The ARCA Menards Series is introducing a new rule regarding car decals, a rule that one driver in the series is jokingly calling the “Squirrel McNutt” rule.
The ARCA Menards Series is the closest thing to the wild west that NASCAR still has.
Few teams have technical alliances with their manufacturers, and even more have any real ties to those manufacturers, creating some odd arrangements within the series where teams have taken some select liberties with their cars’ branding.
In a recent post to social media, ARCA Menards Series regular Brayton Laster posted a new rule that sets out to tackle the occasional inconsistency in manufacturer branding on cars.
The rule reads:
“All vehicles must be presented with the approved original equipment manufacturer (OEM) decals and markings. Any vehicle that does not have the required decals and markings properly displayed and clearly visible to an ARCA official will not be permitted on the racetrack.”
So what does this mean?
Well, in response to Laster’s post, well-known NASCAR Graphic Designer Harris Lue said that he reads the rule as, “the logo below the grille is okay as long as it’s approved and doesn’t interfere with contigs or OEM branding.”
In his post, Laster jokingly called the rule the “‘Squirrel McNutt’ rule,” a reference to the new ARCA driver and frequent video collaborator of YouTuber Cleetus McFarland, Squirrel McNutt.
McNutt, whose real name is George Siciliano, made his ARCA Menards Series East debut at Hickory Motor Speedway last month.
Driving the No. 0 for Rette Jones Racing, in that race, Siciliano’s car featured sponsorship from Heat Wave Visual. That car, a NASCAR Gen Six Ford Fusion, featured the Ford logo, but not the Fusion badge under the grille, instead sporting “HEATWAVEVISUAL.”
Siciliano and RJR carried this design with them into their next ARCA East race Easter weekend at Rockingham Speedway.
Of course, while Siciliano’s car is one of the most recent uses of the once lax rules about manufacturer branding, his car is far from the first example of a driver or team using free will with their branding.
Earlier this year, in a much more aggressive change of manufacturer, Kaulig Racing NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Mini Tyrrell entered the ARCA season opener at Daytona, driving for Cook Racing Technologies.
The No. 17 that Tyrrell drove was a Chevrolet SS body, but featured Ram Sponsorship. To work around this, the car bore no Chevrolet markings on the wrap, with the embossed Chevrolet bowtie badge on the front the only indication of the body’s style as an SS.
Tyrrell’s car went viral for a number of reasons, with its somewhat ridiculous branding earning the title of the “Ram-rolet” by many in the community.
Nonetheless, neither Tyrrell nor McNutt is the only driver to work around these now sewn-up loose ends in decal requirements.
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