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Designer Discussion: NASCAR Logo

Adam Wright

by Adam Wright

NASCAR logo featuring bold white text with red, yellow, and blue vertical bars on a black background.

As you may or may not know, I am a big NASCAR fan and have been for nearly the entirety of my existence. Not only am I just a NASCAR fan, but a fan of racing in general—sprint cars, rally cars, etc. With the recent news, I wanted to discuss my thoughts on the new NASCAR logo.

Change after 40 years

In December 2016, NASCAR announced a new brand identity for the company after forty years without change. Considering that amount of time without an update (1976-2016), that’s a testament to the designer(s) of the previous logo. As a graphic designer myself, the thought of creating a design that could last 40 years in a world of constant change is the ultimate goal. Major props!

New logo

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Moving forward, let’s talk about the new logo.

Behold!

New NASCAR logo (2017)

Now, what stands out to you most? For me, it’s a combination of the black typography along with the scaled down color background.

The simplicity of the new design is brilliant. Eliminating the larger color block, as well as the fuchsia hue, left the new logo with the three primary colors: red, blue and yellow. Even though the colors were scaled down, they kept a similar design that stays recognizable.

In addition to the colors, the typography is slightly different. Most noticeably, the “A” in the new logo is more square and rigid than the previous logo. The new logo type, overall, makes it more relevant and modern. Also, it ties in better with the motorsports audience with the edgier, rigid font.

Although it’s not a drastic change from the previous logo, I believe it is a big leap towards NASCAR becoming more widely known.

Do you agree? What are your thoughts? Let us know!

Adam Wright

About the Author

Adam Wright

Adam is a California native, now living in Middle Tennessee. A long-time creative at heart, his passion for design and growing his small business, AWD, is always evident. When he's not writing code or sketching logos, he enjoys spending time with family, playing basketball, or watching just about any motorsports. Find him on LinkedIn.