Jeff Gordon unveils new paint scheme for 2009 season
Jeff Gordon will sport a new look on his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
The four-time Cup champion unveiled a 2009 "FireStorm" paint scheme on Thursday morning that will debut on his No. 24 car during Daytona Speedweeks in February.
Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports and primary sponsor DuPont are the longest active driver-team-sponsor combination in NASCAR. The 2009 campaign will mark their 17th season together.
The new primary paint scheme will be the third Gordon has used on his Cup car designed by noted motorsports artist Sam Bass.
"I'm fired up about our new paint scheme," said Gordon, who formally unveiled his new colors as a guest on "The Today Show" on NBC. "I've always loved cars with flames, and the current 'Fire and Flames' paint scheme has been one of my favorites. But now I think we've improved upon that with the 'FireStorm' design, and hopefully we'll be as fast on the track as the paint scheme makes us look."
Gordon's car last took on a new paint scheme in 2001, when the “Fire and Flames” design replaced the “Rainbow Warrior” scheme with which Gordon raced beginning in his rookie season of 1993 and drove to three of his four Cup championships.
As with previous designs, the new one won't just be on Gordon's car. It will be featured on his firesuit, the uniforms of all crew members and the team's equipment.
Bass has also created a new "DuPont Motorsports" logo.
"I knew the 2009 'FireStorm' paint scheme needed to be special," Bass said. "Utilizing DuPont's state-of-the-art mixtures developed specifically for this project, the idea was to present a classic, yet contemporary look to the car."
