IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Farah Ben Gamra Sat, October 31, 2026 at 2:06 PM UTC · 5 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Halloween has given NASCAR teams plenty of opportunities to get creative with their paint schemes. Over the years, fans have seen everything from giant pumpkins and Frankenstein's monster to cartoon characters and M&M's dressed up for trick-or-treating.
Some of these designs appeared only once, while others became an annual tradition. Several have also remained popular among collectors, with their die-cast versions still bringing back memories of some of NASCAR's most colourful seasons.
Here are some of the most memorable Halloween-themed cars in NASCAR history.
Terry Labonte's No.5 Kellogg's Frankenstein Chevrolet Monte Carlo is one of the most distinctive Halloween schemes of the 1990s. Created through a partnership between Kellogg's and Universal Monsters, the car helped promote a limited-edition Halloween cereal known as Spooky Froot Loops .
The special design used a purple and fluorescent-green base, with Frankenstein's face featured across the hood and sides. Toucan Sam, the cereal's familiar mascot, also appeared in a Halloween costume.
Labonte drove the car during the autumn race weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October 1997. Although it was a one-off appearance, the scheme remained popular with fans and collectors. Revell later produced diecast versions in several scales, while the design also inspired collector pins and promotional clothing.
Terry Labonte – Kellogg's Spooky Froot Loops / Universal Classic Monsters "Frankenstein" (Chevrolet) 1997 UAW-GM Quality 500 (Charlotte Motor Speedway) #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/yaWnXeWNrg
— NASCAR Paint Schemes (@NascarPaint) October 31, 2022
Ken Schrader's No.36 M&M's Pontiac Grand Prix brought a different kind of Halloween character to NASCAR. The MBV Motorsports car turned the familiar candy mascots into costumed Halloween characters.
The 2000 version featured a dark blue and purple background, lightning effects and a gothic-style No.36. The M&M's characters were dressed for the occasion: Red appeared as Dracula, Yellow was dressed as a mummy, and Green wore a witch's hat.
The cars also became popular among diecast collectors. Action Performance and Revell produced replicas in different scales, including detailed 1:24 models. Their continued presence in collector listings shows how much interest these special designs generated beyond race day.
Ken Schrader – M&M's Halloween (Pontiac) 2001 UAW-GM Quality 500 (Lowe's Motor Speedway) #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/OkjTppssbU
— NASCAR Paint Schemes (@NascarPaint) October 31, 2024
Tony Stewart 's No.20 Pontiac Grand Prix is one of the most recognisable Halloween-themed cars in NASCAR history. Created through a partnership between Joe Gibbs Racing, The Home Depot and the Peanuts franchise, the design celebrated the 1966 television special It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
The project featured two different versions, each with its own look and setting. The first was the black-and-orange In Search of the Great Pumpkin car, which featured Snoopy and Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin in a cemetery at night.
The second version, titled It's the Great Pumpkin, had a bright orange base and showed the Peanuts characters in a pumpkin patch. It appeared at Atlanta in late October, during the Halloween weekend.
The two cars became popular collector pieces. Action Performance produced 1:24-scale replicas , including special finishes such as Color Chrome. Production figures often cited by collectors put the black Bristol version at around 22,928 units and the orange Atlanta version at approximately 20,868.
2026 Halloween paint scheme countdown day 23 of 31 Tony Stewart's 2002 The Home Depot "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" (Bristol) #NASCAR #halloweenpaintschemecountdown pic.twitter.com/UgSoqo1mqO
— That paint scheme guy! (@paintschemeguy8) October 25, 2026
Kyle Busch brought a more modern look to the M&M's Halloween tradition with his No.18 Toyota Camry in 2014.
This car kept the familiar bright yellow M&M's base. The Halloween theme came through in the details: black spiderwebs stretched across the front and sides, bats appeared in flight, and the M&M's characters were given their own spooky makeover.
Oct 29, 2017; Martinsville, VA, USA; Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch (18) races during the First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Michael Shroyer-USA TODAY Sports
Busch returned with another memorable Halloween design in 2017, this time with a bright pumpkin-orange base.
The No.18 Toyota featured M&M's characters dressed for the occasion. Red appeared as a vampire, complete with a black cape, while Yellow was dressed as a ghost under a white sheet. Large black bats and stylized haunted mansions completed the look, while the number retained its gothic-inspired style.
The scheme made its race appearance at Martinsville Speedway for the First Data 500 on October 29, 2017. Busch went on to win the race , making the Halloween car even more memorable.
Corey LaJoie's No.32 Keen Parts / CorvetteParts.net Scooby-Doo Ford Mustang was one of the most best NASCAR paint schemes of 2019.
The car celebrated the 50th anniversary of Scooby-Doo , which first appeared on television in 1969. The idea came from long-time team sponsors Tom and TJ Keen, who had a history of creating unusual Halloween designs. LaJoie, a childhood fan of the cartoon, pushed for the Mystery Machine concept.
Large images of Scooby-Doo and Shaggy appeared on the hood and sides, both showing their familiar frightened expressions. The design brought a well-known piece of cartoon history onto the NASCAR track and quickly became a fan favorite.
#NASCAR News: @CoreyLaJoie Takes Mystery Machine From Back to Finish 18th at Martinsville (Some really good @GoFasRacing32 stats in here) https://t.co/lzN7XLM26B pic.twitter.com/bOGdf6pfSM
— Toby Christie (@TobyChristie) October 28, 2019
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Source: Sports
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