"Anyone else find this ugly?": NASCAR fans react to Sammy Smith's new JR Motorsports paint scheme after Teresa Earnhardt allows copyright lapse

JR Motorsports, owned by retired NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr., is bringing back a classic look to Sammy Smith's #8 Chevrolet for the 2025 Xfinity Series season. The organization recently revealed Smith's paint scheme for next year with the iconic #8 font synonymous with the early days of Earnhardt's Cup Series career.

Earnhardt Jr. gained the rights to the famed #8 font after Teresa Earnhardt, widow of Dale Earnhardt Sr., allowed it due to a copyright lapse. In an X post, JR Motorsports announced that Pilot will be Smith's primary sponsor in 2025 along with a photo of the new paint scheme.

The paint scheme drew much attention from race fans on social media, including those who didn't seem thrilled about the new look. One user asked if anyone agreed that the car didn't have the most appealing look, writing:

"Anyone else find this ugly?"

A few other negative comments regarding the paint scheme were in response to JR Motorsports' post, with one user writing:

"Normally yall have great schemes...swing and a miss here."

"Rare miss," wrote another.

"This... Feels like a really bad scheme... Like, the solid red with the 8 and the classic black drop shadow would look GREAT! Iconic, but not the same... This just looks like a missed opertunity," wrote another user.

Many fans expressed their disappointment in Smith's #8 2025 look, but there were also many who were pleased by what they saw. One user wrote:

"I really like this scheme, it simple and vibrant. It will definitely stand out on track. For marketing purposes I bet Pilot really likes it too."

"Good Looker," said another.

"She’s a beauty!" said a third.

Smith joined JR Motorsports ahead of the 2024 season after spending 2023 behind the wheel of the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. The 20-year-old picked up a victory at the Talladega Superspeedway in October which locked him into the Round of 8 of the playoffs. The win marked Smith's second career triumph as his first came at Las Vegas in 2023.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. said it's "awesome" to have famed #8 font back with JR Motorsports

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is excited to see the iconic #8 back on the track next season. The former 15-time Most Popular Driver of NASCAR looks forward to seeing his driver, Sammy Smith, get behind the wheel of the car at the Daytona International Speedway in February.

Earnhardt Jr. said in an official press release:

“It is awesome to have this number and this font back at JR Motorsports this year, and I can’t wait to see it on the car in Daytona. That’s going to be a pretty awesome feeling for me personally. Sammy is going to do a great job with it. Excited to have that number out there and I know everybody else is as well.”

Earnhardt Jr. owns JR Motorsports, an organization that picked up its fourth Xfinity Series championship in 2024 with Justin Allgaier. It was the first career title for Allgaier in what was his seventh appearance in the Championship 4 race.