This is our running tracker for every 2026 NASCAR Cup Series special paint scheme, newest first, updated every time a team pulls the covers off something worth looking at. Each scheme gets the full ColorWay treatment, and where we have already published a complete breakdown, the entry links straight to it. Reveal week loaded the tracker from both ends of the calendar. This Sunday's Pocono race brings the showpiece: Ryan Blaney's Team Penske 60th-anniversary Wabash throwback, our top-graded scheme of the season so far, with Penske and Hendrick rolling out their full Tricky Triangle grids alongside it. And next weekend's inaugural San Diego street race at Naval Base Coronado is the bigger headline — Red Bull is back in NASCAR, on two Trackhouse cars, with a patriotic Chase Elliott NAPA #9 for that same Navy-250 weekend.
Updated Saturday June 13 with the San Diego reveals — Red Bull's return on Trackhouse's #88 and #97, and Chase Elliott's patriotic NAPA Gold Filters #9 — plus the full Penske and Hendrick Pocono lineups. Earlier entries: Ryan Blaney's Wabash throwback, Josh Berry's Capgemini Wood Brothers reveal, both RCR Kyle Busch tribute schemes, and the Coca-Cola 600 Memorial Day tributes.
1. Red Bull Returns to NASCAR: Shane van Gisbergen #88 and Connor Zilisch #97 · Trackhouse Racing · San Diego
Red Bull is back in NASCAR. For the first time since the energy-drink brand's own Cup team closed its doors after the 2011 season, Red Bull is on the side of a Cup car again — and Trackhouse Racing is bringing it back in the most Trackhouse way imaginable: two cars, two completely different Red Bull looks, photographed on a "scenic route" tour of San Diego ahead of the inaugural street race at Naval Base Coronado on June 21. Shane van Gisbergen's #88 wears the classic deep-navy Red Bull livery, the one burned into motorsport memory across F1 and the old Red Bull Racing stock cars, with the charging-bull mark on the hood and the red-and-yellow Red Bull wordmark filling the door above WeatherTech.com. Connor Zilisch's #97 flips it into a silver-and-light-blue variation, a brighter, chrome-leaning counterpart to van Gisbergen's heritage navy.
The reveal staging is the part we keep coming back to. Trackhouse did not shoot these in a studio — they parked the pair under the carnival lights at Belmont Park and again at the foot of the Coronado Ferry Landing with the San Diego skyline across the bay, turning a sponsor announcement into a postcard for a race weekend that has not happened yet. Putting the cars in the actual city, on the boardwalk and on the waterfront, is exactly the kind of context that sells a brand-new street race to people who have never seen NASCAR run downtown. Red Bull on a Cup car was always going to be a story; doing it as a matched two-car set in two San Diego landmarks is how you make people stop scrolling and screenshot it.
Grade: A- — Red Bull's return alone is an event, the dual-livery execution is sharp, and the location photography does more storytelling than most full reveal videos. The navy #88 is the star of the two; if Trackhouse runs these as well as they shot them, this nudges up to an A.
2. Chase Elliott #9 NAPA "Gold Filters" Patriotic Scheme · Hendrick Motorsports · San Diego
If San Diego's race is going to be staged on an active U.S. Navy base during the Navy's 250th anniversary, somebody was going to go full red, white, and blue — and NAPA got there first with Chase Elliott's #9. The "Gold Filters" patriotic scheme keeps the familiar NAPA blue up top, drops it onto a white lower body, scatters gold stars across the doors and hood, and then does the one thing that makes the whole car work: it paints the #9 red. Elliott's number is almost always blue or white inside the NAPA package, so seeing it rendered in bold red, outlined on the white roof, is an instant signal that this is not a normal NAPA week. The gold stars double as quiet brand wordplay — a nod to NAPA's Gold line of filters — and they keep the palette from reading like a flat three-color flag job.
This is a clean, well-resolved take on a NASCAR staple. Patriotic schemes turn up every summer, so the bar for a memorable one is high, and the red #9 plus the gold-star detailing clears it without tipping into clutter. The blue-over-white split holds together at speed and the NAPA wordmark still reads instantly, which is the entire job of a sponsor scheme. For a track sitting on the San Diego Bay shoreline next to the base's active airfield, it is the right car for the right weekend.
Grade: B+ — strong execution of a familiar genre, lifted by the red number and the Gold Filters star detail. Patriotic red-white-and-blue is well-trodden ground, which is the only thing keeping it out of A- range.
3. Josh Berry #21 Stars and Stripes Military Tribute · Wood Brothers Racing · San Diego
Josh Berry's No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford goes full stars and stripes for San Diego, a red-white-and-blue military tribute carrying the Motorcraft and Quick Lane branding. For a points race held on an active Navy base at Naval Base Coronado, tied to the U.S. Navy's 250th anniversary, the patriotic direction is the obvious right call. The catch is that the obvious call is also the crowded one: nearly the entire garage rolled out patriotic schemes for this race, so a clean flag car stands out a little less here than it would any other weekend. Full breakdown in our Josh Berry San Diego paint scheme post.
Grade: B. A sharp, fitting tribute that plays it a little safe in a field stuffed with red, white, and blue. We like it, we do not love it.
4. The Pocono Preview: Penske and Hendrick Roll Out the Tricky Triangle Lineup · June 14
Before San Diego, there is a race this Sunday — and both of the sport's superpowers used reveal day to lay their full Pocono grids on the table. Team Penske's PPG-branded preview lines up all three Fords for the June 14 race: Austin Cindric's #2 in the yellow-and-blue Menards/Ideal Door package, Joey Logano's #22 in the timeless Shell-Pennzoil red and yellow, and Ryan Blaney's #12 in the royal-blue Wabash throwback we have ranked as the best paint scheme of the 2026 season so far. Logano's Shell-Pennzoil is still one of the cleanest standing liveries in the garage, but it is Blaney's throwback that makes this Penske drop matter — the full breakdown is right below.
Hendrick Motorsports answered with all four of its cars "set for Pennsylvania": Kyle Larson's #5 HendrickCars.com, Chase Elliott's #9 in the standard NAPA blue (the patriotic version is saved for San Diego next week), William Byron's #24 in the red-white-and-blue RAPTOR scheme with the flame graphic, and Alex Bowman's #48 Ally blue. None of the Hendrick four are throwbacks, but Byron's RAPTOR is the boldest of the set — the flame kick and the yellow #24 give it the most movement of any standard scheme on the grid. Add it up and Pocono's field is mostly business-as-usual liveries with one genuine showpiece, and that showpiece is the Penske #12.
5. Ryan Blaney #12 Wabash · Team Penske 60th Anniversary Throwback · Pocono, June 14
Render via Team Penske
Team Penske turns 60 this year, the team has been celebrating all season, and the anniversary program just produced the best NASCAR paint scheme of 2026 so far. For the June 14 Cup race at Pocono Raceway, Ryan Blaney's #12 Wabash Ford Mustang Dark Horse goes full throwback to the most famous #12 in Penske's stock car history: Ryan Newman's royal blue Alltel car, the one that won the 2008 Daytona 500. That win was Roger Penske's first Daytona 500 victory and the organization's 296th overall team win, a checkered flag the team waited 36 years to grab, and the reveal graphic leans into it with the full stat line and a timeline running from the team's 1966 founding to today.
The design mapping from the Alltel original to the 2026 car is faithful where it counts. The body runs the same saturated royal blue from nose to tail, the white swoosh kicks up through the lower bodywork in the same line the Alltel Charger carried, the white WABASH wordmark sits exactly where ALLTEL used to live on the quarter panel, and the white #12 with the silver kick keeps the number identity intact across the two eras. The rear decklid goes white with MENARDS across it, Discount Tire, Snap-on, and Würth hold the rocker area, DEX rides the C-pillar, Pennzoil marks the hood, and the Sunoco and Ford Racing marks sit in their usual real estate. The detail that sells the whole era for us: yellow-letter Goodyear Eagle tires on all four corners, the single fastest way to make a modern Next Gen car read as a 2000s race car. The door also carries the USA 250 patch that every Cup car wears in 2026 for America's 250th anniversary, the same semiquincentennial mark we broke down when it showed up on the NBA Finals courts.
Image via Team Penske
The reveal itself is the best part. Team Penske rolled the original Alltel car out of the museum, parked it nose to nose with the 2026 Wabash Mustang inside the race shop, and had Blaney and Newman stand between them, two generations of the Penske #12 in one frame under the 2024 winner posters. Newman won 13 of his 51 career Cup poles in that blue car era and remains one of the most beloved figures in the Penske alumni family, and putting him physically at the reveal instead of just putting his name in the press release is the difference between a sponsor repaint and a real tribute. This is how you do a throwback.
This is an A for us. We absolutely love it. The throwback with Ryan Newman is executed with real care, the Alltel-to-Wabash translation respects the original design instead of just borrowing its color, the yellow-letter tires commit to the era, and the reveal staging with both Ryans and both cars is the kind of moment that makes you want to watch the race. We are genuinely excited to see this thing at speed on the Pocono tunnel turn. The Penske 60th anniversary program set a high bar with this one, and the rest of the garage now has something to chase for the remainder of the throwback season.
The Throwback vs the Original
Graphic via Team Penske
The original is Ryan Newman's royal blue Alltel #12 Dodge, the car that delivered Roger Penske his first Daytona 500 win on February 17, 2008, with Kurt Busch pushing his teammate to the line in a Penske 1-2 finish. The 2026 Wabash car keeps the blue, the white lower swoosh, the wordmark placement, and the white #12, and updates the package to the Mustang Dark Horse body with the modern Penske sponsor stack. Newman's Alltel era ran from 2000 through 2008 at Penske and produced 13 Cup wins including that Daytona 500, and the 2026 throwback is timed to the team's 60th anniversary season. Same number, same blue, eighteen years apart.
More Photos of the Blaney Wabash Throwback Scheme
Renders via Team Penske
Grade: A
6. Josh Berry #21 Capgemini · Wood Brothers Racing
via @woodbrothers21 on X
Wood Brothers Racing unveiled the Capgemini partnership scheme for Josh Berry's #21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse on Tuesday, a two-tone deep navy and cyan design with the oversized white Capgemini script wordmark owning the doors, the hood, and the rear decklid. The cyan stripe through the front bumper and the way the script reads at every angle make it one of the cleanest corporate schemes of the season, and it slots into the Wood Brothers 2026 rotation alongside the Motorcraft and Quick Lane heritage looks. We published the full first look with all four reveal photos, the color story breakdown, and the sponsor stack analysis: Josh Berry's Capgemini paint scheme first look.
7. Austin Hill #33 Rebel Bourbon · RCR Kyle Busch Tribute
via @RCRracing on X
Richard Childress Racing built Austin Hill's #33 Rebel Bourbon scheme around a matte black base with distressed white-and-red Rebel lettering, and then gave it a heartbeat: the "HONORING OUR ORIGINAL REBEL" message down the side that turns the whole car into a Kyle Busch tribute. The shop photos show how much the matte finish and the yellow-letter Goodyears do for the look in person. The full breakdown of the scheme, the tribute story, and how it pairs with Austin Dillon's Dow car lives here: RCR's 2026 Rebel Bourbon and Dow paint schemes.
8. Austin Dillon #3 Dow · RCR
via @RCRracing on X
Austin Dillon's #3 Dow Camaro runs the black base with the red diamond-cut Dow graphics wrapping the door and the big white #3 doing what the most famous number in stock car racing always does. The shop side profile shows the full sponsor read, Titan and Bass Pro Shops and Winchester along the rocker, the MobilityScience wordmark on the decklid, and the USA 250 anniversary patch on the C-pillar. The complete breakdown of both RCR schemes is in the same post linked above: RCR's 2026 paint schemes.
9. 600 Miles of Remembrance · Coca-Cola 600 Memorial Day Tributes
The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte is the one weekend a year when every single car in the Cup field changes its look for the same reason. The 600 Miles of Remembrance program puts the name of a fallen service member on every windshield banner, the halfway moment of silence stops the longest race of the year cold, and the paint schemes across the field carry the patriotic program. We covered the full Memorial Day tribute package, how the program works, and the history behind it here: 2026 NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 Memorial Day tributes explained.
What Drops Next
The next big reveal day is San Diego. The inaugural Naval Base Coronado street race on June 21 — the first NASCAR points race ever held on an active U.S. military base — is exactly the kind of event that pulls special schemes out of every team in the garage, and Trackhouse's Red Bull cars and Elliott's patriotic NAPA #9 are almost certainly the first of many. Expect more Navy-250 and San Diego-specific liveries to drop in the days before the green flag. Beyond that, the Penske 60th anniversary program still has Joey Logano's #22 and Austin Cindric's #2 as obvious throwback candidates, the Wood Brothers heritage rotation always has another Motorcraft moment in it, and Darlington's official throwback weekend sits later in the schedule. We add every scheme worth covering to this tracker as it drops, newest at the top, with grades on the ones we have full takes on. Bookmark this page and check back after every reveal day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Red Bull returning to NASCAR in 2026?
Yes. Trackhouse Racing revealed two Red Bull paint schemes for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series, marking the energy-drink brand's return to Cup competition for the first time since its own Red Bull Racing team closed after the 2011 season. Shane van Gisbergen's #88 runs the classic deep-navy Red Bull livery and Connor Zilisch's #97 runs a silver-and-light-blue variation, both debuting at the inaugural San Diego street race at Naval Base Coronado on June 21, 2026.
When is the NASCAR San Diego street race?
The inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race in San Diego, the Anduril 250, runs on June 21, 2026 on a custom street course at Naval Base Coronado. It is the first NASCAR points race ever held on an active United States military base and only the second street race of NASCAR's modern era, and the weekend is tied to the U.S. Navy's 250th anniversary. The Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series race on the same layout earlier in the weekend.
What is Chase Elliott's San Diego paint scheme?
Chase Elliott's #9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet runs a special patriotic NAPA "Gold Filters" scheme for the San Diego race weekend at Naval Base Coronado. It keeps the NAPA blue on the upper body, adds a white lower body and gold stars, and paints Elliott's #9 in red instead of its usual blue — a red-white-and-blue look chosen to match a race weekend staged on an active Navy base during the Navy's 250th anniversary.
What is Ryan Blaney's throwback paint scheme for Pocono 2026?
Ryan Blaney's #12 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse runs a Wabash-branded throwback to Ryan Newman's royal blue Alltel #12 at Pocono Raceway on June 14, 2026. The scheme is part of Team Penske's 60th anniversary celebration and recreates the look of the car Newman drove to win the 2008 Daytona 500, with the white WABASH wordmark sitting in the same quarter panel position the ALLTEL logo held on the original, the same white swoosh through the lower bodywork, and yellow-letter Goodyear Eagle tires completing the 2000s era look.
Who is Ryan Blaney's 2026 throwback scheme honoring?
The scheme honors Ryan Newman and his 2008 Daytona 500 winning Alltel #12. That victory was Roger Penske's first Daytona 500 win and the organization's 296th overall team win, coming on February 17, 2008. Newman drove the Penske #12 from 2000 through 2008, and he appeared at the reveal in person, standing with Blaney between the 2026 Wabash car and the original Alltel car inside the Team Penske shop.
When will Ryan Blaney run the Wabash throwback scheme?
The Wabash throwback runs at Pocono Raceway on Sunday June 14, 2026, in the NASCAR Cup Series race. It is a one-race special paint scheme tied to Team Penske's 60th anniversary season.
Why is Team Penske running throwback paint schemes in 2026?
Team Penske was founded in 1966, which makes 2026 the organization's 60th anniversary season. The team is celebrating with anniversary programming across its racing operations, and the Blaney Wabash throwback to Newman's 2008 Daytona 500 winner is the first major NASCAR paint scheme of the program. The reveal graphic includes a timeline running from 1966 to 2026 with the 2008 Daytona 500 win marked on it.
What is the USA 250 patch on 2026 NASCAR Cup cars?
The USA 250 patch is the official mark of America's 250th anniversary, the semiquincentennial, and it appears on every NASCAR Cup Series car in 2026 next to the door number. It is the same United States 250th anniversary program mark that appeared on the 2026 NBA Finals courts and that the NFL is carrying through its 2026 season. We broke down the full USA 250 program and where it appears across sports in our USA 250 patch explainer.
How many special NASCAR paint schemes have been revealed in 2026 so far?
This tracker covers the biggest paint scheme stories of the 2026 season so far: Red Bull's return on Trackhouse's #88 and #97 for San Diego, Chase Elliott's patriotic NAPA Gold Filters #9, the full Penske and Hendrick Pocono lineups, Ryan Blaney's Penske 60th anniversary Wabash throwback, Josh Berry's Capgemini Wood Brothers reveal, Austin Hill's #33 Rebel Bourbon Kyle Busch tribute, Austin Dillon's #3 Dow scheme at RCR, and the field-wide 600 Miles of Remembrance Memorial Day program at the Coca-Cola 600. We add each major reveal as it drops, newest first.
What was the Alltel #12 car?
The Alltel #12 was Ryan Newman's Team Penske entry through the 2000s, sponsored by the telecommunications company Alltel and best remembered in royal blue with a white lower swoosh. Newman put the Alltel car in victory lane at the 2008 Daytona 500, the franchise-defining win the 2026 Wabash throwback recreates, and the original car still lives in the Team Penske collection, which is how it ended up parked next to Blaney's 2026 Mustang at the reveal.
