In the old days, you used to see stock cars covered in stickers, which was fine back then. But these days, when victories are measured in thousandths-of-a-second, and several of the last Indianapolis 500s have been as much about fuel strategy as speed, aerodynamics can be the critical factor between first place and not-first-place.

This is where a vehicle wrap can make all the difference.

While race announcers will often refer to a car's "paint job," they're really talking about the graphics that are wrapped onto the car. Rather than actually painting a car, the team will have a vehicle wrap created that includes all the sponsors with logos at the appropriate sizes. That will be placed on the car during a down time, and it's ready to go before the race.

And since the vinyl is printed with a 4-color printer, the car can have any color "paint job" the team wants. This is why you see cars with the corporate colors of their major sponsor, like Scott Dixon's bright red IndyCar owned by Target Chip Ganassi Racing, or the yellow Dollar General Car Matt Kenseth drives in NASCAR. With some of the intricate designs and vibrant colors, that look can only be created with a vehicle wrap.

Then, if a sponsor ever changes, which often happens during race season, the team just designs and orders a new vehicle wrap and has it installed.

For more information on putting a vehicle wrap on your own race car, please visit the Signarama website. You can also find the Signarama store nearest your team HQ or favorite race track with our online store locator.