Spade Racing Opens 2 Blaster Boxes of 2025 Panini Prizm Cards—Pack 8 of 12


Rather than a “hobby box”, I decided to go with the more economical choice of two “Blaster Boxes” for the 2025 Panini Prizm cards (although they were bought in January 2026.  With six packs of five cards each in each box, that’s twelve packs to open!


Pack 8: Underbird, nobody’s heard, and a quick word


First Look: Plenty of words have been used to describe Alan Kulwicki: Underdog.  Independent.  Resourceful.  Standoffish.  Winner.  Hard-headed.  Entrepreneur.  Genius.  Champion.  But until today, never has ANYONE called him “Groovy”.


To the Back: I don’t know if its a sign of aging or developing something resembling a social life, but I honestly had no idea who Luke Fenhaus was until I read this card.


Say What: “Want a word?  Ok, here’s one—‘gator’”.


Final Rating: 6 sets of tires out of 10


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Foundational Bricks—The 1994 Brickyard 400: 16th, Dave Marcis

Join me as I take a look back every Monday at the starting lineup for one of the biggest races in NASCAR history, the inaugural Brickyard 400. 


Starting 16th: Dave Marcis #71 Termite Construction Marcis Racing Chevy


Finished: 41st (DNF—Crash)


Marcis' 1994 car
Career Highlights: Five-time Cup Series race winner, 1975 Cup Series championship runner-up, “The Last of the Independents”, made wingtip shoes standard racing equipment.


Total Brickyard 400 Starts: 4


Best Brickyard 400 Finish: 35th (1996)




1994 Fun Fact: 1994’s spring Bristol race would see Dave’s last-ever top-ten race finish, albeit FOURTEEN LAPS DOWN to the winner.  Again, parity=exciting.



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The Hero Card Project 2026: Part 1

Link to my preview (contains all team addresses)

Hero card responses are pouring in!  If you’re new to hero card collecting, check out my guide at herocardguide.com for step-by-step instructions on how to request hero cards, how to receive them, and how to store them.  I sent SASEs (Self Addressed Stamped Envelopes) to every Cup, O’Reilly and Truck team, as well as a few major ARCA operations as well.  Who’ll be the first to respond?  Who’ll send in the most cards?  Whose cards will be brand new?  And will any teams send in autographed cards?  Join me over the next few months as I find out!

The following cards arrived from April 2 through April 11.

Joe Gibbs Racing claims the pole position!  I got nine cards
(8 Cup, 1 O'Reilly) and a nice pre-printed note

The always-punctual Wood Brothers sent this card

Four cards from Jordan Anderson Racing

Four cards (two autographed!) from ARCA mainstay
Fast Track

Four Nascar and three IndyCar cards from Team Penske

Three cards (one signed) from Joey Gase Motorsports

Six cards from Truck team TRICON Garage
(note: all six have a generic team logo pattern on the back)

Three cards (including a double) from AM Racing
of the O'Reilly Series

Six cards (3 Cup, 3 O'Reilly) from Richard Childress Racing

Six cards from Team Reaume of the Truck Series

RETURN TO SENDERS: The following addresses are no longer valid

Beard Motorsports 148-B Knob Hill Road Mooresville NC

CR7 2289 Turnersburg Hwy Suite 200 Statesville NC

DGM Racing 1305 Scenic Hwy Lake Wales FL


www.spaderacing.com updated four times weekly


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A MOXOC Media production

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Race Picks Kansas: Spade Racing vs. AI

Join me as I test my wits against various AI programs in picking the 2026 Cup races.  Once they’ve made their picks, I’ll make my normal Favorite, Next Favorite, and Dark Horse picks (in addition to my regular O’Reilly & Truck Series picks).  At the end of the year we’ll see who knows more—me, or a soulless machine gobbling up water and electricity.


AI (1 win) Claude (Sonnet 4.6) sez: “As for predicting a winner, I can't say with certainty, but here are some things to keep in mind heading into Kansas:

Kansas Speedway is a 1.5-mile intermediate track, a style that tends to favor teams with strong aero packages and pit strategy.

Historically, drivers like Kyle Larson…have been strong at intermediate tracks in recent seasons.”


Truck Series (1 win) off


O’Reilly Series (1 win) Kansas Lottery 300 Saturday 7pm ET on CW: BRANDON JONES—benefitting Kansans everyday!


Cup Series AdventHealth 400 Sunday 2pm on Fox  FAVORITE (1 win): DENNY HAMLIN—MJ, I don’t think we’re in Kansas any—oh, wait, we are.  NEXT FAVORITE: WILLIAM BYRON—for Chevy its looking like it’ll be HMS and then the rest.  DARK HORSE (1 win): CHASE BRISCOE—fuel milage, perhaps.



www.spaderacing.com updated four times weekly


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Visit the store https://www.cafepress.com/spaderacing


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A MOXOC Media production

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Spade Racing Opens 2 Blaster Boxes of 2025 Panini Prizm Cards—Pack 7 of 12


Rather than a “hobby box”, I decided to go with the more economical choice of two “Blaster Boxes” for the 2025 Panini Prizm cards (although they were bought in January 2026.  With six packs of five cards each in each box, that’s twelve packs to open!


Pack 7: JHN, Jeff again, and clean shaven


First Look: The “car number on the pants” look is..odd.  It also doesn’t help that here he’s sponsored by a generic-sounding company.


To the Back: I think we all took Jeff Gordon’s success for granted in the 90’s.  Dude was nearly unstoppable until, well, life got in the way AND he hired the next great superstar.  Speaking of which…


Say What: “My face is so COLD!”


Final Rating: 7 firesuit patches out of 10



www.spaderacing.com updated four times weekly


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www.twitter.com/spaderacing


Visit the store https://www.cafepress.com/spaderacing


Buy the book 100 Stock Car Racing What Ifs Unauthorized


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A MOXOC Media production

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Foundational Bricks—The 1994 Brickyard 400: 15th, Michael Waltrip

Join me as I take a look back every Monday at the starting lineup for one of the biggest races in NASCAR history, the inaugural Brickyard 400. 


Starting 15th: Michael Waltrip #30 Pennzoil Bahari Racing Pontiac


Finished: 8th


Michael Waltrip's 1994 car
Career Highlights: Four-time Cup Series race winner, 2001 Daytona 500 winner, 2003 Daytona 500 winner, subject of mock and ridicule most of his career.


Total Brickyard 400 Starts: 14


Best Brickyard 400 Finish: 8th (1994)




1994 Fun Fact: Mikey’s 1994 was a solid but unspectacular year, finishing 12th in season points with two top-five race finishes.  On the plus side, he once again won the Nascar’s Yellowest Car Award.



www.spaderacing.com updated four times weekly


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Visit the store https://www.cafepress.com/spaderacing


Buy the book 100 Stock Car Racing What Ifs Unauthorized


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A MOXOC Media production

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Figgy Earnhardt: Fact vs. Fiction


This is a parody

Over the past Easter weekend, Nascar fans became aware of a mysterious (at least to them) third son of Dale Earnhardt Sr., named Figmund Newton “Figgy” Earnhardt.  Since then, Spade Racing has completed an exhaustive investigation to separate the incontrovertible facts from the obvious fiction.


Fact: Figgy Earnhardt had a solid if not spectacular career in Nascar in the 90s, primarily running GM equipment in the Busch and Cup Series for a number of different teams.


Fiction: Figgy is NOT the person who convinced Kyle Petty to tour as an opening act for Hank Williams Jr. 


Fact: Figgy Earnhardt’s career highlights go far beyond his upset win the spring Martinsville Cup race in 1999—he also finished second in Busch Series points in 1992 and 1994.


Fiction: Figgy never suggested to his stepmother that they call her licensing and merchandising business by the bland, auto-generated sounding name “Sports Image”.


Fact: Figgy Earnhardt’s lack of notoriety with modern fans likely stems from his infamous “no interviews” stance taken throughout the bulk of his active career, stemming from the infamous “Eli Gold Incident” in 1991.


Fiction: Figgy is not the person who gave Dr. Dick Berggren his first flat cap.


Fact: Figgy Earnhardt last raced in the then-Busch Series in 2003, leaving racing altogether after failing to qualify for the 2004 Daytona 500.


Fiction: Figgy is not, nor has he ever, been in business building late model cars with Lyle Petty, Kyle Petty’s fraternal twin brother.



www.spaderacing.com updated four times weekly


www.facebook.com/spaderacing


www.twitter.com/spaderacing


Visit the store https://www.cafepress.com/spaderacing


Buy the book 100 Stock Car Racing What Ifs Unauthorized


Does this track have lights?


A MOXOC Media production

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Race Picks Bristol: Spade Racing vs. AI


Join me as I test my wits against various AI programs in picking the 2026 Cup races.  Once they’ve made their picks, I’ll make my normal Favorite, Next Favorite, and Dark Horse picks (in addition to my regular O’Reilly & Truck Series picks).  At the end of the year we’ll see who knows more—me, or a soulless machine gobbling up water and electricity.


AI (1 win) Google Gemini sez: “If you're looking for favorites or context heading into the weekend, here is how things stand:

Top Contenders to Watch

Kyle Larson: He is the defending winner of this race (2025) and has been incredibly dominant at Bristol recently, leading over 400 laps in last year's spring edition.”


Truck Series (1 win) TANG 250 Friday 7:30pm ET on FS1: LAYNE RIGGS—short for “Tennessee Army National Guard” by the way.


O’Reilly Series (1 win) Suburban Propane 300 Saturday 7:30pm ET on CW: BRANDON JONES—do they sell suburban propane and suburban propane accessories?


Cup Series Food City 500 Sunday 3pm on FS1  FAVORITE (1 win): CHASE ELLIOTT—hey, it’s still back to back even with an off-week in-between.  NEXT FAVORITE: TYLER REDDICK—I’m thinking it takes a while for the field to catch up to 23XI.  DARK HORSE: TY GIBBS—it HAS to happen eventually, right?



www.spaderacing.com updated four times weekly


www.facebook.com/spaderacing


www.twitter.com/spaderacing


Visit the store https://www.cafepress.com/spaderacing


Buy the book 100 Stock Car Racing What Ifs Unauthorized


Does this track have lights?


A MOXOC Media production

www.moxoc.com