Boogity Boogity Boogity

As much of a goofball as you may think Darrell Waltrip is in the Fox booth, the guy was one hell of a driver -- and always entertaining. I remember watching him in Victory Lane at the 1989 Daytona 500 celebrating his win by doing the Icky Shuffle. His childlike exuberance was stunning, and was one of those moments when you realize that these guys really just want to have fun out there. But to have fun, you gotta have a sponsor painted on the hood. And car for car, I think Darrell had the best paint schemes out there.

The Pepsi Challenger Monte Carlo (top left) wasn't one of the best executed advertising jobs I've seen, but it's a good example of what was pretty much par for the course. For every iconic design (think Richard Petty's #43 STP), there were a dozen that we're lackluster. Compare that humdrum Monte Carlo to the Gatorade and Mountain Dew Buicks. Those paint schemes are classic, the white border perfectly framing the green fields. Those two cars scream speed just standing still, and yet were effective billboards at 180 mph. And I get thirsty just looking at them. (Nerd intermission: Note how the "88" retains its personality, yet is perfectly legible with those outsized counters -- important at top speed. Compare it to Dale, Jr.'s muddy 88. No way you're reading that when you're in the stands. You can do better than that, fellas.)

That 1989 Daytona 500 was the 17th attempt by Waltrip to win the Great American Race, and he did it in the #17. That car is known as the "Tide Ride," and for me is the best paint scheme ever to run. The car just glowed from its fluorescent paint job. You couldn't miss it on TV either, as it left long, orange contrails whenever it zoomed past the camera. Maybe it was just our crappy TV, but his Chevy looked like a comet streaking across the screen. That kind of cosmic speed would make me want to do the Icky Shuffle, too.