Race Picks (the last season?), Uncle Max vs. The Points Leader: DARLINGTON/PORTLAND

I’m back on the mend after that bad cold last week, and ready to make my picks not just for this weekend’s races, but the whole Cup playoffs!

ROUND ONE ELIMINATIONS: Austin Dillon, Josh Berry, Shane Van Gisbergen, Chase Briscoe

ROUND TWO ELIMINATIONS: Austin Cindric, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain

ROUND THREE ELIMINATIONS: Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick

FINAL ROUND ELIMINATIONS: Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Christopher Bell

AND YOUR 2025 CUP CHAMPION IS… Kyle Larson

TRUCK SERIES (5 wins) Sober of Slammer 200 (Saturday 12pm on FS1) COREY HEIM—hmmm, I’ll chose “Sober”, please.

XFINITY SERIES (2 wins) POA 147 (Saturday 7:30pm ET on The CW) JUSTIN ALLGAIER—former site of that weird “GI Joe” sponsored IndyCar race.

CUP SERIES Cook Out Southern 500 (Sunday 6pm ET on USA) Points Leader picks KYLE LARSON.  Favorite (2 wins): DENNY HAMLIN—a prelude to being eliminated in the third round.  Next Favorite (5 wins): TYLER REDDICK—perfect time for his first win of the season.  Dark Horse (2 wins): ERIK JONES—as always, all “Dark Horse” picks are drivers who have been eliminated from the championship.

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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Spade Racing Opens a 2025 Donruss Hobby Box: Pack 2 of 16

It’s back to new cards, with a “hobby box” of 2025 Donruss racing cards.  There’s sixteen packs, so join me as I go through each of them!

Pack 2 of 16: Indy NXT, Megalopolis, and Gator Flex

First Look: One of the downsides of cards being printed so early (and the demand from creepy guys for Hailie merch) is that we get cards for drivers long gone from the Nascar system.

To the Back: Glad to see a driver who grew up in the Northeastern BosNYWash region make it in Nascar.  And no, the Truexes don’t count—they’re from the Jersey Shore.

Say What: “Call me champion, and dig my Terry Labonte-like sleeve stripes”

Final Rating: 2 “through the field”s out of 10

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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Spade Racing’s Stars in Unusual Cars: Bobby Hamilton

Bobby Hamilton’s big break—one race in the Hendrick “movie car” (1989)

Join me throughout this year as I take a look at when some of the sport’s biggest stars drove some unusual cars! (Presented in no particular order).

Why? Bobby Hamilton turned a promising rookie year in the Busch Series into one of the most-unusual ways to make a debut in the Cup Series.  Hendrick Motorsports was providing “Days of Thunder” with movie cars, and needed someone to drive the black #51 of Rowdy Burns in a race to get the necessary footage.  That someone was was Bobby Hamilton.

How successful were they? Despite driving what was essentially an “R&D” car, Hamilton qualified fifth and led five laps at Phoenix.  It was only an engine issue that would sink his chances of a strong finish.

What was the aftermath? Hamilton went on to a successful Cup (4 race wins) AND a successful Truck (10 race wins and a championship) career before succumbing to head and neck cancer at age 49.

Ranking on the Strange-O-Meter? 10 slow-motion crashes out of 10—only in NASCAR could you make a movie and enter a car legally in the competition—and be competitive!

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