Sherwin-Williams painted car raises $280,000 at auction

Concluding the largest event in the Barrett-Jackson’s auction company’s 42-year history, charity was the big winner. In particular it was the recipient of a custom-built muscle car provided by three-time NASCAR championship-winning crew chief and ESPN racing analyst Ray Evernham.

Featured as one of the showcase vehicles at the recent Scottsdale, Ariz., auto auction, its sale Jan. 19 raised $280,000 for Evernham’s IGNITE foundation to assist children and young adults with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome.

Originally unveiled at the Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes booth at the SEMA Show 2012 in Las Vegas, Evernham’s street-legal 1964 Plymouth Belvedere combines old school American style with modern NASCAR racing technology. Aptly named ‘ForPly,’ the custom car marked Evernham’s debut as a car designer and builder.

“We set out to design the ultimate street machine that took a vintage American muscle car with great motorsports heritage and brought it into the modern age,” said Evernham. “There is not another one like it in the world. We appreciate it being highlighted on center stage on the biggest night of the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auto auction.”

“Sherwin-Williams is proud to partner with Ray Evernham on his first design venture, and especially so that Ray specified the car’s color scheme using Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes,” said Bobby Moody, the company’s Director of Motorsports “But more so, we’re excited to see this completed project raise more than a quarter million dollars for such a worthy cause.”

Net proceeds from the entire sale all go to Evernham Family Racing for a Reason, a foundation that is funding IGNITE, a new program and facility in Davidson, N.C. operated by the Autism Society of North Carolina. IGNITE enables adults with High-Functioning Autism or Asperger Syndrome to enjoy a better quality of life as valued members of the community in which they live and work.

Housed in the restored body of a near-half-century-old 1964 Plymouth Belvedere - the year, make and model that won the 1964 Daytona 500 and NASCAR Grand National Championship - the ForPly features a Dodge racing powertrain, plus the driveline of a modern day race car that Evernham’s former team Evernham Motorsports built and raced in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Under the ForPly’s hood is a former Evernham Motorsports Dodge R5-P7 race engine (previously run by NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Kasey Kahne). It was re- formulated as a fuel-injected, 358-cubic-inch, 8-cylinder powerhouse that outputs 750+ horsepower.

The two-door, hardtop coupe, blazoned with a distinctive Radiant Red automotive matte finish with Graphite racing stripes, features the slant-back roofline and a Graphite Grey-colored custom interior with carbon fiber inlay and bucket race seats.

The same automotive paint technology as used on the ForPly is also available from Sherwin-Williams in kit format. Planet Color Barrett-Jackson Restoration System Kits contain all of the tools required to mix and prepare primer, color or clear coat.

For more information about Ray Evernham or the Evernham Family Racing for a Reason foundation, visit www.rayevernham.com.

For more information about Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes, visit www.sherwin-automotive.com.

For information about Barrett-Jackson Auction Company, visit www.barrett-jackson.com.