The 50 Most Badass NASCAR Rides of All Time

The classic black, white, and blue combination is made interesting by the unusual lines on the car, and made hilarious by the fact that it's advertising an ED medicine.

I takes some balls to drive a purple car with Bugs Bunny on it in front of a bunch of mustache-sporting NASCAR fans. We applaud this car for its utter ridiculousness.

The placement of the color blocks this Dodge accentuated its large flat panels and narrow grille in order to make it appear just a bit more aggressive and sleek. It's a fantastic livery.

On anything from a Ferrari 458 Italia to a classic American racer, a contrast roof looks good, and we love the speed lines behind the "55" too. They might be a bit silly, but they work.

The best part of the paint on Bobby Johns' Chevy was that this was, minus the sponsorship decals, pretty much how these cars were painted by the factory. Yeah, old Chevies look this good.

We miss the days when a driver would show up to a NASCAR race in a gorgeous two tone convertible. Imagine what the safety people would say today if Ford tried to enter a drop-top T-bird into a race.

Let's start off by saying that Southern Biscuit Flour sure knows how to find a proper venue in which to advertise its product. We're willing to bet that the average NASCAR fan consumes quite a bit of it. Secondly, we love the clean, parallel red stripes running over the sides of this car and up onto the roof and trunk. It's simple, classic, and attractive.

The way the stripes on the bottom of the 7-Eleven Thunderbird jut up when they pass under the B-pillar and move up to cover the trunk of the

If any celebrity deserves a NASCAR tribute, it's the "king of cool" James Dean. (With an "a," not the guy whose erection is all over the internet) He's best known for driving fast cars and having a badass attitude, and no dout would have loved to take this car for a spin.

The car that capped off Dale Jarrett's spectacular career was, thankfully, a looker. Seriously, we'd all be driving Camries if the street car looked anything like this stock car.

So often, all of the stuff that has been emblazined on a stock car just makes it look like a jumbled mess. The best livries tie it all together in a way that looks simple (even if it isn't) and cohesive, like Bud Moore's Hershey's Milk Chocolate car.

This is exactly what old school NASCAR was all about: American cars (A Ford Gran Torino, in this case) with a big V8 and a classic livery. Blue stripes on white are the officialy racing colors of the USA, and we love it whenever we see them on a bonafide race car,

The bisecting line down the center of Yarborough's car makes it look even more aerodynamic and sleek than it already is. It grants a sense of speed to the vehicle and makes it look right at home on the race track.

Ned Jarrett's Rathman sponsored car was a pale blue color that's starting to show up on cars today, with a white contrasting roof, and two orange blocks on top that might have been another "11" and might have just been a unique bit of decoration.

This is the legendary Glenn Wood back during the days when race cars were allowed to look like cars.

This is one of those cars that's impossible to confuse with anything else on the track. Even though it sounds stupid, white eating rainbow ended up looking pretty good on a car.

Having a bunch of rainbow colored candies on your car is not a winning recipie. Putting the whole thing in greyscale, however, toned it down and made the car look sleek, even though it was still covered with excitable, anthropomorphic candies.

What could be more American than a muscle car with some bold and brash paint, like this orange and black Camaro that was races by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richie Evans.

We love how the white accent line supports the character lines on the side of the car, comes to a point on the hood, and accentuates the number.

Sterling Marlin jumped in the No. 40 Coor's car in '98, and won the Gatorade 125 right off the bat that season. We can all agree kickin' back with a rocky Coors and watching a NASCAR race is a chilled-down badass way to spend your Sunday.

In the wake of the attack on the World Trade Center, NASCAR chose to make its tribute to the fallen with paint, V8s, and other assorted Americana. This was the result of the former.

The Tide car is a classic. It's one of those cars that any NASCAR fan recognizes immediately.

The goal of designing a NASCAR livery is to make the car easy to identify when travelling around a corner at high speed, and to build brand awareness for the sponsors. The Reese's car is a glowing orange spot in a sea of more predictible colors.

Another car from the so ridiculous it's cool files: the Kelloggs car with the Grinch on the hood. If he can race that sleigh down that insane mountain, we think he'll be right at home in a stock car.

Gordon's flaming Nicorette car came in two colors over the years, and we think the green one was definitely the more striking of the two.

We like simple liveries. It's all too easy for a car to get so covered in competing logos and bright colors that it starts to look like a Jackson Pollack scrapbooking project. That's what's great about the Bass Pro Shops car.

"Got Milk" is one of those ad campaigns that burrowed deep into our culture. It would have ben really easy to make Terry Labonte's Got Milk car look idiotic, but the crisp black on white design ended up just looking distinctive on the track.

Our favorite colors: blue, black, and Batman. Few things are more badass than the Gotham vigilante.

The No. 3 gave the "man in black" his lasting look beginning in 1988. A car with a powerful legacy, the GM Goodwrench in black with bold red and silver accents is an icon of NASCAR. Dale Earnhardt died in the car at Daytona in 2001. His stature in the sport is undisputed, and this ride has few rivals in the annals of motor racing history.

Yes, we do like that the race car has spiderman on it. Yes, we are eight years old. Design wise, it's an intimidating car, though. The black is made more interesting by the webbing, which looks almost textural from a distance.

We're actually pretty sure that this car, with a green M&M dressed as the world's favorite and most violent archaeologist, was the best part of Kindom of the Crystal Skull.

It's not just that a certain Mr. Elvis Presley adorned the hood of this car that made it cool; the blue and silver lent it nice, crisp lines, and the "rivets" added a certain Mad Max-esque sense of basaddery.

A striking and classic red and black color scheme, the iconic Ram logo, and the visage of one of the greatest pairs of fists to have ever punched its way around this world all on one car. Brilliant.

Casey Mears is clearly at the head of the streetwear game, given that his camo and neon National Guard car debuted in 2007. That shit's still fresh in 2013.

Most stock cars have fake, painted-on headlights that make them look more like the street models they have nothing to do with. Most people anthropomorphize cars by pretending the headlights are eyes. That's why this snake eyed Viper stock car is brilliant.

Who hasn't dreamt of putting on a Superman emblem and doing something heroic like racing a car at 200 mph?

One of the greatest drivers in NASCAR History, Handsome Harry Gant finished his career with 18 total wins. For much of his time on track, Gant drove a green and white Skoal-sponsored Pontiac with the No. 33. In 1991, Gant won every Cup race in September, the four victories granting him a second nickname: Mr. September.

NASCAR had been tyring to come up with regulations to slow down Bill Elliott and his Ford Thunderbird. Right before the race at Talladega, as GM's behest, the Ford was raised by an inch. Despite that, Elliott's red and white T-bird set a world record lap time during qualifying.

Dale Ernhardt began his storied career in a blue-and-yellow Chevrolet Monte Carlo with Wrangler sponsorship. The Rod Osterluned-owned car propelled Ernhardt to NASCAR Winston Cup rookie of the year honors, effectively launching one of sport's most storied careers. Dale pushed the blue-and-yellow into the mid-'80s, driving a GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Nova in '85 and officially going black in '88. The Wrangler set up solidified his status as "the Intimidator" which, in turn, solidifies its own status as on of NASCAR's most badass rides.

The black and gold of Wallace's MGD is simple. There are no purple flames or anything, and that keeps the car looking refined. It's the American answer to Lotus F1's John Player Special.

This Ford Galaxy has one of the cleanest NASCAR liveries of all time. That gleaming white and two-tone blue (with the blue interior!) worked magic for a driver Funk Master Flex calls "the Joe Namath of the sport." Ford boycotted NASCAR for much of the '66 season, giving this car its iconic stature. The roofline was lowered and the tail kicked up at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Though illegal, it was allowed to run. Rival drivers called it "The Yellow Banana."

The gentle curves on Ed Negre's Charger gave it a Marilyn Monroe figure and made it that much more attractive to look at.

This is one of the most classic-looking modern NASCAR liveries. And as you know, we love classics.

The fact that the green highlights rest only on the leading edges of this car serve to make it look like it's moving quickly, even when parked.

One of only two drivers in NASCAR history with three consecutive championships, Cale Yarborough ran his first full season in 1973. He finished second in total points, a feat he'd match in '74. His '73 Chevrolet Chevelle with Kar-Kare, an automotive supplies dealer, sponsorship cut a bold stance with orange base and white hood and roof.

In NASCAR's early days, when a stock car was still stock, most cars only had a single sponsor and liveries were simple. We love it, and this red and white Olds is one of our favorite relics.

The typography and color scheme on this Monte Carlo are so damn perfect. Check how the roof matches the wheels. Allison was instrumental in helping promote manufacture rivalry, particularly as he raced Richard Petty's Ford's in a Chevy. His covers in '72, unlike the track results, had few rivals.

In 1973, Benny Parson's drove a Chevrolet Chevelle all the way to the NASCAR championship. His most iconic moment relays his will to win -- needing to finish in the seasons final race, Parson crashed. Rather than throw in the towel, he finished the American 500 at North Carolina Speedway without a door. The result gave him the Winston Cup Series of points. His wrecked car remains one of NASCAR's most badass moments.

"What wins on Sunday sells on Monday" used to be said about NASCAR. Yeah, you used to be able to go buy your favorite driver's car from a dealership. We'd love to play with a '69 Dodge Charger Daytona like this one, especially with that slick contrasting roof.

For 28 years from 1972, Richard Petty stormed raceways in a brilliant orange and Petty blue livery. His relationship with STP began when Chrysler pulled direct factory support, and "the King" didn't miss a beat keeping his iconic blue in step with the new sponsor. Petty took the famous livery to 200 wins, and while the look doesn't scream "bad ass," the track record gives it the ultimate co-sign.