Vehicle Graphics Project of the Day: Racing Stripes

The Global Group USA (Temecula, CA) promoted NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series race at Fontana, CA’s Auto Club Speedway with its decoration of 10, 36-ft.-long tractor-trailers to promote the Auto Club 500. Chris Beall, Global Group’s executive vice president, said NASCAR’s ad agency referred them, and Beall’s pitch sold Speedway officials.

After a thorough pressure wash, Global’s installers prepped the trailers with an alcohol bath. The ad agency prepared the wraps’ artwork using Adobe® Photoshop® software. The shop output eight panels per side, and another for the back door, using Arlon’s DPF 6000X 2-mil, cast film with X-scape air-egress technology, which it coated with Arlon's Series 3220 overlaminate. Arlon donated film for the project.

Global produced the wraps on an EFI VUTEk 3360 solvent-ink printer at 150 dpi with a Colorburst 6.1 RIP. Beall said the door on one side of the vehicle, with a large, protruding handle, provided a significant installation challenge. To accommodate this, the installers trimmed a small berth behind the door and tucked excess film underneath.

The campaign began on New Year’s Day and continued until the races took place in late February. The Auto Club Speedway will host another NASCAR Sprint Cup race, the Pepsi 500, in October. Beall anticipates another order.

“For last fall’s [Pepsi 500] race, Speedway officials ordered eight wraps, and the increase for this year’s Auto Club race shows they believe them to be a cost-effective form of advertising,” he said. “Los Angeles is known for being a city where everybody drives, so the trailer racked up viewings pretty quickly.”

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Overall, Beall noted that large customers who order fleets have only moderately scaled back or deferred orders, whereas small businesses ordering one or two wraps have significantly disappeared. He said, “It’s unfortunate, because those are the types of enterprises that need this type of advertising the most. But, if you’re not sure you’ll be able to keep the lights on in your shop from month to month, that affects your priorities.”

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