Best Halloween Costumes: NASCAR Edition

Rain, especially on Halloween weekend, can bring on the craziness at the racetrack. Friday at Martinsville Speedway was a primary example.

Johnny Buck, Martinsville Sports Editor, asked six different NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase drivers:  “If you were invited to a NASCAR-themed Halloween party, what would your costume by and why?”

When asked why he decided to ask this question, he said” because the other, more serious storylines were getting covered ad nauseum.” Topics being discussed on Friday’s NASCAR Media Availability included the infamous crack-your-rear-bumper-if-we-win radio conversation between Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus prior to Talladega’s Good Sam Club 500, to the bunched point standings at the top of the field, to Trevor Bayne’s bail on Jeff Gordon last week. If you watched the media session from NASCAR.com’s cameras then you know there were several tension-filled moments for the drivers answering questions.

These drivers are millionaires battling like crazy as the NASCAR Sprint Cup season dwindles to now three remaining races. They definitely decided to have some fun with it. Drivers included in the Halloween question included Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Brad Keselowski, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jeff Gordon.

Two of them even took the question as a chance to pole fun at NASCAR President Mike Helton.  Which drivers do you think wanted to be Mr. Helton?

Jeff Gordon said he would either be Richard Petty or Junior Johnson. As Richard Petty, he would walk in with sunglasses and a cowboy hat so everyone knew who he was. If he were to be Junior Johnson, he’d wear the bib overalls, but he is worried no one would know who he was.  Gordon would love an invite to the party so he could start working on his costume. What do you think? Should Jeff Gordon dress as Richard Petty or Junior Johnson?

If you guessed Ryan Newman as one of the drivers who would be Mike Helton, you are correct. Newman says dressing up as “Sheriff” Helton would be a no brainer. Newman said on Friday that he “saw him in a commercial there at Charlotte week. He is the sherriff, and I am pretty sure no one would mess with you at the Halloween party.”

Everyone who has followed NASCAR for a long time, knows that Tony Stewart likes to think of every possible situation and this question was no different. He did mention that he would not go as one of the Busch brothers; because it’s not popular. He then decided that he would pick one of the beer sponsor drivers.  He’d have something to match his beer can.  Stewart joked, “That’s the only thing I could think of right off hand. I’ve never been to a Halloween party yet that we haven’t enjoyed adult beverages during the evening, so at least it would match.”  What beer sponsor driver do you suggest Tony Stewart dress up as for Halloween? Should be be Brad Keselowski or Kevin Harvick?

Speaking of Brad Keselowski, he would like to be Michael Waltrip. Remember that Michael Waltrip Racing received fines, crew and car chief suspensions last week for coming to Talladega with windshields that were too thin to meet NASCAR guidelines. Keselowski said he would have to get the windshield involved. He just worries that no one would get it. What do you think, perfect costume idea or should Keselowski pick someone else to dress up as?

Carl Edwards was thinking along the same lines as Ryan Newman when it comes to being Mike Helton. Shocked? “I think the world is lacking really good Mike Helton costumes,” said current points leader, Carl Edwards. “I think that’s what we need more of. That would be fun to go to a party as Mike Helton. You could get the good hair wig, the good mustache. I mean, there could be some really good Mike Helton costumes, and hey, you instantly get more sway than any driver costume there right away, so that’s good.”

NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., was the only driver with plans to play off NASCAR’s storied past. He would be Cale Yarborough, when he drove the Holly Farms car in one of three championships late in the 1970s.  If you haven’t heard, Dale Jr loves NASCAR history. After all he use to host a show on SPEED called “Back in the Day”.  Earnhardt said, “He used to walk around with the suit with the stripes and big cowboy hat, and I thought that was pretty tough. I thought he looked like a badass, but I was young then and didn’t realize that he was shorter than everybody else. When you’re a kid, you know, you don’t realize those things. But he still was a pretty badass dude. I’ve been a big fan of Cale’s, and I thought that he was always really tough on the racetrack, and that’s probably who I would dress up as.”

On Friday, NASCAR drivers forgot about the task at hand and just made the media members and P.R. folks laugh. Hopefully it made you laugh and think about who your favorite NASCAR driver idolizes. But want to know what drew the most chatter on Friday? It was Jeff Gordon’s 2005 costume(see picture below). When asked if his one-night stand included a date, he didn’t hesitate to respond. “Yes it was my wife,” Gordon said. “She left a note on the night stand, too…It said she had a good time.”

For our fellow readers who are still undecided on their NASCAR costume, perhaps our suggestions will help:

-Jacques Debris

-Outer wall with decorative Brian Vickers paint scrapings

-Junior’s Beard

-Red Bull Racing: Sunglasses, Skinny Jeans, Fitted T-shirt, Jean pockets turned out, sign reading, “Brother, can you spare a dime?”, and your 16 Oz. Red Bull Can.

-The Talladega Big One: No need to dress in a costume, but every twenty minutes or so, you have to take out five or six of your fellow partygoers.

-Danica Patrick: Show up wearing ill-fitting black wig, but tell everyone you’ve got the real costume showing up real soon now, and it’ll be awesome. Assure everyone that they really need to wait and see the greatness of the costume. Repeat until you’re thrown out of the party.

Have any other NASCAR Halloween themed costumes? Leave your comments below.