Lawsuit Update: Gabehart Calls JGR Competition Team “Dysfunctional,” Ty Gibbs “Not Accountable”
What’s Happening? Former Joe Gibbs Racing Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart has filed a new response slamming JGR as…
NASCAR and America have long been synonymous. One of America’s most cherished pastimes, there have been a number of paint schemes celebrating this great country through the years. Some have been as simplistic as just slapping an American flag on the hood or rear decklid of an existing scheme. But other teams and sponsors go all-in on the celebration, proudly sporting stars and stripes all over their liveries.
Historically, two races on the NASCAR calendar are when these types of schemes are usually run. The Coca-Cola 600 is one of them, it being run on Memorial Day weekend. The other, in the past, has been the Pepsi 400 (or the Firecracker 400) at Daytona, when it was on the 4th of July weekend. But with that race moved to August, we see less and less of these special schemes on track nowadays. Nevertheless, here are some of the best patriotic paint schemes to ever grace the NASCAR track.
Dale Earnhardt had a tradition in the 1990s of running special paint schemes for the annual Winston, or All-Star Race. One year, he ran a throwback to his Wrangler days. Another time he drove a black and gold Bass Pro Shops car. Dale Jr. (and Josh Berry, for that matter) did a throwback to that scheme a number of years ago in JR Motorsports’ late model division. And who can forget the Wheaties car? Or the time he ran that silvered-out car with the orange door numbers?
Well, in 1996, the United States hosted the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. To celebrate this, Dale and Goodwrench decided to run an all red, white, and blue paint scheme. The stars on the blue background near the hood and front bumpers really pop, and I like the waves in the stripes down the sides. It’s like a flag fluttering in the breeze.
Always a patriot, one of Martin Truex Jr.’s best paint schemes is his patriotic Bass Pro Shops livery from the 2019 Coca-Cola 600. And, as you can see in the video clip below, this scheme is a race-winning scheme. It practically shouts AMERICA! What I like about this one is that it somewhat incorporates Truex’s usual paint scheme without it being off-putting or ugly. The red-orange works with the Bass Pro Shops colors very well and complements the slightly lighter than expected blue. The Bass Pro Shops logo really pops, as well, making for the perfect patriotic statement.
Dupont, being essentially a paint company, can design a car pretty much however they want to. This gave Jeff Gordon a lot of freedom over the course of his career to be creative, and we’ve gotten some iconic paint schemes because of this. His Nicorette, Pepsi, and Rainbow Warriors schemes are all legendary! Especially that last one! But, when you grow up watching NASCAR in the mid-2000s, it’s hard not to see that 24 car, no matter the driver, without flames on the sides.
In the 2010 Coca-Cola 600, Dupont decided to get patriotic. Keeping the flames theme of the livery, they painted them with red and white stripes exploding from the bubble of the star-plastered logo on the hood. When this car showed up at the track in 2010, I thought it looked sharp. Looking back, it stands the test of time. Some fans might have a problem with the neon yellow door and roof number. I get the argument, but come on! It’s just an iconic look for Gordon and his many fans.
Martin Truex Jr. isn’t the only driver on this list to win in their patriotic scheme. Brad Keselowski, in fact, did it the very next year in the very same race. Like the others on this list, this car screams America. In general, the beer companies do a pretty good job at patriotic liveries. I like how it’s still essentially that classic Miller Lite scheme from the late 2010s, only spruced up with a sideways American flag running down the door. The blue of the roof and window matches the blue of the Lite logo on the hood and the sides. It’s a chef’s kiss of a patriotic paint scheme.
I also enjoy the accents of the white wheels in the tires.
For the last entry on our list, Miller is left holding our beer because next is none other than the King of Beers, Budweiser. Perhaps America’s most iconic brand of beer, Budweiser always knocks it out of the park (pun intended) when it comes to patriotic paint schemes. There are a lot of great liveries out there. Kevin Harvick had some great ones in the past. But for the sake of this list, we went with what we believe is the best of them: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s 2007 Pepsi 400 scheme. I mean, come on! They essentially turned Dale Jr.’s Bud 8 car into an American flag! It doesn’t get any more ‘Merican than that!
How did Dale do in this ride? Well, it was DEI in 2007, so he blew an engine. Still, it was fun while it lasted! To me, this is the perfect patriotic paint scheme. I like the flow of the stars and the stripes and the accent down the side of the blue Budweiser logo. It’s just absolutely amazing!
That does it for this list, Daily Downforce readers. What did you think of it? What are some of your favorite patriotic plaint schemes out there? Let us know your thoughts on this! Join the discussion on Discord or X, and remember to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for more updates. And everybody have a fun and safe 4th of July!
An email sent by former Joe Gibbs Racing Competition Director Chris Gabehart claims that resentment towards him from members of the Gibbs family made him feel that the future of JGR was a “no-win situation.”
Last week, Joe Gibbs Racing filed a lawsuit against former Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart, claiming that the former Daytona 500 Champion had schemed to steal vital information from the team in the lead-up to his departure from JGR for Spire Motorsports.
Not even ten days since JGR filed this lawsuit, the two have continued to trade barbs and accusations back and forth through the court system.
In a filing earlier this week, Gabehart accused the team of misleading him in his duties as competition director in 2025, and specifically calling out JGR’s No. 54 team, driven by Joe Gibbs’ grandson Ty, alleging that the team received “differential treatment.”
Friday, an email sent to JGR CFO Tim Carmichael by Gabehart in November 2025 (released as part of this lawsuit) showed just how uncomfortable he had grown working at JGR during his tenure as Competition Director, with the industry veteran stating that Ty Gibbs and his mother, Heather, held “resentment” towards Gabehart.
The now former Competition Director went on to say in this email that, as the two were the future bosses of JGR, “I’m afraid that leaves me in a no-win situation.”
These exchanges, including the claims made by Gibbs in his filing earlier this week, have swept fans into a whirlwind of sorts, with the two sides even meeting in court today for the lawsuit’s first official hearing.
Of course, Gabehart’s claims about the state of operations at JGR pale in comparison to the accusations made by the Gibbs team in their initial lawsuit.
On Tuesday, the team even added Spire Motorsports, Gabehart’s current employer, as a co-defendant, and requested the court force Gabehart to sit out at least the 18 months since his termination before doing any work in NASCAR similar to his role at JGR.
The team is also asking that any information procured by Spire from Gabehart be returned, though the CEO of TWG Motorsports, which owns Spire, Dan Towriss, told Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports Friday that “Spire doesn’t want data from Joe Gibbs Racing. It doesn’t have data from Joe Gibbs Racing. No point in time has it had data from Joe Gibbs Racing.”
Alongside Spire, Gabehart adamantly denied any wrongdoing in a post to social media last week, saying, “I feel compelled to speak out today and forcefully and emphatically deny these frivolous and retaliatory claims.”
What’s Happening? Former Joe Gibbs Racing Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart has filed a new response slamming JGR as…
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A few years ago, I looked at the racetracks preserved on iRacing that no longer exist in real life. After digging deeper, I expected to find one common reason they all shut down. Instead, each one tells a completely different story — from booming cities and land value spikes to ownership changes, broken promises, and even mysteries that still don’t have clear answers.
Some tracks were pushed out by urban development. Some lost the one person fighting to keep them alive. Others faded due to declining support — or were never meant to last forever in the first place. No two closures are the same, and that’s what makes this deep dive so fascinating.
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NASCAR’s documentary series “Full Speed,” which used to live on Netflix, had its first two seasons look back at entire playoff runs. But now, NASCAR is shifting the series to Amazon Prime Video for its third season, and the scope of the series will also shift to new storylines.
Dropping on March 5, the new season is aimed at zooming in on one event: the 2026 Daytona 500. Instead of a multi-episode run, this time it’s a single-episode documentary that goes all in on one race.
The film will follow big names and storylines from the Daytona 500. It will spotlight the winner, Tyler Reddick, and lean into driver storylines around the weekend. That includes Kyle Busch trying to get his groove back, Brad Keselowski clawing his way back after a broken leg, Connor Zilisch being pushed as the next big thing, and Noah Gragson bringing chaos wherever he goes.
Some fans might question the move away from Netflix, especially after Season 1 pulled in 3.4 million views in the first half of 2024. Then in 2025, the docuseries clocked 900,000 views after its early May release and added another 200,000 between July and December.
But with Prime Video stepping in as one of NASCAR’s broadcast partners, moving the series lines up with a bigger play to keep content under one roof.
Amazon has already dipped into NASCAR storytelling with projects like the docuseries Earnhardt about Dale Earnhardt. Moving Full Speed to Prime follows the same playbook. And for fans who still haven’t seen previous installments, the first two seasons are also heading over to Prime Video.
However, Reddit fans are divided in their opinions about the decision. Some fans actually get why NASCAR changed the format and platform, while a chunk of fans think leaving Netflix is risky because Netflix is where casual viewers stumble into shows. Others push back, pointing out that Prime actually has a massive reach in the U.S. and strong marketing muscle.
While one fan commented, “Makes sense. I highly doubt they were gonna make a new season around a points format they don’t use anymore,” another stated, “Idk the semantics and numbers and everything behind it so I’m probably talking out of my ass….buttttttt….at what point does nascar take the less money for the exposure. You need to be on Netflix, people watch Netflix. People don’t watch Amazon video as much. Who’s gonna watch this that isn’t a nascar fan already. You have a higher chance of getting people lost on Netflix than lost on Amazon Prime Video.”
One fan commented on the news, saying, “100%. I have Amazon Prime and Netflix. AP is a train wreck for videos especially now with their ad program with videos. I steer clear because Netflix is still ad free.” Another fan supported NASCAR’s move, saying, “Prime actually has slightly more subscribers in the USA and in my opinion is better at marketing. It’s a lateral move.”
Another backed NASCAR, stating, “Most NASCAR fans will find some way to be on prime in the month of June. I think they are counting on people watching it then if they have not already seen it. Similar to the Earnhardt documentary that dropped in June last year.”
Another fan comment implied something less glamorous yet very real, pointing out that the Netflix seasons didn’t see a surge in viewership. The first season did okay, but later numbers dipped: “Netflix didn’t seem to work that well for the 2 playoff seasons.”
Will you be watching on Prime Video? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.