By Van Cox, Special to NASCAR.COM
August 11, 2005
12:09 PM EDT (16:09 GMT)
It was announced last week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that former NASCAR Cup Series Champion and 16-time Most Popular Driver Bill Elliott would race a No. 6 Hungry Drivers Dodge Charger featuring Peanuts' animated icon Charlie Brown in the NASCAR Busch Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park on Oct. 22. Created to celebrated the 40th anniversary of the animated television special "A Charlie Brown Christmas," the initiative is a collaboration between United Media, the licensing and syndication company for Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz; Evernham Motorsports; driver Bill Elliott; and Action Performance Companies Inc. Action's art department designed the paint job, and the collectibles giant will offer die-cast replicas of the Bill Elliott Peanuts car. "Just having Bill Elliott back at the racetrack is a draw for most NASCAR fans," said Fred Wagenhals, Action Performance's chairman, president and CEO. "Teaming Bill up with the Peanuts characters simply makes it an even more enriching experience. It is a union of two beloved American classics -- an extremely popular NASCAR champion and an enduring comic strip -- that still never fail to inspire their fans." In addition to imagery from the 1965 holiday classic and an official 40th anniversary logo, the No. 6 Hungry Drivers Dodge features sponsorship identifiers from Hellmann's mayonnaise. The title sponsor of the Memphis NASCAR Busch Series race, Sam's Town-Tunica, will be featured on the No. 6 car as an associate sponsor for this race. Few fans remember that Awesome Bill was actually one of the pioneers of the special paint scheme movement. Ten years ago, during the same weekend that Dale Earnhardt was grabbing headlines with the much-heralded silver car, Elliott became the first driver to race a car carrying an entertainment-themed graphics package. Elliott's Ford -- appropriately dubbed Thunderbat -- sported a paint job promoting the movie Batman Forever. While Elliott was announcing his next paint scheme, Tony Stewart was putting his on the race track. Stewart raced the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Incorporated Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the 200-mile NASCAR Busch Series race at Indianapolis Raceway Park last Saturday night. The car sported a special James Dean 50th Anniversary paint job. Stewart wound up 23rd at the checkered flag. That car, too, has been replicated by Action, which enjoys a multi-faceted licensing agreement with the James Dean Estate. Indy spawns special paint schemes A high-profile event like the Allstate 400 provides the perfect venue for special paint schemes. Below is a list of a few of the graphics combinations on the track last weekend. Look for many of them to be replicated in die-cast. • No. 7 Robbie Gordon/Fruit of The Loom
• No. 9 Kasey Kahne/Pit Cap
• No. 10 Scott Riggs/Checkers/Rally's Hamburgers
• No. 25 Brian Vickers/Garnier Fructis
• No. 29 Kevin Harvick/GM Goodwrench/RCR 20th Anniversary
• No. 43 Jeff Green/Boxtops For Education
• No. 44 Terry Labonte ditch.com
• No. 49 Ken Schrader/Red Baron
• No. 91 Bill Elliott/Stanley Tools
• No. 97 Kurt Busch/Crown Royal
• No. 99 Carl Edwards/AAA | 
