CONCORD, N.C. – Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson hopes to catch lightning in a bottle one last time with his eighth victory at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, and he’ll chase that win with a unique paint scheme on his No. 48 Chevrolet.
Johnson will carry a lightning-bolt livery in the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500, designed by 19-year-old Michigan college student Noah “Lefty” Sweet.
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Sweet has been designing paint schemes, some of which have become widely-used on iRacing and other sim-racing platforms, for nearly a decade. He began at age 14 and Sunday will mark the first time one of his designs hits the track in the NASCAR Cup Series.
“After all the years I spent drawing Jimmie’s car as a kid, I never would have imagined I would get a chance to design his actual car,” Sweet said. “It has always been my dream and I will remember this for the rest of my life.”
Sweet’s inspiration for this particular car came largely from beloved scheme designer Sam Bass, who passed away in February of 2019, and he noted a desire to mix the modern elements of Johnson’s current Ally design with several classic notes.
“My inspiration for mixing in the black with the new white scheme comes from Jimmie’s Sam Bass-designed scheme, which had that touch of black added to it in 2006,” Sweet explained. “It shows how you don’t have to choose one or the other — mixing the best of both can go a long way. The bright white on the front of the car sets off the Ally plum on the hood, and the black on the side makes the yellow 48 pop more. The Ally purples and pinks join with a sharp lightning bolt to bring the white and black together.
“I’ve always adored the aesthetic of sharp lightning-like designs on my cars to contrast the smooth curves on the race cars. At the same time, I try to keep it bold and full rather than noisy and thin, much like how Sam designed his cars.”
Andrea Brimmer, Ally’s chief marketing officer and PR head, helped introduce Sweet to Johnson via a Zoom call several weeks ago and called it her “best Zoom meeting of the year.”
She added that Sweet being able to design a scheme for Johnson before he moves on from full-time competition in the NASCAR Cup Series is a reminder of the positive impact that Johnson has had on people both on and off the race track throughout his career.
“We gave a young artist a big opportunity and he delivered a striking and fresh design linking Jimmie’s past and present,” noted Brimmer. “I’m proud that Noah’s first Cup Series paint scheme hits the track on the No. 48 Ally Chevy.”
Johnson has a record seven NASCAR Cup Series wins at Texas, with his most recent score at the 1.5-mile Fort Worth quad-oval coming in the spring of 2017.