Sam Bass | |
|---|---|
 Bass signing race day posters he designed for the2015 Irwin Tools Night Race | |
| Born | Samuel Mark Bass (1961-11-20)November 20, 1961 Hopewell, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | February 16, 2019(2019-02-16) (aged 57) Concord, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Virginia Commonwealth University |
| Occupation | Artist |
Samuel Mark Bass (November 20, 1961 – February 16, 2019) was an Americanmotorsports artist known for beingNASCAR's first officially licensed artist. A lifelong NASCAR fan, he began working on designing drivers' cars paint schemes withBobby Allison in 1988. He later designed various paint schemes for drivers likeJeff Gordon andDale Earnhardt, and designed and painted dozens ofRace program covers for races atCharlotte Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and others.
Bass started following racing when he was young, attending races atSouthside Speedway inRichmond, Virginia with his uncles. Eventually, he began drawing pictures of the sport; during NASCAR's offseason, he drew what he believed the upcomingDaytona 500's cars would look like; "Then, when the Daytona broadcast would come on TV, I would be like, 'Oh, so that's how it looks.'," Bass said in 1999.[1]
At 20, he worked for the government as a graphic designer.[2] He graduated fromVirginia Commonwealth University with a fine arts degree.[1]
A year after graduating high school, Bass joined a friend at the1981 Talladega 500 with the goal of getting hisBobby Allison painting autographed. At the track, he convinced security to let him access the garages, where he successfully had his painting signed by Allison and his crew. The art also impressed the teams ofDarrell Waltrip andTerry Labonte, who requested paintings of their drivers.[2]
In 1984, he was hired byCharlotte Motor Speedway to design programs for the track's races starting with that year'sWorld 600.[3] His studio Sam Bass Illustration and Design opened in 1991, located near the track's turn one.[1][4]
He was later commissioned by Allison's merchandise team member Hank Jones to create a poster of Allison to sell, followed by doing the same for fellowMiller Brewing Company-sponsored driverBobby Hillin Jr.[2] In late 1987, Miller requested him to design their entire motorsport schemes for the 1988 season. Allison went on to win theDaytona 500 in his first race in a Bass-drawn car, andDanny Sullivan won theCART PPG Cup. In 1989, the Miller-sponsoredJim Busby prototype, which also was a Bass-drawn car, won theSunBank 24.[1]
In 1997, Bass was named NASCAR's first officially licensed artist.[5]
Bass was the designer for four-timeNASCAR Cup Series championJeff Gordon's No. 24 cars throughout his Cup career. The partnership started in 1991, before Gordon made his Cup debut, when crew chiefRay Evernham purchased one of Bass' prints as a birthday present for Gordon; instead of requiring money for the drawing, Bass asked if he could design Gordon's car.[3] As sponsorDuPont sold automotive paint, Bass based his design on the company's many available colors, leading to arainbow scheme that was ultimately accepted from a group of 43 entries; the livery, nicknamed the "Rainbow Warrior", became one of NASCAR's most iconic cars during the 1990s.[2] In 2001, Bass created a blue base, red flames scheme for Gordon that was driven to the2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship; while the colors varied in later races, Gordon continued to drive flames DuPont/Axalta Coating Systems-sponsored cars until his retirement in 2015.[3]
Other drivers who raced with schemes drawn by Bass includeDale Earnhardt,Tony Stewart, andHendrick Motorsports' Nos. 24 and 88 teams.[1][6]
Bass also designed the cars and uniforms for the movieTalladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.[7] He was also the logo designer for the minor league baseball teamKannapolis Intimidators.[8]
Bass' widow Denise is aparalegal. The two were friends in sixth grade prior to starting their relationship, eventually marrying in the early 1980s.[4]
During the later years of his life, Bass struggled with health issues includingdiabetes mellitus type 1 andkidney disease; the former was diagnosed when he was 29, while the latter stemmed fromsepsis he received due to a blister in his left foot in 2005 that resulted in below-the-knee amputation three years later.[9] In 2014, he was nearly killed byseptic shock after suffering a diabetic blood inflection.[7] In 2017, Sam Bass Illustration and Design declared bankruptcy as his financial and health struggles mounted.[10]
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Bass died on February 16, 2019, at the age of 57, of a kidney disease.[7] In April'sToyota Owners 400 atRichmond Raceway,Joey Gase andMBM Motorsports ran a tribute scheme to Bass on their No. 66 car.[11]