NASCAR Fans #48 Jimmy Johnson

Hi all!
I just picked up the ERTL Jimmy Johnson #48 car, and i was going over the instructions and checking my paints before i started it and a question came about.. what color (tamiya colors) would you use to paint the body of the car??? I was looking into the Sky Blue which is what the instructions suggested, however my wife pointed out that it was too light and she thought there was some metallic blue that might look better??? the color dosent have to be Tamiya, and i prefer to work with acrylic over enamel paint but can use enamel if its the only thing that has the color match im looking for.. Also they are saying plain Silver for the rest of the body which isnt painted blue.. also does anyone have any tips on masking this to paint it right? should i lay a base coat of silver? I will probally unless someone else throws an idea my way do a base coat of auto primer grey on the car before i finish it up.. im open to ideas. this is my first NASCAR model and i want it to look right =)

thanks in advance
Joe