NASCAR Paint Schemes of the Week: Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

This weekend NASCAR heads to Las Vegas. For the Cup Series, it is time once again for the Pennzoil 400 to begin the West Coast swing. After two drafting races back-to-back teams are ready to see what kind of speed their cars have on an intermediate track.

While I don’t expect any three-wide finishes, I do expect a fun race. NASCAR is riding a little bit of a wave here to start the season. A great Pennzoil 400 could keep that momentum going as the season gets into the long stretch.

Teams have brought out some fun paint schemes for Vegas. If you’re going to be in the Neon City you better bring the style and sleekness that it demands. Let’s get into them.

Chase Elliott No. 9 LLumar Chevy

This season, the No. 9 team is coming with some heat in the paint scheme department. This red LLumar scheme is the best design they have put out, besides that Bill Elliott throwback last week which was also all-red.

With how dominant Hendrick Motorsports has been at Las Vegas recently, I think Chase Elliott might be a sneaky pick to win this weekend. He has to get back on track sooner or later. 8.5/10.

Christopher Bell No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota

There are few things consistently better than Interstate Batteries paint schemes in NASCAR. The green No. 20 of Christopher Bell is going to look great at the Pennzoil 400. Bell is another driver to watch in this South Point 400.

Interstate Batteries now sponsors all of the JGR cars at least once per season. Bell gets the first nod in 2024 but we will see Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., and Ty Gibbs all rock a green Insterstate scheme as well this year. 8/10.

Joey Logano No. 22 Pennzoil Ford

Now how great would it be if the Pennzoil 200 won the Pennzoil 400? Joey Logano is back with the yellow and black and it looks just as good as it ever has.

Team Penske never really has a wild design, but they do have clean paint schemes. This is a great-looking car and if it finds its way to Victory Lane, could be an iconic look. 9/10.

Bubba Wallace No. 23 Columbia Sportswear Toyota

Does Columbia ever miss? Bubba Wallace is back with another black and gold design from the outdoor sportswear company. The topographical design works really well here.

When you’re in Las Vegas, you gotta have a little gold involved. The 23 car and 23XI Racing as a whole remain one of the top organizations in terms of paint schemes. 9/10.

William Byron No. 24 Z HP Chevy

I think I like this paint scheme more because last year’s Z HP scheme was so plain. The blue with the (fiber?) lines throughout the car are a much better design than what we had a year ago.

William Byron is the Daytona 500 champion and defending winner in the Pennzoil 400. Will he notch his second win in three races to start the new season? 7.5/10.

Daniel Hemric No. 31 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevy

When you can get a sponsorship like this, local, recognizable, and a race sponsor for the Cup Series playoff race in Las Vegas, that’s a win. Yellow and black make for great paint schemes in NASCAR.

Daniel Hemric has a ton to prove this year. Right now, he’s still getting a feel for things, but sooner or later he is going to have to put up some results. 8/10.

John Hunter Nemechek No. 42 Albertson’s Toyota

Now, this paint scheme looks a lot better with the hood design included. However, isn’t it impressive that John Hunter Nemechek has pulled this sponsorship together with all of these brands through Albertson’s?

Legacy Motor Club has brought on a ton of new sponsorship, and the paint schemes have been awesome so far. Again, wait until you see the entire design before you judge, it’s really solid. 8/10.

Erik Jones No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota

Speaking of Legacy Motor Club, this black and green Dollar Tree paint scheme is just what we like to see. Pleasing to look at, simple but eye-catching and – wait… what’s that? Coca-Cola and 5-Hour Energy as associate sponsors???

Erik Jones has brought 5-Hour Energy back into NASCAR, a small reintroduction, for now. What else does LMC have up their sleeves in 2024? 9/10.

Pennzoil 400 to begin the ‘real season’ in NASCAR

While superspeedway racing gets the eyeballs, there is a lot more to NASCAR than that. Starting with Las Vegas and the Pennzoil 400, NASCAR fans new and old will get a better idea of who the contenders are this season. So far, I’d argue this year is shaping up to be incredibly competitive.

Which rookies are we going to see rise to the occasion? Is this going to be the year for Chevy or Toyota and Ford with their new bodies? We will learn a lot in the next couple of days as we get ready to dive into the long Cup Series season.