Even though the Bojangles’ Southern 500 is in the books, Team Penske still is on the throwback bandwagon.
Penske revealed another retro Shell-branded paint scheme Tuesday, but you won’t see it on Joey Logano’s No. 22 Ford Fusion — or even in the United States, for that matter. That’s because the special livery will adorn the No. 17 and No. 12 Ford Falcon FX-G during the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship’s Sandown 500.
In 2015, Penske purchased the majority stake in Dick Johnson Racing, subsequently renaming it DJR Team Penske. The team that has run in V8 Supercars — Australia’s top road racing series — posted multiple pictures of the paint job, which honors Dick Johnson’s 50-year relationship with Shell.
Celebrating @DickJohnsonAM & @Shell's 50yr partnership, '67 Shell logo will be on our cars for #VASC Sandown 500 >> https://t.co/gda7XVWnRt pic.twitter.com/dvm5WmaRUI
— Shell V-Power Racing Team (@ShellVPowerRT) September 5, 2017
Unlike the throwback scheme, which was inspired by Jimmy Vasser’s IndyCar look from the early 2000s, that Logano ran at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, DJR’s new look throws it all the way back to 1967.
Although the Falcon that the Supercar racers are based on looks very similar to the Ford Fusion, they’re actually two entirely different vehicles. The Falcon is a full-size sedan sold in Australia, whereas the Fusion is a mid-size sedan that Ford sells in most markets, apart from Europe.
