Recap: Proving Grounds Challenge #6 – Hunt the Front World 100

Last month, we posed a challenge to the Trading Paints community: design an iRacing Dirt Late Model paint to catch the eye of our friends at Hunt the Front. This Proving Grounds Challenge was designed to give a painter their big break — getting hired to design the team’s actual World 100 wrap, racing this September at Eldora Speedway.

Designers had nearly free rein to show their stuff. As long as they painted an iRacing Dirt Late Model containing Hunt the Front and Trading Paints on the car, the rest was up to the artist. After all, Proving Grounds is no “design contest” in the traditional sense, but rather more of a tryout with a generic prompt to show what’s possible when the sky is the limit. We know there’s genuine design talent in the sim racing world; this was an opportunity to truly showcase it.

We were thrilled to see a broad range of designers joining in the fun, from experienced dirt-racing painters, real-world designers, road-racing artists who crossed genres, and plenty more in between. Check out all the entries on the Proving Grounds page.

And the winner is…

The Hunt the Front crew carefully reviewed each entry and decided on their favorite to get the job to design the team’s World 100 wrap, taking a look at stylistic choices, experience, and stories provided by each participating artist.

Hunt the Front selected Joshua Wright3 as the winner. Congratulations, Joshua!

From Joshua:

“I’m beyond excited and incredibly grateful for the opportunity to design the Hunt the Front World 100 wrap after winning the Trading Paints Proving Grounds Challenge! A huge thank you to Trading Paints and Hunt the Front for this amazing opportunity. It’s an honor to be part of such an incredible event.”

From Hunt the Front:

“Joshua’s concept immediately stood out because it was bold, clean, and felt true to the Hunt the Front brand while still bringing a fresh perspective. Just as importantly, we felt it provided a strong foundation to showcase the great marketing partners and supporters who make our program possible. We had a lot of outstanding submissions, but his was the one we kept coming back to. We’re excited to work with Joshua over the coming weeks to turn that winning concept into the final World 100 wrap, and we can’t wait to unveil it at Eldora in September.

We also want to sincerely thank everyone who took the time to submit a design. The creativity and effort that went into this challenge was incredible, and it made selecting a winner no easy task.”

The three most-favorited entries earned merch from Trading Paints and Hunt the Front.

Hunt The Front / Proving Grounds DLM V2 / #10 by Joshua Wright3 - Trading Paints

#ProvingGrounds Since starting JDubb Graphicz in 2021, my goal has always been to create graphics that racers are proud to represent. Having the chance to design a real-world race car would be an incredible blessing and a milestone I’ll never forget. It would mean the world to see my work come to life on the track with the HTF crew!

Trading PaintsTrading Paints

HTF Entry by Blake Culver2 - Trading Paints

#ProvingGrounds

Trading PaintsTrading Paints

Trading Paints and Hunt the Front DLM by Jon Darby - Trading Paints

#provinggrounds DLM

Trading PaintsTrading Paints

Some of the Trading Paints team’s favorites

There was no shortage of incredible art on display in this Proving Grounds Challenge. These are just a sampling of some paints the Trading Paints team enjoyed.

Hunt The Front World 100 Wrap Contest Entry #1 by Dylan Blackburn - Trading Paints

#ProvingGrounds

Trading PaintsTrading Paints

HTF Contest!! by Chris Swanson2 - Trading Paints

#provingGrounds I’m just a small wrap business owner taking my shot at the big leagues! I’ve been around racing my entire life. From a young age, I spent weekends at the track with my grandfather, and that’s where my love for the sport began. While I loved the racing itself, I was always drawn to the cool wraps and graphics on the cars. From then on, I knew I wanted to be the person creating those designs. About a year ago, I finally took a leap of faith and started my own wrap business. It’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and I’ve loved every minute of it. When I saw the HTF design opportunity, I knew I had to give it a shot. The chance to have one of my designs on a big-league race car is something I’ve always dreamed about. I appreciate the opportunity, and I hope you guys like the design as much as I enjoyed creating it!

Trading PaintsTrading Paints

Hunt The Front World 100 Paint Scheme #1 by Nik Camper - Trading Paints

I started making wraps in early 2025 and since then ive learned alot going down this road. Making wraps has had a whole lots of ups and downs. It is with my absolute pleasure to make the HuntTheFront Teams Wrap for the World 100 This year at eldora. I greatly appreciate the chances there giving some of us unknown wrap makers. That you guys for trusting me along the way and we got a lot more to come! Thank you! #ProvingGrounds #HuntTheFront

Trading PaintsTrading Paints

Hunt The Front - Proving Grounds - ACE Graphics 1 by Ryan Adkins - Trading Paints

#ProvingGrounds

Trading PaintsTrading Paints

HTF Proving Grounds Dirt Late Model! by Cody G Williams - Trading Paints

HTF Proving Grounds Dirt Late Model! Here’s my entry for the HTF #ProvingGrounds challenge. Feel free to run it — just don’t forget to drop a like! Follow us @cody_williams_design on Instagram and Facebook for more racing paint schemes, wraps, and design work. Appreciate all the support!

Trading PaintsTrading Paints

Joseph Joiner - Hunt the Front Trading Paints contest entry by Tyler Tucker - Trading Paints

Here is my entry for the Hunt the Front contest. I’m a simple designer that thinks a scheme can be developed with 3-4 colors with maybe a gradient sprinkled in here or there! Been doing graphics for years and always have fun doing them. #ProvingGrounds

Trading PaintsTrading Paints

Hunt The Front - 2026 Concept Livery by Samuel J Ball - Trading Paints

My concept livery design for the #ProvingGrounds Challenge #6 in collaboration with Hunt The Front. Having previously painted almost exclusively sports cars and prototypes, I’m well and truly coming from a position of zero knowledge about the world of dirt oval racing! However, I hope to use that to bring a bit of a unique perspective by utilising design cues and styles that have proven so popular with my regular designs. Enjoy!

Trading PaintsTrading Paints

HTF10 PROVINGGROUNDS OFFICIALentry by Ryan Adkins - Trading Paints

#ProvingGrounds

Trading PaintsTrading Paints

HTFTradingPaints by Miles E. - Trading Paints

#ProvingGrounds

Trading PaintsTrading Paints

Hunt The Front “Proving Grounds” Entry by Issam Er-Rabhi - Trading Paints

My entry for the #ProvingGrounds challenge. I am really out of my comfort zone here, but getting the opportunity to bridge the gap between sim racing and real-world motorsports has to be taken with both hands. Designing the car for HTF at the World 100 would be an absolute dream. So here she is. Thank you to everyone checking out the paint, and good luck to everyone entering!

Trading PaintsTrading Paints

#92 Hunt The Front / Trading Paints Dirt Late Model by Guy Driggers - Trading Paints

I’ve been a graphic designer for almost twenty years, and I’ve had real cars on track in NASCAR, and worked alongside some of today’s household names back when they were still cutting their teeth. Then, eight years ago, I walked away to focus on life and career. This is me coming back. When I sat down to design this car, I initially spent a lot of time trying to think of what would grab people’s attention when they looked at the scheme. A blank canvas is a challenge in its own right. As a result, I struggled at first, but then I asked myself one question. What would I race if it were me driving it? That changed the way I viewed the scheme. What you see is what I personally would want to race (and if I ever get any good at driving on dirt, I might do just that!) There are certain considerations real-world dirt late model wrap designs must take into account, but on iRacing, I wanted to use as much of the car as I could. It’s been many years since some of my work has seen the track, but this #ProvingGrounds car shows I’ve still got the skills, and I’d love to put them to work at the World 100 in September.

Trading PaintsTrading Paints

#10 Joseph Joiner Trading Paints / Hunt The Front by Vincent Giacalone - Trading Paints

Ever since I first fell in love with auto racing at seven, I was an artist. Of course, I drew the cars everyone knew like Gordon’s and Earnhardt’s, but it was even more fun for me to come up with my own. In the playroom or at school, I’d draw the liveries that I imagined my friends and I would drive if we were out there. When I sent in one of my doodles to UPS for the contest that they and Dale Jarrett held in 2007, I didn’t think I’d get far. But that October I got to see him race my design around Atlanta - to his second-best finish of the year, no less. In early high school, I was introduced to sim painting in the form of someone’s NR2003 league. At first I was plopping blurry logos onto premade bases, but I steadily practiced and improved for years and years. It was in college when I first seriously considered a graphic design career, and in between assignments and internship work, I didn’t just paint cars; I designed social media graphics that Matt DiBenedetto used to leap to second place in the NASCAR All-Star fan vote. After graduation, I created illustrations, branding, apparel and online ads for motorsports figures like Adam Fenwick, Clinton Snead and Lucas Caylor. In 2022, I even had the honor of creating Akinori Ogata’s Craftsman Truck wrap for the Darlington throwback weekend. Designing a livery for the World 100 would mean the world to me, but no matter what, I’m honored to be a part of this #ProvingGrounds challenge.

Trading PaintsTrading Paints

Thanks to everyone who joined us in the latest Proving Grounds Challenge!

Now, Joshua Wright and the Hunt the Front Team will get to work to design the team’s World 100 wrap with the team’s real colors, sponsors, and requirements. We’ll share the result closer to the race on Instagram.

You can catch the 56th World 100 at Eldora Speedway from September 10–12.