Millions of Eyes Will Be on NASCAR Star Drivers and Their Vehicle Wraps When 2013 Season Kicks Off

RCR’s graphics team take advantage of the off-season to design and install wraps for its new and repeat sponsors. They also work diligently during the season to make sure the wraps look good for every race. That isn’t an easy task, considering the wear and tear NASCAR racing puts on these vehicles. “Under normal ‘city street’ conditions, vehicle wraps are durable and long lasting,” said Woodward. “But NASCAR conditions are far from ordinary – it’s a world of scratches, bang-ups and full-on crashes. We completely re-wrap every one of our cars prior to each race, which means we’re installing wraps on an average of seven to nine vehicles per week.”

Woodward points out that new NASCAR “Generation 6” auto body regulations brought about extra challenges, and work, for the RCR graphics team as they prepared for the 2013 season. “NASCAR introduced a new set of body style and tolerance rules for this year, so we needed to create new 3-D renderings and design templates for all of our wraps,” he explained. “The changes were significant, requiring both our graphics crew and our digital printers to work overtime.”

To keep pace with these demands, Woodward and his team rely on four Roland eco-solvent large-format printers, including a 64-inch VersaCAMM VS-640 metallic inkjet printer/cutter, and three SOLJET models – a 54-inch XC-540 printer/cutter, 64-inch XJ-640 printer, and a 54-inch XC-540MT metallic inkjet printer/cutter. “Just about every graphics team in NASCAR has turned to digital printing technology versus paint,” said Woodward. “A lighter vehicle means more speed, and whereas multiple layers of paint added around 14 pounds to one of our cars, a digital wrap adds only 9 pounds. Being able to easily remove a digitally created wrap to make body repairs is also a big advantage. Instead of having to strip off all that paint, and then re-paint, a removable digital wrap can be peeled off quickly and easily.”

Woodward also stresses the importance of dependable equipment when it comes to fulfilling RCR’s extensive graphics needs. “When we’re in full swing, prepping for the upcoming season, we don’t have time for problems or delays,” he said. “There are periods when we’re running our Roland large-format printers 14 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week, pumping out the prints needed for our wraps. These machines are reliable workhorses – we couldn’t get the job done without them.”