Foundational Bricks—The 1994 Brickyard 400: 8th, Ricky Rudd

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 8th: Ricky Rudd #10 Tide Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 


Finished: 11th


Career Highlights: 23 Cup Series wins, 1990 Cup Series championship runner-up, first owner-driver to win the Brickyard 400, successfully identified Kevin Harvick’s “little yip-yap mouth”.

Rudd's 1994 car

Total Brickyard 400 Starts: 13


Best Brickyard 400 Finish: Winner (1997)


1994 Fun Fact: Ricky was the top-finishing owner-driver for the 1994 season, coming home fifth.  And NO, I don’t count Rusty Wallace as an owner-driver, sorry.

Signed by longtime RPM crew chief Bill Ingle





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Chase Bank Clarifies Lack of Relationship with Nascar


This is a parody

Multinational banking firm Chase (a division of JPMorganChase) has issued a statement clarifying that, despite the word “Chase” being used frequently in association with Nascar, they have no formal relationship with the sport.

“We at Chase Bank are happy to see our name out there, but we wanted to set the record straight”, the statement read.  “We love motorsports as much as any monolithic corporation, but we currently have no agreements with anybody in Nascar.  In fact, we haven’t had any official sponsorship since that weird AARP deal we did with Jeff Gordon, which even WE didn’t understand at the time.”

Nascar has seen a sharp uptick in searches associated with “Chase” and “the Chase”, with the sport moving back to the so-called “Chase” post-season format in 2026.  Furthermore, two of the Cup Series’ top drivers are Chase Elliott and Chase Briscoe.

“We wish nothing but the best for Mr. Elliott and Mr. Briscoe, although we have no financial or promotional relationship with either driver”, the statement read.  “Actually, Briscoe is sponsored by a competitor of ours, so we wish him less than the best—like when you order a burger at Five Guys and they put mushrooms on it by mistake.”

The banking firm did not rule out a formal relationship with Nascar down the road.

“We’re always looking at new ways to connect with customers and prospective customers, so we might do some business in the motorsports field in the future”, the statement said.  “But hey—it’s not 2005, so we’ll make our own decisions on if we should get involved in Nascar.”

When reached for comment about Chase, Elliott responded with “That’s my name!  Well, not really.”



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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Race Picks ATLANTA: 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.


Google Gemini sez: “Because the race is live/imminent, we don't have a winner yet, but here is the breakdown of who is most likely to take the checkered flag based on the latest odds and track history.  Atlanta's "new" configuration (re-profiled in 2022) makes it a "drafting track," similar to Daytona or Talladega. This means drivers with strong superspeedway skills have the edge.  William Byron: The defending winner of this race (2025). He has mastered the drafting style at Atlanta and is currently one of the safest bets.”


Meanwhile, here’s MY human picks:

Truck Series Fr8 208 Saturday 1:30pm ET on FS1: KYLE BUSCH—its Groundhog Day all over again.


O’Reilly Series Bennett 250 Saturday 5pm ET on CW: AUSTIN HILL—same time, same day, same channel, same winner.


Cup Series Daytona 500 Sunday 3pm on Fox  FAVORITE: DENNY HAMLIN—“break up the Toyotas!”.  NEXT FAVORITE: KYLE LARSON—the four cars of Hendrick could be a HUGE advantage at this drafting track.  DARK HORSE: anyone from SPIRE—7, 71, or 77 (so Geoff Bodine, Dave Marcis, or Bobby Hillin Jr.)



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