Project Management

Goal: Re-create John Force’s Mountain Dew car from the 1970’s

During my time at John Force Racing I was entrusted with overseeing the restoration of many of his “retro” cars. The Mountain Dew car ranks highly as one of my favorites. When we received this body in the shop it was in very poor shape. It was badly worn and nearly see-through. Fortunately, we had a great team and they got right to work restoring the body to a condition worthy of paint.

While they prepared the body, I went to work collecting old images, examining, drawing, and digitizing logos as accurately as possible. Once I figured out the sizing, it was time to create paint masks, including the giant green stripes. Long and smooth curves are often difficult to hand tape, but creating them out of paint mask ensured they’d be perfect. 

Projects such as this require a hefty amount of scheduling, perseverance, and attention to detail. Because of the talents, drive, and focus of many people, this left-for-dead shell was transformed into a beautiful recreation of a vintage race car.

Goal: Create a graphics package that would unite the Bill Estes Automotive Group service and courtesy vehicles

From start to finish we were there for Bill Estes Automotive Group. They wanted a more exciting look but wanted to stay within budget. The project began by collecting the list of various vehicles the design would be applied to, then offering three designs that would stay within the desired budget. 

Once a design was chosen we set out to print and install wraps on the entire fleet. The new design was applied to vehicles as small as a minivan and as large as a box truck, creating the unity they desired.

It was such a pleasure working with a great group of people!

Goal: Create a funny car with a black and yellow paint scheme

To celebrate John Force’s 15th Funny Car Championship, he wanted something different than what his fans were accustomed to seeing him in. He envisioned a black and yellow themed car. From that idea spawned the black and yellow flamed car. I was excited to create a design that was not only different color scheme wise, but also allowed for some unique takes on flames. The result was a tribal flame pattern that proved to be more striking in person than it did on paper. 

The process started like nearly every other project: sketching ideas down on paper. The initial thought was to create the “15” out of roman numerals, with inspiration coming from Super Bowl logos. However, this idea did not stick. Once I had a rough sketch of the flames and a good idea of the direction it was going, I took it to the iMac to create a polished rendering. 

After a few tweaks we started making the vision a reality. I began by creating a paint mask of the flames. Paint masks are very efficient as you can quickly mask off a car while maintaining accuracy side-to-side. They also allow for fast, accurate repairs or recreations if necessary. 

Once the yellow was applied and the paint mask was installed, it was time for the black and clear coats. When the paint cured, the car was rolled out of the paint booth and the finishing touches were applied. 

My favorite part of any job is being a part of it from the initial concept and seeing it through to the end, just as I did with this one.

Goal: Design a unique look for Sugar Creek Tree Care 

Working for friends is always rewarding, and with this project I had the opportunity to do just that. My good friends came to me with a roughly drawn logo and were in need of a fresh look for their bucket truck. I started by polishing on their logo. Once that was done it was off to sketching ideas and then to the iMac for layout and design. 

When we honed in on the final concept, it was time to prepare for the bucket truck makeover. They dropped the truck off on a Friday night and we were able to turn the truck around in one day so they weren't down during normal business hours.

The final result was a clean design that complimented their vision nicely.

Goal: Design a Top Fuel Dragster to resemble an older warplane

Brittany Force’s vision was to have a dragster that resembled a warplane, but a different design than what others had done before. 

I began by researching images of planes, both old and new, and then incorporating elements of those planes into the design. Once we had a clear direction for the design, it was time for photoshop...hours and hours of photoshop. Every rivet and bolt were given photoshop treatment to give the impression that the paint was rubbing away and over time oil had stained the paint job. Included in this was “weathering” all of the sponsor decals to give them a worn, vintage feeling. From there I had an idea to use a material in a way it's not intended: print directly onto a brushed aluminum film. The hope was to give the design a metallic feel that couldn't be achieved through the standard print process. I applied silky smooth matte over laminate and set off to install the wrap. 

The finished product? A beautifully unique twist on the common warplane-themed race car. This entire project was completed in a tight window of time...in between races.

Goal: Create a Funny Car design for Courtney Force promoting Taylor Swift’s new album Reputation

Perhaps the most high-profile project I was involved with during my tenure with John Force Racing, this funny car was sure to get its share of media exposure. The goal was set and create a design that would utilize artwork from Taylor Swift’s Reputation album, while maintaining visibility of all the other sponsors of the race car.

Working in conjunction with Courtney Force and Taylor Swift’s record label, I was able to create a powerful design that showcased not only Taylor Swift, but all the supporting partners.