Yea or nay: Townsend Bell's ride

Posted by Iannucci | 5/12/2008 | 17 comments »
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Along with the number "13" and peanuts the color green has traditionally been considered bad luck at the track, and although his number is "99" and his sponsor is not "Planters" Townsend Bell is walking under a virtual ladder by going with a car that's almost entirely green.


Olive green that is, styled with fluorescent orange trim. Crash.net has the scoop from Bell on his scheme.

“I was karting in Southern California with Justin and a few of his friends for a couple of weeks, and we had camouflage hats from William Rast, and everyone thought an army green look would be cool on an IndyCar," he revealed.

"So I called [team owner] Dennis [Reinbold] and he made it happen. It is definitely a cool look, and the people around the Speedway were really into the new paint scheme. The flat green makes the car look like a fighting vehicle - it's a much different scheme than on any other car, and I think, the more people that see the car, the more people will like it. You can't miss it on the track. It really stands out.”


By the way, that’s “Justin” as in “Timberlake”. He’s bringing sexy back.

So is this original livery truly reminiscent of a military assault vehicle, or is it just plain fugly?

(Photo from Zappatista)

17 comments

  1. Carrie // May 12, 2008 11:09 AM  

    I like it.

    Anyone know how the heck it is that Townsend knows Justin Timberlake, though?!?!

  2. Johnny // May 12, 2008 11:17 AM  

    The green is kind of an American thing though, hence many Brit racing liveries under the color codes "British Racing Green" and "Goodwood Green."

  3. Jennifer Coomer // May 12, 2008 11:56 AM  

    I liked it alright in photos. But after seeing it in person I really like it.

    I don't know how TB knows JT, but JT is a co-owener of William Rast.

  4. Anonymous // May 12, 2008 12:30 PM  

    TB said he's good friends with the man JT assigned to managed William Rast. As for the livery, it's badass.

  5. Fred Hurley // May 12, 2008 12:36 PM  

    I didn't like the livery at first, but it's grown on me. At the very least, it's markedly different from the rest of the cars in the field, so that's a plus.

    "And for my new car, we've gone way outside the box, and chosen a red & white livery that DOESN'T include blue!"

  6. Anonymous // May 12, 2008 12:50 PM  

    i'm kind of a fan of it... its sharp and different, marco's firesuit on the other hand...

  7. Ansen Bayer // May 12, 2008 1:38 PM  

    I'm for it.

    And, whether people like it or don't, it's definitely doing its job in that its garnering a lot of attention.

  8. Anonymous // May 12, 2008 1:42 PM  

    The one problem I have with it is that color shows up very poorly on TV. Isn't that the point of a paint job?

  9. Anonymous // May 12, 2008 1:47 PM  

    Liked it in the photo... but really like it in person! it's very cool!

  10. Unknown // May 12, 2008 3:48 PM  

    I have to say that I don't really care for the color. It looks like a black car covered in Georgia pollen. I know that color well, and it's not a positive association.

  11. Anonymous // May 12, 2008 5:22 PM  

    ugly.

  12. Anonymous // May 12, 2008 7:49 PM  

    I like it, he should keep it for the rest of the season.

  13. Anonymous // May 13, 2008 12:04 AM  

    IT IS better looking than Graham "Buckshot 06" Rahal's car and Penske's 2 cars !!!

  14. Anonymous // May 13, 2008 3:13 AM  

    It would be sweet if it was flat black with some gloss flames.

  15. Doug // May 13, 2008 3:56 AM  

    Its not another red-white with a splash of blue paint scheme, so I like it!

  16. Anonymous // May 13, 2008 5:30 PM  

    Ditto, doug!

  17. Anonymous // May 14, 2008 5:51 AM  

    I thought that the green car superstition died years ago when Jim Clark won in a green Lotus?