With the street race in Chicago in the books, NASCAR heads to wine country this weekend to take on the classic Sonoma Raceway road course. Despite the stir that Brad Keselowski created this week by claiming there are too many road courses on the NASCAR schedule, Sonoma has always been one of the more popular road course stops on the circuit. But before we got to the on-track product, first let’s take a look at some of the liveries teams and sponsors have brought out to Wine Country this weekend. Here are some of the best-looking Cup Series liveries you’ll see snaking around the tight twists and turns of Sonoma Raceway.
The white NAPA Chase Elliott scheme returns this weekend at Sonoma and, for me personally, I prefer it to the blue one. I realize that that might not be the most popular opinion of the bunch. But it looks so…clean. It looks sharp; it looks simple. Elliott has driven this version of the NAPA livery a couple of times this year. It was scheduled to be run at 4 Cup points-paying races and the Clash. Sonoma was one of those scheduled races. And with the announcement that the Clash will return to Bowman Gray next year, Elliott might be able to tap into that Clash magic to regain his title as NASCAR’s King of the Road Courses!
ampm is back on Denny Hamlin’s number 11 JGR Toyota this weekend and I dig it. It reminds me a little bit of his classic FedEx schemes from back in the day. Purple and black is another one of those color combinations that I think looks amazing. Admittedly, that’s coming from a Baltimore Ravens fan. Don’t judge. But I like the accent the orange in the logo provides. It also gives some FedEx vibes. And I’m looking forward to seeing Denny Hamlin drive it around Sonoma. Hopefully, he can get over the slump he has been in for the last couple of weeks.
One of the more eye-catching liveries gearing up to take the track this weekend is A. J. Allmendinger’s No. 16 Big Sipz Chevy. It’s got a very colorful and wild color scheme with the main color being a bright lime green with black weaved in and out down the sides to the rear of the car. The product placement on the back end looks great as well, with Big Spiz showcasing some of their delicious flavors. I typically like green cars, and this one really works for me.
It’s kind of hard to screw up a Mobil 1 scheme. Since the day they entered NASCAR as a sponsor, they’ve had some solid schemes. This one takes the old tradition, stays true to it, but also manages to make it feel modern. The Mobil 1 logo on the hood and quarter panels of the car look great. In fact, the logo placement on the side and the red Pegasus almost makes you forget that NASCAR ever moved the door numbers forward in the first place. Not to dig that whole controversy back up. The point is that when NASCAR made that decision, a lot of teams didn’t know what to do with the extra dead space. Many still don’t. But LMC and Mobil 1 really utilize the space they have. Well done!
We’ll end on a classic. Red Bull Racing left NASCAR after the 2011 season. Until 2025, they’ve been gone from the sport. But with SVG arriving on the scene (and Connor Zilisch), they’re back and taking the road course races by storm. This scheme is a classic that harkens back to their old NASCAR team from the late 2000s and early 2010s. It looks great on track, the space along the sides is well utilized, and it just looks bad fast. Will SVG get his wiiings and carry the Red Bull brand back to victory lane on Sunday? The odds are pretty high.
What do you think of these five schemes, NASCAR fans? Do you like any of them like I did? If not, what are some of your favorites from 2025? Let us know what you think! Join the discussion on Discord or X, and remember to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for more updates.
