Nearly everyone on earth was racing this weekend, yet one car stood out heads, shoulders, and feathers above everything else: the eye-searingly green Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles Dodge Viper GT3.R driven by Tim Pappas. You can’t look at this car and not give it at least a chill nod of approval.
I’m a big fan of supporting the locals no matter how cool their logo is, but Roscoe’s may need the love a bit more than your buddy’s startup.
According to Road & Track, the Southern California culinary institution is struggling to stay out of bankruptcy.
Pappas explained on the team website that supporting the local flavor outweighed any concerns about how a chicken would look on a green Viper:
Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles is a franchise unlike any other, and we’re proud to support them. They’ve obviously been in the news recently due to some hardships, and we wanted to step up and make sure the fans in Long Beach still had the opportunity to root for one of the most iconic brands in the area. It’ll be strange to see a giant chicken sitting on a Viper, but it’s the least we could do for Mr. Hudson and everyone in the organization.
The chicken, of course, looks awesome. More cars need chickens on them: fact.
The Long Beach-based soul food eatery was founded in 1975 by Herb Hudson, and has even received Snoop Dogg’s nom of approval. Two other Roscoe’s-related brands, Pit Bull Energy Drink and the Seabird Jazz Lounge, were also featured on the car. However, it’s that fantastic chicken logo that really steals the show, which is fitting, as Roscoe’s original location is mere blocks away from the Long Beach Grand Prix street circuit.
Sports car pranksters Magnus Racing started the tradition of running a Roscoe’s livery during the Long Beach Grand Prix in 2011. When Magnus no longer ran in a category that participated in the Long Beach weekend, Black Swan Racing picked up the partnership with Roscoe’s.
The Viper chickenmobile laid a second place finish-egg in the Pirelli World Challenge GTA class today. The only bummer is that it appears to be a one-off to showcase the eatery to Long Beach Grand Prix visitors.
This is a magnificent work of art. At the very least, we need to see it return again next year.
[H/T Chicken Sandwich Dude]