with a bold red band down the length of the car. The tribute is on the rear: "LEG8NDS ALWAYS LIVE ON," with Busch's red-and-white 8 standing in for the E, so the number he made famous is woven right into the word.

It is a quiet, well-judged way to keep the 8 present without putting it back on a door. The black-and-red package reads sharp on its own, but the whole car is built around that one word, and hiding his number inside "legends" says more than a full throwback would. RCR has honored Busch a few different ways this season, and this is the most understated of them, maybe the most fitting.

We do not put a letter grade on a tribute. For the full story of RCR's Kyle Busch tributes and how the No. 33 came to carry them, see our RCR 2026 paint schemes breakdown and our look at the NASCAR tracks paying tribute to Kyle Busch.

5. Joe Gibbs Racing's Sonoma Paint Schemes: Denny Hamlin's Purple Yahoo Car Leads the Wine Country Lineup

Joe Gibbs Racing laid out its full four-car Cup Series lineup for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, and the headliner is Denny Hamlin's No. 11 in a vivid purple Yahoo "Email Me" scheme. True purple is one of the rarest colors in the Cup garage, and on a sun-soaked road course it is exactly the kind of paint that jumps off the broadcast — easily the most eye-catching car in the JGR drop. Around it, the wine-country set runs deep on variety: Chase Briscoe's No. 19 in clean Columbia Bank white-and-blue, Christopher Bell's No. 20 in the black-and-red Rheem look, and Ty Gibbs's No. 54 in red CALA Freight + Logistics. Four cars, four distinct color families, no two reading alike at speed.

For a Sonoma weekend where most teams default to their standing primaries, JGR's lineup is the most colorful single-team reveal on the board, and Hamlin's purple is the scheme people will be screenshotting. The twists, turns, and elevation changes of Sonoma put cars on camera at every angle, and a palette this varied makes the JGR cars easy to pick out lap after lap.

Grade: A- — Hamlin's purple Yahoo car is a genuine standout, and the four-car spread of purple, blue, black, and red makes this the most vibrant team lineup of the Sonoma weekend. Only the lack of a true one-off throwback keeps it out of A range.

6. Hendrick Motorsports' Sonoma Lineup: Larson, Byron, Elliott, and Bowman Go "California Bound"

"California bound." Hendrick Motorsports rolled out all four of its Cup cars for Sonoma Raceway, and it is a clean, instantly readable set. Kyle Larson's No. 5 wears the crisp blue HendrickCars.com livery, William Byron's No. 24 brings the boldest look of the group in a bright orange scheme that is the clear pop of the lineup, Chase Elliott's No. 9 returns to classic NAPA blue after the patriotic Gold Filters one-off he ran at San Diego, and Alex Bowman's No. 48 runs the familiar Ally blue with the "Do it right" mark. Three blues and an orange, all sharp, all reading at a glance.

This is Hendrick doing what Hendrick does: polished, high-recognition primaries that look great on a road course without reaching for a gimmick. Byron's orange No. 24 is the one that draws the eye in a sea of blue, and Larson's HendrickCars.com car remains one of the cleaner standing liveries in the sport. It is a strong, professional set that just plays it safer than Joe Gibbs Racing's more colorful drop.

Grade: B+ — sharp, dependable primaries led by Byron's bright orange No. 24, but mostly business-as-usual next to the purple-led JGR lineup. Clean and camera-friendly rather than daring.

7. Brandon Jones's NIBCO Highlighter Car: The Sonoma Scheme That "Absolutely Pops"

NASCAR historian Brock Beard put it simply: Brandon Jones's NIBCO car "absolutely pops in person." It is a full highlighter-yellow Joe Gibbs Racing scheme for the Sonoma weekend, a neon green-yellow paint job with the NIBCO Press System branding that is, without question, the brightest car on the property. It is the kind of color that draws every comparison in the replies — minions, pretzel bites, a tennis ball on wheels — and that is exactly the point. A highlighter car on a green-and-gold wine-country road course is impossible to lose on the broadcast, and impossible to scroll past on a timeline.

Love it or laugh at it, this is the most talked-about single paint scheme of the Sonoma weekend, and pure visibility is its whole game. NIBCO gets more screen time per dollar out of a color this loud than almost any conventional scheme could buy.

Grade: A- — maximum pop. It will not be for everyone, but on visibility and stop-the-scroll value, Brandon Jones's highlighter NIBCO car is the most memorable look of the Sonoma weekend.

8. Red Bull Returns to NASCAR: Shane van Gisbergen #88 and Connor Zilisch #97 · Trackhouse Racing · San Diego

Red Bull is back in NASCAR. For the first time since the energy-drink brand's own Cup team closed its doors after the 2011 season, Red Bull is on the side of a Cup car again — and Trackhouse Racing is bringing it back in the most Trackhouse way imaginable: two cars, two completely different Red Bull looks, photographed on a "scenic route" tour of San Diego ahead of the inaugural street race at Naval Base Coronado on June 21. Shane van Gisbergen's #88 wears the classic deep-navy Red Bull livery, the one burned into motorsport memory across F1 and the old Red Bull Racing stock cars, with the charging-bull mark on the hood and the red-and-yellow Red Bull wordmark filling the door above WeatherTech.com. Connor Zilisch's #97 flips it into a silver-and-light-blue variation, a brighter, chrome-leaning counterpart to van Gisbergen's heritage navy.

The reveal staging is the part we keep coming back to. Trackhouse did not shoot these in a studio — they parked the pair under the carnival lights at Belmont Park and again at the foot of the Coronado Ferry Landing with the San Diego skyline across the bay, turning a sponsor announcement into a postcard for a race weekend that has not happened yet. Putting the cars in the actual city, on the boardwalk and on the waterfront, is exactly the kind of context that sells a brand-new street race to people who have never seen NASCAR run downtown. Red Bull on a Cup car was always going to be a story; doing it as a matched two-car set in two San Diego landmarks is how you make people stop scrolling and screenshot it.

Grade: A- — Red Bull's return alone is an event, the dual-livery execution is sharp, and the location photography does more storytelling than most full reveal videos. The navy #88 is the star of the two; if Trackhouse runs these as well as they shot them, this nudges up to an A.

9. Chase Elliott #9 NAPA "Gold Filters" Patriotic Scheme · Hendrick Motorsports · San Diego

If San Diego's race is going to be staged on an active U.S. Navy base during the Navy's 250th anniversary, somebody was going to go full red, white, and blue — and NAPA got there first with Chase Elliott's #9. The "Gold Filters" patriotic scheme keeps the familiar NAPA blue up top, drops it onto a white lower body, scatters gold stars across the doors and hood, and then does the one thing that makes the whole car work: it paints the #9 red. Elliott's number is almost always blue or white inside the NAPA package, so seeing it rendered in bold red, outlined on the white roof, is an instant signal that this is not a normal NAPA week. The gold stars double as quiet brand wordplay — a nod to NAPA's Gold line of filters — and they keep the palette from reading like a flat three-color flag job.

This is a clean, well-resolved take on a NASCAR staple. Patriotic schemes turn up every summer, so the bar for a memorable one is high, and the red #9 plus the gold-star detailing clears it without tipping into clutter. The blue-over-white split holds together at speed and the NAPA wordmark still reads instantly, which is the entire job of a sponsor scheme. For a track sitting on the San Diego Bay shoreline next to the base's active airfield, it is the right car for the right weekend.

Grade: B+ — strong execution of a familiar genre, lifted by the red number and the Gold Filters star detail. Patriotic red-white-and-blue is well-trodden ground, which is the only thing keeping it out of A- range.

10. Josh Berry #21 Stars and Stripes Military Tribute · Wood Brothers Racing · San Diego

Josh Berry's No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford goes full stars and stripes for San Diego, a red-white-and-blue military tribute carrying the Motorcraft and Quick Lane branding. For a points race held on an active Navy base at Naval Base Coronado, tied to the U.S. Navy's 250th anniversary, the patriotic direction is the obvious right call. The catch is that the obvious call is also the crowded one: nearly the entire garage rolled out patriotic schemes for this race, so a clean flag car stands out a little less here than it would any other weekend. Full breakdown in our Josh Berry San Diego paint scheme post.

Grade: B. A sharp, fitting tribute that plays it a little safe in a field stuffed with red, white, and blue. We like it, we do not love it.

11. The Pocono Preview: Penske and Hendrick Roll Out the Tricky Triangle Lineup · June 14

Before San Diego, there is a race this Sunday — and both of the sport's superpowers used reveal day to lay their full Pocono grids on the table. Team Penske's PPG-branded preview lines up all three Fords for the June 14 race: Austin Cindric's #2 in the yellow-and-blue Menards/Ideal Door package, Joey Logano's #22 in the timeless Shell-Pennzoil red and yellow, and Ryan Blaney's #12 in the royal-blue Wabash throwback we have ranked as the best paint scheme of the 2026 season so far. Logano's Shell-Pennzoil is still one of the cleanest standing liveries in the garage, but it is Blaney's throwback that makes this Penske drop matter — the full breakdown is right below.

Hendrick Motorsports answered with all four of its cars "set for Pennsylvania": Kyle Larson's #5 HendrickCars.com, Chase Elliott's #9 in the standard NAPA blue (the patriotic version is saved for San Diego next week), William Byron's #24 in the red-white-and-blue RAPTOR scheme with the flame graphic, and Alex Bowman's #48 Ally blue. None of the Hendrick four are throwbacks, but Byron's RAPTOR is the boldest of the set — the flame kick and the yellow #24 give it the most movement of any standard scheme on the grid. Add it up and Pocono's field is mostly business-as-usual liveries with one genuine showpiece, and that showpiece is the Penske #12.

12. Ryan Blaney #12 Wabash · Team Penske 60th Anniversary Throwback · Pocono, June 14

Render via Team Penske

Team Penske turns 60 this year, the team has been celebrating all season, and the anniversary program just produced the best NASCAR paint scheme of 2026 so far. For the June 14 Cup race at Pocono Raceway, Ryan Blaney's #12 Wabash Ford Mustang Dark Horse goes full throwback to the most famous #12 in Penske's stock car history: Ryan Newman's royal blue Alltel car, the one that won the 2008 Daytona 500. That win was Roger Penske's first Daytona 500 victory and the organization's 296th overall team win, a checkered flag the team waited 36 years to grab, and the reveal graphic leans into it with the full stat line and a timeline running from the team's 1966 founding to today.

The design mapping from the Alltel original to the 2026 car is faithful where it counts. The body runs the same saturated royal blue from nose to tail, the white swoosh kicks up through the lower bodywork in the same line the Alltel Charger carried, the white WABASH wordmark sits exactly where ALLTEL used to live on the quarter panel, and the white #12 with the silver kick keeps the number identity intact across the two eras. The rear decklid goes white with MENARDS across it, Discount Tire, Snap-on, and Würth hold the rocker area, DEX rides the C-pillar, Pennzoil marks the hood, and the Sunoco and Ford Racing marks sit in their usual real estate. The detail that sells the whole era for us: yellow-letter Goodyear Eagle tires on all four corners, the single fastest way to make a modern Next Gen car read as a 2000s race car. The door also carries the USA 250 patch that every Cup car wears in 2026 for America's 250th anniversary, the same semiquincentennial mark we broke down when it showed up on the NBA Finals courts.

Image via Team Penske

The reveal itself is the best part. Team Penske rolled the original Alltel car out of the museum, parked it nose to nose with the 2026 Wabash Mustang inside the race shop, and had Blaney and Newman stand between them, two generations of the Penske #12 in one frame under the 2024 winner posters. Newman won 13 of his 51 career Cup poles in that blue car era and remains one of the most beloved figures in the Penske alumni family, and putting him physically at the reveal instead of just putting his name in the press release is the difference between a sponsor repaint and a real tribute. This is how you do a throwback.

This is an A for us. We absolutely love it. The throwback with Ryan Newman is executed with real care, the Alltel-to-Wabash translation respects the original design instead of just borrowing its color, the yellow-letter tires commit to the era, and the reveal staging with both Ryans and both cars is the kind of moment that makes you want to watch the race. We are genuinely excited to see this thing at speed on the Pocono tunnel turn. The Penske 60th anniversary program set a high bar with this one, and the rest of the garage now has something to chase for the remainder of the throwback season.

The Throwback vs the Original

Graphic via Team Penske

The original is Ryan Newman's royal blue Alltel #12 Dodge, the car that delivered Roger Penske his first Daytona 500 win on February 17, 2008, with Kurt Busch pushing his teammate to the line in a Penske 1-2 finish. The 2026 Wabash car keeps the blue, the white lower swoosh, the wordmark placement, and the white #12, and updates the package to the Mustang Dark Horse body with the modern Penske sponsor stack. Newman's Alltel era ran from 2000 through 2008 at Penske and produced 13 Cup wins including that Daytona 500, and the 2026 throwback is timed to the team's 60th anniversary season. Same number, same blue, eighteen years apart.

More Photos of the Blaney Wabash Throwback Scheme

Renders via Team Penske

Grade: A

13. Josh Berry #21 Capgemini · Wood Brothers Racing

via @woodbrothers21 on X

Wood Brothers Racing unveiled the Capgemini partnership scheme for Josh Berry's #21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse on Tuesday, a two-tone deep navy and cyan design with the oversized white Capgemini script wordmark owning the doors, the hood, and the rear decklid. The cyan stripe through the front bumper and the way the script reads at every angle make it one of the cleanest corporate schemes of the season, and it slots into the Wood Brothers 2026 rotation alongside the Motorcraft and Quick Lane heritage looks. We published the full first look with all four reveal photos, the color story breakdown, and the sponsor stack analysis: Josh Berry's Capgemini paint scheme first look.

14. Austin Hill #33 Rebel Bourbon · RCR Kyle Busch Tribute

via @RCRracing on X

Richard Childress Racing built Austin Hill's #33 Rebel Bourbon scheme around a matte black base with distressed white-and-red Rebel lettering, and then gave it a heartbeat: the "HONORING OUR ORIGINAL REBEL" message down the side that turns the whole car into a Kyle Busch tribute. The shop photos show how much the matte finish and the yellow-letter Goodyears do for the look in person. The full breakdown of the scheme, the tribute story, and how it pairs with Austin Dillon's Dow car lives here: RCR's 2026 Rebel Bourbon and Dow paint schemes.

15. Austin Dillon #3 Dow · RCR

via @RCRracing on X

Austin Dillon's #3 Dow Camaro runs the black base with the red diamond-cut Dow graphics wrapping the door and the big white #3 doing what the most famous number in stock car racing always does. The shop side profile shows the full sponsor read, Titan and Bass Pro Shops and Winchester along the rocker, the MobilityScience wordmark on the decklid, and the USA 250 anniversary patch on the C-pillar. The complete breakdown of both RCR schemes is in the same post linked above: RCR's 2026 paint schemes.

16. 600 Miles of Remembrance · Coca-Cola 600 Memorial Day Tributes

The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte is the one weekend a year when every single car in the Cup field changes its look for the same reason. The 600 Miles of Remembrance program puts the name of a fallen service member on every windshield banner, the halfway moment of silence stops the longest race of the year cold, and the paint schemes across the field carry the patriotic program. We covered the full Memorial Day tribute package, how the program works, and the history behind it here: 2026 NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 Memorial Day tributes explained.

What Drops Next

North Wilkesboro is the reveal event of the moment. The inaugural Window World 450 on July 19 marks NASCAR's return to the historic short track for points racing after a 30-year absence, and a milestone weekend like this pulls throwbacks and one-offs out of the whole garage. Austin Cindric's No. 2 leads the way with a black-and-gold tribute to Rusty Wallace's 1993 North Wilkesboro sweep, and more heritage looks are dropping in the days before the green flag alongside Bubba Wallace's Coca-Cola crossover, RCR's Winchester buck car, and the Hendrick lineup. Beyond North Wilkesboro, Darlington's official throwback weekend later in the schedule remains the season's biggest single day for retro schemes, and the Penske 60th anniversary program still has more anniversary looks in it. We add every scheme worth covering to this tracker as it drops, newest at the top, with grades on the ones we have full takes on. Bookmark this page and check back after every reveal day.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro?

The Window World 450 is the NASCAR Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on July 19, 2026, the first points-paying Cup race at the historic short track in 30 years and the first 450-lap Cup race since 1974. The All-Star Race, which had been held at North Wilkesboro, moved to Dover for 2026, and North Wilkesboro took a spot on the points schedule in its place. The nostalgia of the weekend has pulled throwbacks and special paint schemes out of teams up and down the garage.

What paint scheme is Bubba Wallace running at North Wilkesboro?

Bubba Wallace's No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota runs a confirmed Coca-Cola scheme at North Wilkesboro, a Coke-red car with the white Coca-Cola script down the sides and a soccer ball worked in beside the wordmark on the door. The soccer ball ties the car to Coca-Cola's role as a longtime global soccer partner, timed to the 2026 World Cup final, which is played on American soil the same day the race runs.

Is Red Bull returning to NASCAR in 2026?

Yes. Trackhouse Racing revealed two Red Bull paint schemes for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series, marking the energy-drink brand's return to Cup competition for the first time since its own Red Bull Racing team closed after the 2011 season. Shane van Gisbergen's #88 runs the classic deep-navy Red Bull livery and Connor Zilisch's #97 runs a silver-and-light-blue variation, both debuting at the inaugural San Diego street race at Naval Base Coronado on June 21, 2026.

When is the NASCAR San Diego street race?

The inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race in San Diego, the Anduril 250, runs on June 21, 2026 on a custom street course at Naval Base Coronado. It is the first NASCAR points race ever held on an active United States military base and only the second street race of NASCAR's modern era, and the weekend is tied to the U.S. Navy's 250th anniversary. The Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series race on the same layout earlier in the weekend.

What is Chase Elliott's San Diego paint scheme?

Chase Elliott's #9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet runs a special patriotic NAPA "Gold Filters" scheme for the San Diego race weekend at Naval Base Coronado. It keeps the NAPA blue on the upper body, adds a white lower body and gold stars, and paints Elliott's #9 in red instead of its usual blue — a red-white-and-blue look chosen to match a race weekend staged on an active Navy base during the Navy's 250th anniversary.

What is Ryan Blaney's throwback paint scheme for Pocono 2026?

Ryan Blaney's #12 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse runs a Wabash-branded throwback to Ryan Newman's royal blue Alltel #12 at Pocono Raceway on June 14, 2026. The scheme is part of Team Penske's 60th anniversary celebration and recreates the look of the car Newman drove to win the 2008 Daytona 500, with the white WABASH wordmark sitting in the same quarter panel position the ALLTEL logo held on the original, the same white swoosh through the lower bodywork, and yellow-letter Goodyear Eagle tires completing the 2000s era look.

Who is Ryan Blaney's 2026 throwback scheme honoring?

The scheme honors Ryan Newman and his 2008 Daytona 500 winning Alltel #12. That victory was Roger Penske's first Daytona 500 win and the organization's 296th overall team win, coming on February 17, 2008. Newman drove the Penske #12 from 2000 through 2008, and he appeared at the reveal in person, standing with Blaney between the 2026 Wabash car and the original Alltel car inside the Team Penske shop.

When will Ryan Blaney run the Wabash throwback scheme?

The Wabash throwback runs at Pocono Raceway on Sunday June 14, 2026, in the NASCAR Cup Series race. It is a one-race special paint scheme tied to Team Penske's 60th anniversary season.

Why is Team Penske running throwback paint schemes in 2026?

Team Penske was founded in 1966, which makes 2026 the organization's 60th anniversary season. The team is celebrating with anniversary programming across its racing operations, and the Blaney Wabash throwback to Newman's 2008 Daytona 500 winner is the first major NASCAR paint scheme of the program. The reveal graphic includes a timeline running from 1966 to 2026 with the 2008 Daytona 500 win marked on it.

What is the USA 250 patch on 2026 NASCAR Cup cars?

The USA 250 patch is the official mark of America's 250th anniversary, the semiquincentennial, and it appears on every NASCAR Cup Series car in 2026 next to the door number. It is the same United States 250th anniversary program mark that appeared on the 2026 NBA Finals courts and that the NFL is carrying through its 2026 season. We broke down the full USA 250 program and where it appears across sports in our USA 250 patch explainer.

How many special NASCAR paint schemes have been revealed in 2026 so far?

This tracker covers the biggest paint scheme stories of the 2026 season so far: Red Bull's return on Trackhouse's #88 and #97 for San Diego, Chase Elliott's patriotic NAPA Gold Filters #9, the full Penske and Hendrick Pocono lineups, Ryan Blaney's Penske 60th anniversary Wabash throwback, Josh Berry's Capgemini Wood Brothers reveal, Austin Hill's #33 Rebel Bourbon Kyle Busch tribute, Austin Dillon's #3 Dow scheme at RCR, and the field-wide 600 Miles of Remembrance Memorial Day program at the Coca-Cola 600. We add each major reveal as it drops, newest first.

What was the Alltel #12 car?

The Alltel #12 was Ryan Newman's Team Penske entry through the 2000s, sponsored by the telecommunications company Alltel and best remembered in royal blue with a white lower swoosh. Newman put the Alltel car in victory lane at the 2008 Daytona 500, the franchise-defining win the 2026 Wabash throwback recreates, and the original car still lives in the Team Penske collection, which is how it ended up parked next to Blaney's 2026 Mustang at the reveal.