When Peter Max designed a rainbow race car for NASCAR's 'Man in Black'

Ask anyone who knows who Dale Earnhardt is the first thing they think of when they hear his name, and they're likely to say a black No. 3 Chevrolet.

The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and Hall of Famer who was always aggressive on the racetrack became even more intimidating to his competition when his Richard Childress Racing automobiles were painted black and carried the Goodwrench colors.

But in 2000, NASCAR's "Man in Black" became quite colorful for a weekend thanks to renowned artist Peter Max, who died Monday at age 88.

Beginning in 1995, Earnhardt ran special paint schemes for NASCAR's All-Star Race, then dubbed "The Winston." Those schemes became iconic in their own right: from the silver Goodwrench livery in 1995, a red, white and blue car commemorating the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, an orange car sponsored by Wheaties in 1997, a gold Bass Pro Shops car in 1998 and a yellow and blue Wrangler-sponsored car in 1999, a throwback to the early days of Earnhardt's career.

But none of those schemes remain as etched in fans' minds as the car Earnhardt drove in both the 2000 edition of The Winston and the Coca-Cola 600.

Max designed the paint scheme "to look as if it was driven through the waterfall of the Max color spectrum," according to DaleEarnhardt.net. It certainly caught the eye of everyone in the garage who were used to seeing Earnhardt pilot a much less colorful vehicle — though notably, Earnhardt's first race car was bright pink.

"This is by far the most unique paint scheme we've done to date," Earnhardt said of the car. "Peter Max has created some unique artwork over the years. I'm looking forward to driving one of his creations to Victory Lane."

In statement issued today, it was announced that pop artist Peter Max died on Monday. No cause was given. In NASCAR circles, Peter Max is best known as the creator of Dale Earnhardt's famous (or infamous, depending on how you look at it) paint scheme for the 2000 Winston All-Star…

Earnhardt didn't drive the colorful car to victory lane in either race, though he certainly made noise in both events. In The Winston, he was involved in a crash in the second segment of the race with Jeff Gordon and Steve Park, the latter of whom drove for Earnhardt at Dale Earnhardt Inc. Earnhardt's son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., went on to win the race, becoming the first rookie to win NASCAR's All-Star event, while Earnhardt Sr. had to settle for third.

Earnhardt also finished third in the Coke 600, barely beating his son, who finished fourth. Another rookie, Matt Kenseth, won the crown jewel race.

But nothing from either of those two races is quite as memorable, at least not vividly, as the sight of Earnhardt driving a car decked out in an array of colors.

For two nights, Max put the "Man in Black" behind the wheel of a car that was anything but.