r/NASCAR • u/KonaMashadu02 • 2d ago
Need help identifying a number font
Hey all! I need help finding the name of Mario Andretti’s Daytona 500 winning number font. If you could help identifying the font of the number that would be a HUGE help! Thanks!
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u/JoseyWalesMotorSales Roberts 1d ago
And even calling it a "typeface" would be a stretch, since the graphics on the cars in those days were hand-painted. It may have been based on something but the hand of the sign painter would have given it its own style. (I write this having very, very carefully studied Fireball Roberts' 1963-64 Holman-Moody cars, and the subtle variations over time in what appear to be common elements are astounding.)
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u/Different-Cream-2148 2d ago
To be pedantic, you're looking for the typeface not the font. Sorry, I know that's basically useless, and all I have to add.
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u/ops-name-checks-out 1d ago
ELI5, what’s the difference between the terms? I probably would have said font too and would have assumed they were interchangeable.
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u/Different-Cream-2148 1d ago
Colloquially, they are used interchangeably. There probably even an argument that theyve swapped meanings to an extent; sort of like literally and figuratively. But font refers to size generally, where typeface is the style. So Times New Roman is the typeface, 12 is the font.
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u/_gordonbleu 1d ago
Not exactly. Font is the whole thing; style, size, and weight. Size is important in that but not the only thing. The font would be Times New Roman Regular 12, the type face or “style” is Times New Roman, the weight is regular. All three exist independently of each other, but all three are needed to denote a font.
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u/lightsisqueen 1d ago edited 1d ago
This person knows design. To clean it up in terms on what this person said.
Style: Serif
Typeface/Font Family: Times New Roman
Font: Times New Roman Regular 12
For our next lesson well be showing the difference between kerning and tracking.
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u/_gordonbleu 1d ago
I know only what I’ve absorbed from my design friends lol but yeah your explanation makes more sense. I knew I was missing part of it.
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u/deco933 1d ago
The best I could find is Spur Wide JNL, I’ll provide a picture of the font for you!
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u/Valcyor McDowell 1d ago
That looks very similar to one that's available on iRacing. I think it's called Idea, but Google isn't helping (because "Idea" can mean so many things) and I'm not near my iRacing rig right now.
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u/Nascarwhizkid 1d ago
I love that this throwback is finally getting some love! I originally came up with this idea in the spring of 2023 and I’m so glad Gainbridge made it all happen!
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u/Loose_Wheel_5 1d ago
It's entirely possible they made the 2 using the "idea" font as a solid enough base, but it may just be a fully custom font as numbers were painted back then. You might have luck trying to find some model decal makers who create the decal sets for classics and see what they have as far as identifying the exact font. Idea is definitely a different #1 but that 2 looks looks like its based off of it
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u/BucketOfGuts 1d ago
My assumption is that the Mario's original numbers were hand-painted, so probably not a specific font (just an assumption, I could very well be wrong). The truck below it, however, uses Serpentine that was skewed to lean forward.
From what I can tell, the 1 of Serpentine does not match the 1s of Mario.