Fox Sports Plans “Throwback” Telecast at Darlington by putting Race on Basic Cable

This is a parody

Once again the spring Darlington race will be a chance for Nascar to look back at its storied past, with most teams fielding cars with historical “throwback” paint schemes.  Fox Sports, for its part, will get into the spirit by putting the race on FS1, a basic cable channel, instead of on free-to-fair television.

“Every spring we look forward to getting into that ‘turn back the clock’ spirit for Darlington”, said Fox Sports producer John White.  “Whether it’s having our pit reporters in vintage clothes, putting up some classic graphics, or barely tolerating Clint Bowyer, we love to share the love with our fans.  And what’s more 1990’s than having a race on basic cable?”

The upcoming spring Darlington race will follow in the footsteps of previous spring races at “The Lady in Black” by being aired on basic cable, although with a modern twist.

“For most of the 80’s and 90’s the annual ‘400’ race was held on ESPN”, said White.  “While we’d love to bring back some of the old ESPN crew or even their graphics package, ‘The Worldwide Leader’ is too busy figuring out what LeBron James is going to have for dinner tonight, so we’ll be keeping it Fox Sports-centric.  But hey—you still need to have a cable hookup to watch it, right?”

Other highlights of the throwback broadcast will include an SD-filter for in-booth standups, classic “Nascar on Fox” sound cues going to commercial, and the same damn Quaker State commercial every other commercial break.


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Race Picks Darlington: 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) Grok sez: “If you're asking for a prediction: Darlington tends to reward veterans with experience there. Denny Hamlin has had success at this track in recent seasons (including overtime wins).


Meanwhile, here’s MY human picks:


Truck Series (1 win) Buckle Up South Carolina 200 7:30pm ET on FS1: CHANDLER SMITH—but what if you’re from one of the other 49 states?


O’Reilly Series VFW Help a Hero 200 Saturday 5:30pm ET on CW: AUSTIN HILL—guessing this is the kind of race that ends with a last-lap punting.


Cup Series Goodyear 400 Sunday 3pm on Fox  FAVORITE: RYAN BLANEY—The Lady in Black loves a mustache.  NEXT FAVORITE: KYLE LARSON—one of about 14 races he’ll be running this week.  DARK HORSE: CARSON HOCEVAR—breakthrough!



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Spade Racing Opens 2 Blaster Boxes of 2025 Panini Prizm Cards—Pack 3 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 3: Glory days, high praise, and what Junior says


First Look: I love the look of this black and white pic on a “refractor” card.  And its better to see a Richard Petty pic that isn’t the same one Son of a Gun’s been using since the early 90’s.


To the Back: That’s some pretty strong praise from Denny to the Chili’s franchisee.

Say What: “I like Mixed Fruit Blast, but I prefer Cherry Mint or Orange Chill.  But that’s just me.”


Final Rating: 8 visor tearoffs 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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