No. 98 Xfinity NASCAR Ford To Run Ken Block Inspired Livery

May 10, 2023 2:16 pm

The No. 98 NASCAR Ford Mustang of Riley Herbst will run a special paint scheme for the forthcoming Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, May 13^th, 2023, paying homage to one of the late Ken Block’s favorite liveries.

For this weekend’s race, the No. 98 Mustang of Herbst will sport a “drip” paint scheme inspired by Block’s Gymkhana 3 (otherwise known as the “GYM3”) 2011 Ford Fiesta. The original rallycross car featured a black-on-white theme, with the black painted to appear as though it is “dripping” down the sides of the vehicle.

Ken Block’s 2011 Ford Fiesta “GYM3”

Herbst’s No. 98 Mustang will feature a similar theme of black-on-white “paint drips,” and will feature Monster Energy logos on the doors and rear quarter panels, just like the GYM3 machine, while incorporating his own sponsors and their color schemes as well. The parallels between the two race cars are impossible to ignore, especially considering that both were drawn up by the same designer: Marcus Jurgensen, who worked with Block to create the “drip” scheme back in 2010.

“I was a big fan of Ken Block’s infamous Monster Energy ‘Drip’ livery growing up,” Herbst said. “It’s such an honor to bring it back and run it at Darlington. I’m so appreciative of the Block family for letting me run this tribute. I chose this paint scheme specifically because I was such a huge Ken Block fan growing up. Back then, I wanted to be a rally car driver just like him and be a part of the Hoonigan nation.”

Honoring a motorsports legend who changed the game on and off the track. @rileyherbst and @MonsterEnergy are paying tribute to Ken Block with his iconic Gymkhana 3 scheme. pic.twitter.com/w3PTqGjDoZ

— Stewart-Haas Racing (@StewartHaasRcng) May 8, 2023

He added, “It’s an honor to run such an iconic paint scheme of Ken Block’s. I can’t thank the Block family and Monster Energy enough for letting me do this. We wanted to make this paint scheme more than just a paint scheme, so we are donating 100 percent of the proceeds from the merchandise we created for this to the 43 Institute to keep funding Ken’s legacy.”

The Xfinity Series race at Darlington Speedway is scheduled for May 13^th at 1:30 p.m. ET.

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