2015 is not a banner year for paint schemes in the Cup Series

If you’re a NASCAR fan, one of the best parts of the approaching season is the unveiling of cars’ paint schemes.

Through announcements and the first days of cars being on track at Daytona, we’ve gotten a glimpse of what most rides will look like in 2015. And, well, it’s underwhelming.

We’re admitted simpletons when it comes to paint schemes. The simpler and cleaner the better. Some cars in the Cup Series have that look going on. Some definitely don’t.

Let’s start with a couple of the cars we like. Nationwide’s paint scheme for Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the best new design of the season.

It’s a contender up against Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 for best-looking car. Props to Team Penske for keeping the white look.

Carl Edwards’ new No. 19 isn’t bad, though the red numbers on the side seem to blend in a bit against the orange background.

We don’t mind the black and red combination of Kurt Busch’s car, but the diagonal side-stripe makes the car look a bit like a Texas Tech-themed Tetris puzzle.

They get worse from here. Denny Hamlin’s FedEx schemes over the past couple years weren’t bad. The addition of purple with orange trim are obviously for company colors, but the utilization is suspect. Especially with the purple roof.

Greg Biffle’s Ortho car looks kind of like a red-faced anteater. Though given the sponsor’s products, maybe that was the objective?

Danica Patrick’s car may be the ugliest main paint scheme of the year. We’ve discussed our dislike of the combination in this space previously, but the car looks so 1990s that it’s worth mentioning again.