Veteran Insider Triggers Fans Wrath Towards NASCAR’s Biggest Failure

The whole reason fans show up to the tracks to see the race is the cars and their favorite drivers, right? Seeing each NASCAR race win and wreck live in the action has brought fans joy for 76 years. But things aren’t the way they used to be. In the past, NASCAR used to have a fixed color scheme, by which fans could identify their favorite drivers. But that’s not the case anymore, is it?

Week after week, the cars change their liveries, and to some extent, it gets exciting for fans, but it often causes confusion. Imagine seeing Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 in any other color but white and purple. Now that FedEx has decided to downsize its sponsorship, newer colors will show up on his car. This means new sponsors, and depending on how much they fund the team, the car’s colors will change. With the sponsors in NASCAR changing as regularly as they have been recently, some find it hard to figure out which car is zipping past at 200+ mph, and it’s about time someone spoke about this.

The NASCAR car color confusion

In a recent video uploaded on Kenny Wallace’s YouTube channel, Charlie Marlow converses with NASCAR legend Rick Mast to discuss the changing sponsor situation. Mast used to race in NASCAR from 1988 to 2002 and sponsorship deals worked differently back then. Cars used to have a fixed paint scheme, and it was just the sponsor logos that used to change. This conversation was brought up on the channel because of the announcement of FedEx’s recent downsizing of its sponsorship for the No. 11 team and here is what they had to say.

In the video on Kenny Wallace’s channel, Marlow mentioned the No. 11 team and FedEx situation, saying, “I watched Denny Hamlin’s media availability, and he was asked about it, and it did seem like FedEx was going to stay on in some capacity, at least for 2025, based on Denny Hamlin’s comments.” This mattered to him because he believes that cars look different at every race depending on the sponsors and he sometimes has difficulty figuring out which driver he was looking at.

Marlow added, “The fact that race in, race out, you can’t really tell who the car is, right, by the paint scheme.” Sharing his mind, Marlow made a suggestion to NASCAR, saying, “I do think that’s something NASCAR needs to figure out from a marketing standpoint. The colors, the color schemes—it really helps if you can have that primary sponsor for most of the races.” Mast related to the issue saying, “I’m trying to follow the car, and I have no idea who the hell I’m looking at, right, because each week it changes. And it wasn’t—it didn’t used to be that way.”

Understanding the importance for viewers to identify the cars they are rooting for, Mast added, “It does take away from what we’ve got or what we’re doing, what we’re trying to do. There’s no doubt about that.” But some justification was given for why this is happening, as Rick Mast explained, “The price of what it costs to run these cars for a season… trying to keep one sponsor, it’s hard to do that now because the price is so much more.”

During the conversation, the example of Dale Earnhardt‘s black No. 3 car was brought up to remember the significance of having an identifiable car. Looking at this conversation, many NASCAR fans felt like they were on the same page when it came to changing sponsors. The comments section of the video started getting flooded with comments by fans who resonated with the same feeling.

Fans want recognizable livery

One fan chimed in, saying, “You are absolutely correct. I can’t recognize my driver week to week.” Think about it—these fans are die-hard fans. They’ve probably been following the same driver for years, but now, with the constant livery changes, it’s like playing a game of “Where’s Waldo?”—except the prize is watching your favorite car fly past at 200 mph.

And it’s not just the changing livery. Another fan jumped in with, “Agreed, Rick, the cameras move so much, and I dislike the constant scheme changes.” The broadcast cameras fly around from car to car so quickly, that it’s hard to keep up, especially when each car seems to look different every week. It’s like NASCAR is challenging you to a visual endurance test.

Then there’s the deeper issue—money. “This is why NASCAR needs to give the teams more money so corporations can afford to be in the sport. Good for Denny and FRM standing up to NASCAR.” This fan cuts right to the chase. They see the bigger picture: Teams are having to shuffle sponsors because it’s just too expensive to keep a single brand onboard all season. One fan made it even more blunt with, “It’s not just a different scheme every week; it’s random companies. Pharmaceutical stuff, or things no one has heard of.”

Then comes the real kicker: “There is zero ROI for a major corporation to sponsor a racecar now. That’s a major issue.” This fan’s speaking business, and they’re not wrong. Sponsorship in NASCAR used to be a goldmine for brands, but now? It seems like they have more control over the paint scheme than ever.

With that said, what are your thoughts on sponsorships in NASCAR taking over the whole paint scheme of cars? Share your thoughts in the comments below.