Spade Racing Opens Three 2026 Select “Blaster” Boxes—Pack 4 of 18

I’m moving away from Hobby Boxes to three “Blaster” Boxes this time for the 2026 Panini Select cards.  Join me as I go through all 18 packs!

Pack 4: Leery, teary, and cheery

First Look: No clue why they chose a picture of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. eyeing the crowd like he just saw someone steal a beer out of his cooler.

To the Back: Looking forward to yet another season with no top-tens outside of drafting tracks is enough to make anyone cry.

Say What: “Every day I wake up thankful that I didn’t get stuck running for a backmarker IndyCar team.

Final Rating: 3 sets of tires out of 10

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 Phoenix: 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.

Claude AI Sonnet 5.5 (7 wins) sez: My pick is Ryan Blaney. He won the 2025 finale at Phoenix, he was the favorite there in March, and his strength on long green-flag runs suits a track where tires wear out.

Truck Series (3 wins) Zero Carbon 150 Friday 7:30pm ET on FS2 & Fox Business: LAYNE RIGGS—ironic that a Bare Knuckle boxing organization sponsors racers who always wear gloves.

O’Reilly Series (4 wins) Timberland Pro 200 Saturday 7:30pm ET on CW: JUSTIN ALLGAIER—time for him to make a championship push.

Cup Series Freeway Insurance 3pm ET on USA  FAVORITE (2 wins): CHASE BRISCOE—I’m sticking with the lost Briscoe brother.  NEXT FAVORITE (3 wins): KYLE LARSON—salting away another championship.  DARK HORSE (2 wins): SVG—a nice little diversion from Trackhouse’s otherwise putrid season.

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

Foundational Bricks—The 1994 Brickyard 400: 41st, Lake Speed

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 41st (provisional): Lake Speed #15 Quality Care Bud Moore Engineering Ford

Finished: 15th

A 1994 Lake Speed trading
card from the Trading Card
Database

Career Highlights: One Cup Series race win, 1978 World Karting Champion, 1985 Daytona 500 runner-up, has always looked 60 years old.

Total Brickyard 400 Starts: 4

Best Brickyard 400 Finish: 12th (1997)

1994 Fun Fact: After years of running underfunded part-time schedules, Lake posted an eleventh-place points finish in 1994, his best since his RahMoc days in 1985.  And then, the following year, SPAM.

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