a MOXOC Media Production
My latest purchase was a hobby box of 12 packs of “Select ’24” cards from Panini. These cards are a bit more high-end than the regular Panini or Donruss ones, which explains the low card count per pack. Join me as I open all twelve packs!
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A MOXOC Media production
PACK 15: A pole, a goal, and an O’ll
FIRST LOOK: I still wish we had a version of the old Unocal bonus where a pole winner could win the race and get a growing bonus fund.
TO THE BACK: Being judged by Jeff Gordon has to be intimidating, but Kyle Larson has more than lived up to the hype. And I’m sure Jeff has had to get between Larson’s team owner Rick Hendrick and Larson’s sponsor Rick Hendrick on occasion.
SAY WHAT?: “They don’t realize that I can see the O in the corner”.
RATING: 7 pistons out of 10
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Visit the store https://www.cafepress.com/spaderacing
Buy the book 100 Stock Car Racing What Ifs Unauthorized
A MOXOC Media production
Join me as we take a look at every NASCAR Cup Rookie of the Year class from 1972 (the start of the modern era) through 2021, going from the worst to the first in terms of overall careers of each year’s rookie class.
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| Erik Jones |
Winner: Erik Jones (Furniture Row). Runners Up: Daniel Suárez (JGR), Ty Dillon (Germain), Corey LaJoie (GoFAS), Gray Gaulding (BK). Aborted Attempts: none
How their careers turned out: Strangely, this year turned out a class of journeymen. While Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez have had decent careers for several teams, Corey LaJoie has never really gotten a full-time shot in decent equipment. Meanwhile, Gray Gaulding is still best known for his Krispy Kreme sponsorship, and Ty Dillon has kept getting jobs despite, well, his whole career.
“Fun” “Fact” about the winner: Erik Jones is arguably the best driver to wheel the 43 car since Richard Petty’s retirement—sorry, Aric.
Ranking: #23 out of 50
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Visit the store https://www.cafepress.com/spaderacing
Buy the book 100 Stock Car Racing What Ifs Unauthorized
A MOXOC Media production
Three new champions have been crowned, two teams are in Charter limbo, and one team’s headquarters has a sign out front that simply says “47”—welcome to the offseason! Here’s what’s in store here at Spade Racing:
—ROTY Reports will continue every Monday through the end of the year, capped off with a final list of rankings. Then stay tuned for a new series debuting in January for 2025.
—No racing means double the cards! 2024 Donruss will continue to be posted every Tuesday, while a new set of 2024 Select cards will be posted every Thursday.
—Offseason news, “news”, and other sundry content will be posted on weekends as needed.
—I have two major projects to work on over the offseason—a complete redo of my Race Shop Reviews website, and another website that I hope to have up and running by the Clash.
As always, thank you to everyone who reads my output—I sincerely appreciate it!
www.spaderacing.com updated four times weekly
Visit the store https://www.cafepress.com/spaderacing
Buy the book 100 Stock Car Racing What Ifs Unauthorized
A MOXOC Media production
And with that, another season is in the books. Picks were made, drivers didn’t do as well as I’d liked (especially in Cup) but after 36 races I wound up winning on the final day. Just goes to show you that 13 really ISN’T my unlucky number, I guess.
As for outside the racing world, I’m gearing up for six-plus weeks of nearly-nonstop work for the holiday shopping rush. I should count myself lucky—our store is one of the few to be fully-staffed, but that’s also because we hired a bunch of new workers the past two weeks. Nothing like training when the store is slammed, huh?
As for what the future brings, I’m not sure if I’ll be back for next year. If I do return, it’ll have to be with a new format, since obviously my Cup picks just haven’t been all that great lately. Either way, I’ll be sure to check in for my annual NFL playoff preview.
Thanks for reading, and remember—when in doubt, pick Penske or Gibbs!
TRUCK SERIES (6 wins)
XFINITY SERIES (5 wins)
CUP SERIES 13th Place (2 wins) vs. Uncle Max (3 wins)
www.spaderacing.com updated four times weekly
Visit the store https://www.cafepress.com/spaderacing
Buy the book 100 Stock Car Racing What Ifs Unauthorized
A MOXOC Media production
A bit of a different Hero Card Project entry this time: last week I took a trip to the race shops of NASCAR for another, larger project. I was able to fill in some missing hero cards in the process. My pics below show what I picked up at various race shops that I didn't already have. Click here to learn more about collecting Hero Cards:
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| Five cards from RCR's shop in Welcome/Lexington |
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| Two cards from the 9/24 Hendrick shop in Concord |
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| Four cards from the soon-to-close Stewart-Haas Racing |
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| Two cards from Team Penske's Mooresville shop |
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| A very cool and unique "welcome" card from 23XI's new shop in Huntersville |
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| A slew of cards from Front Row's shop in Mooresville |
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| A hero card and trading card from Spire Motorsports in Mooresville |
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| Four cards from LiveFast in Mooresville |
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| The lone missing card I needed from Legacy MC in Statesville |
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| Two more RCR cards |
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| An Our Motorsports card from their new shop in Welcome |
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| Two missing cards from Kaulig Racing on the RCR campus |
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| Five cards from SS-Greenlight in Mooresville |
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| Three hero cards from Statesville's AM Racing |
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| Five smaller cards from Xfinity team SHR Racing in Mooresville |
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| Five cards from JAR's Statesville shop |
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| A total HAUL of cards from Alpha Prime in Mooresville! |
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| Two additional cards from TRICON in Mooresville |
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| Two cards from Truck & ARCA stalwarts REV Racing near Charlotte Motor Speedway |
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| Two additional Truck Series cards from JAR |
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| CR7 provided a card from their small Mooresville shop |
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| Two more cards from FRM |
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| A Truck Series card from Spire |
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| A Thad Moffit card (and a Petty Garage one too) from the Richard Petty Museum |
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| Two more cards from REV Racing |
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| Three ARCA cards from AM Racing |
www.spaderacing.com updated four times weekly
Visit the store https://www.cafepress.com/spaderacing
Buy the book 100 Stock Car Racing What Ifs Unauthorized
A MOXOC Media production
PACK 14: Chris’s car, a rising star, and the company car
FIRST LOOK: As I’ve said in years past, I’m always a fan of the horizontal “car pic” cards. A good reminder that it’s not just about the drivers—it’s about the car (and crew, and support staff, and tracks, and fans, etc.).
TO THE BACK: William Byron really has stepped up his game slowly but surely every single year, hasn’t he? Not too bad for a guy who still doesn’t have a nickname.
SAY WHAT?: “I got a company car from Panini, and I don’t even need to log my mileage.”
RATING: 5 pit stalls out of 10
www.spaderacing.com updated four times weekly
Visit the store https://www.cafepress.com/spaderacing
Buy the book 100 Stock Car Racing What Ifs Unauthorized
A MOXOC Media production
Join me as we take a look at every NASCAR Cup Rookie of the Year class from 1972 (the start of the modern era) through 2021, going from the worst to the first in terms of overall careers of each year’s rookie class.
2016
Chase Elliott's rookie car
Winner: Chase Elliott (Hendrick). Runners Up: Chris Buescher (Front Row), Ryan Blaney (Wood Bros.), Brian Scott (RPM). Aborted Attempt(s): Jeffrey Earnhardt
How their careers turned out: Two recent champions highlight this group, and a resurgent Chris Buescher means that a trio from this quartet might move this class further up the rankings in the next few years. Beyond those three, well, Brian Scott had that one YouTube video.
“Fun” “Fact” about the winner: Chase is just one of the members of this group with famous older racing relatives. Beyond that, well, Brian Scott made Aric Almirola pretty mad.
Ranking: #7 out of 50
www.spaderacing.com updated four times weekly
Visit the store https://www.cafepress.com/spaderacing
Buy the book 100 Stock Car Racing What Ifs Unauthorized
A MOXOC Media production