Talladega Race Picks: Uncle Max vs. 13th Place



I finally got the finishing touches on my store’s holiday displays—now I just have to wait for the corporate tour next week.  Needless to say, I’m exhausted, but I’ve been wondering lately: what’s with all these food delivery services being so damn expensive?

I’ve had to order through some apps with the 12-hour days I’ve been working, and I’ve noticed that WOW—not only is the food costlier, but there’s always fees tacked on as well.  And that doesn’t even include tip!  Sometimes I think we should go back to the old delivery system, but then again that limits me to pizza, Chinese, and that one random burger place that’s open till 2am.


Friday Afternoon TRUCK SERIES (6 wins) LOVE’S RV STOP 225: CONNOR ZILISCH—not to be confused with Zilch, the little-remembered assistant chef at Barth’s Burgery.


Saturday Afternoon XFINITY SERIES (5 wins) UNITED RENTALS 250: SAM MEYER—should be a lot easier for him to name his sponsors next year—Haas, Haas Tooling, Haas Outlet, Haas Artisanal Lemonade…


Sunday CUP SERIES YELLAWOOD 500: 13th Place (2 win) Picks DANIEL SUAREZ.  FAVORITE (2 wins): AUSTIN CINDRIC—let’s break that two-two tie with win number two for car number two. NEXT FAVORITE: BRAD KESELOWSKI—plenty of first names mentioned in the post-race interview.  DARK HORSE: AUSTIN DILLON—unPopPopular win.



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Spade Racing Opens a Box of 2024 Donruss Cards, Pack 8 of 24


PACK 8: A king, the thing, and a zing


FIRST LOOK: Jeff Gordon—there’s no question he’s A king, just not THE king.  Although I don’t know what Richard Petty’s succession plans look like.


TO THE BACK: The thing is that MTJ always knows how to contend.  And I’m just glad we get to see him go out on top, unlike…well, almost any other driver not named Carl Edwards.


SAY WHAT?: “Yes, yes, I know there’s ‘P’ on my head, very funny.”


RATING: 7 hot laps out of 10



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NASCAR ROTY RANKINGS 2010: Ranking the Rookie of the Year Classes Through the Years



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.

2010

Kevin Conway's rookie car

Winner: Kevin Conway (Front Row/Robby Gordon).  Runners Up: none.  Aborted Attempts: Terry Cook

How their careers turned out: Look, I’m sure Kevin Conway is a good guy who could race circles around me.  But he made a mockery of the ROTY award this year, running with a joke of a sponsor that wouldn’t pay its bills and saw him moved from car to car just to stay in the top-35.  This is probably the only season where they should’ve just awarded the ROTY to nobody.

“Fun” “Fact” about the winner: Kevin Conway owned and operated a motorsports marketing company, as you probably could’ve guessed.

Ranking: #49 out of 50



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Spade Racing 2025 Schedule Preview: What’s Changing, What’s Not



The 2025 Nascar Cup schedule has been out for a few weeks now, and you might be wondering what’s changing.  Well, here’s the changes:


—The Busch Light Clash moves from the LA Coliseum, where it inexplicably rained last year, to Bowman Gray Stadium, where it would be inexplicable to expect anything other than freezing cold in the middle of winter.


—COTA & Homestead’s races move to early in the season, thus giving Fox the ability to focus on washed-up F1 drivers and palm trees, respectively.


—There’s a grand total of ONE off week in 2025, during Easter Weekend.  So if a hurricane hits, or there’s a tornado, or a national emergency of some sort, or severe thunderstorms, or just persistent rain one weekend…nah, that won’t happen—Mother Nature loves Nascar!


—Nascar Cup will run out of the country for a points race for the first time in the modern era with a visit to Mexico City on June 15th.  That race date essentially comes at the expense of Richmond, who goes down to one Cup race but it WILL be at night, just like everyone except Nascar has wanted for years.


—Dover, meanwhile, moves BACK in the calendar to a July race weekend.  I’m thinking I could make a small fortune selling cold water and sunblock off of Leipsic Road.


—There’s an in-season tournament that nobody will care about.


—Darlington, Gateway, and Bristol will make up the Round of 16, bizarrely giving us two egg-shaped tracks to go with a track that’s laid an egg with its on-track product the past few years.


—New Hampshire, Kansas, and the Charlotte ROVAL comprise the Round of 12, all but ensuring us a dramatic conclusion, unless it rains really really REALLY hard.


—Las Vegas, Talladega, and Martinsville constitute the Round of 8, so NBC can reuse that graphic showing how all of Martinsville could fit in the Talladega ori-oval.


—The championship race remains at Phoenix—sorry weirdos who want it at Daytona, this wasn’t your year.



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Kansas Race Picks: Uncle Max vs. 13th Place



Well, I FINALLY got a bit of a break in setting my work up for Christmas—for those who don’t know, the store I work at is the “model store” for the rest of the region.  That means that we set our holiday stuff up a month ahead of everyone else, then have all the OTHER store managers come and take a look at how it’s supposed to look.

It’s funny—every year people come in and complain about “having Christmas stuff up too early”, but it’s never bothered me.  I’m not super-religious, and I don’t really care how and when people celebrate the holidays.  Heck, all I’m asking for Christmas this year is to beat 13th Place by Phoenix!


Friday Night TRUCK SERIES (6 wins) KUBOTA 200: TY MAJESKI—let’s say, a wild race except up front.


Saturday Afternoon XFINITY SERIES (5 wins) KANSAS LOTTERY 300: COLE CUSTER—let’s say, a dull race made exciting by a daring lat lap battle.


Sunday CUP SERIES HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400: 13th Place (2 win) Picks AUSTIN CINDRIC.  FAVORITE (2 wins): JOEY LOGANO—time to turn up the wick. NEXT FAVORITE: KYLE LARSON—back-to-back, baby.  DARK HORSE: KYLE BUSCH—maybe he can slam into the 47 during his burnout.  



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Spade Racing Opens a Box of 2024 Donruss Cards, Pack 7 of 24


PACK 7: Layne, victory lane, and another victory lane


FIRST LOOK: A nice “Rated Rookie” card for the son of Scott Riggs.  Not to be confused with Scotty Riggs of “American Males” fame.


TO THE BACK: “You can guess it—dominant.”  “Dude, you gotta give me a chance to answer.”


SAY WHAT?: “Rain down upon me with showers of SunnyD!!!”


RATING: 5 lanes out of 10



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NASCAR ROTY RANKINGS 2009: Ranking the Rookie of the Year Classes Through the Years



Joey Logano
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.

2009

Winner: Joey Logano (JGR).  Runners Up: Marcos Ambrose (JTG-D), Scott Speed (Red Bull/NEMCO), Max Papis (Germain).  Aborted Attempts: Dexter Bean

How their careers turned out: Joey Logano’s been it all—the hyped rookie, the overhyped young gun, the retribution story, and now he’s a two-time Cup champion.  Unfortunately the rest of the drivers in this class don’t really measure-up for various reasons: Marcos Ambrose got a late start, Scott Speed ran for a start-up team, and Max Papis came over after flaming out of F1 and Champ Car.

“Fun” “Fact” about the winner: JoLo is the first driver to have swept all three races in a Chase/Playoff round, doing so in 2015.  So there’s that.

Ranking: #11 out of 50


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Spade Racing 2024-25 Silly Season Preview: Changes from Least to Most



It’s never too early to look at the following Cup series season, and this year is no different—plenty of changes have been made, with more yet to come.  Here’s a breakdown, team-by-team, going from least changes to most changes:

(as of 9/21/24)


NO CHANGES:

Hendrick Motorsports—nothing to see here, just four teams running for championships, solid sponsorship, and an aging Jeff Gordon waiting in the wings to take over the team and make us all feel REALLY old.

Team Penske—all three drivers are expected to return with their current sponsors.  And yes—I’ve been getting those weird Joey Logano “Cars” toys ads too.

Richard Childress Racing—both drivers are expected to return, unless Kyle Busch throws a Kurt Busch-like hissy-fit at Homestead.


NO CHANGES EXPECTED:

Legacy Motor Club—both drivers are signed through at least next year, and with a lot of work and a little luck, they just might step up their performance from weekly 29th place finishes to 27th place finishes.


EVERYTHING BUT THE DRIVER IS TBA:

JTG Daugherty Racing—so, basically, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is going to return next year, but sponsorship, manufacturer, and even team ownership are expected to change.  As long as he doesn’t start wearing plaid again…


EXPANDING?

RFK Racing—BKes and C.Buescher are coming back, but are rumored to be joined by a third car driven by Ryan Preece with Kroger sponsorship.  That should mean 50% more of those obscure social media activation awards they love to brag about.

23XI Racing—both drivers are signed to long-term deals, but their current part-time third team could become full-time with Riley Herbst driving.  Seriously.


DRIVER CHANGES:

Joe Gibbs Racing—a retiring Martin Truex Jr. is replaced by Chase Briscoe, as announced by Christopher Bell.

Kaulig Racing—AJ Allmendinger is signed for the 16 car, while the 31 is rumored to be earmarked for…*groan*…Ty Dillon.

Rick Ware Racing—one car will be driven by Corey LaJoie, and the other will be driven by unsigned drivers with too much money on their hands.

Wood Bros. Racing—Josh Berry takes over for Harrison Burton in the ersatz fourth Penske car.  And yes, I really just wanted to use the word “ersatz” there.


EXPANDING:

Trackhouse Racing—Ross n Daniel are joined by Shane van Gisbergen full-time in the new 88 car.  And yes, I’m just as annoyed as you that they took the number made famous by Geoff(rey) Bodine.

Front Row Motorsports—Todd Gilliland will be joined by Noah Gragson and a third driver TBD as of this writing.  Well, typing.

Spire Motorsports—Carson Hocevar is joined by Michael McDowell and Justin Haley for 2025.  This could leave Zane Smith as The Dreaded Odd Man Out next year (dumdumDUMMMM).


CONTRACTING:

Haas Factory Team—Only the 41 car (with Cole Custer driving) will return next year, as the other three teams and co-owner Tony Stewart depart the team.  Oh well—we’ll always have fig bars.



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Bristol Race Picks: Uncle Max vs. 13th Place (and Cup eliminations)


EDITOR’S NOTE: While Uncle Max works on getting his store ready for Christmas, he texted me his race picks, AND his picks for who would be eliminated from the Cup playoffs.


Thursday Night TRUCK SERIES (5 wins) UNOH 200: LAYNE RIGGS—You know, UNOH.


Friday Night XFINITY SERIES (4 wins) FOOD CITY 300: COLE CUSTER—even though Food City isn’t a grocery-based theme park.


Saturday Night CUP SERIES BASS PRO SHOPS NIGHT RACE: 13th Place (2 win) Picks DANIEL SUAREZ.  FAVORITE (2 wins): DENNY HAMLIN—I don’t know how, but some people will claim this is a fix. NEXT FAVORITE: RYAN BLANEY—another quiet run to a chamionship.  DARK HORSE: RICKY STENHOUSE JR.—I wonder if even HE knows what’s going on with his team for 2025.  ELIMINATED: Harrison Burton, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs.



www.spaderacing.com updated four times weekly


www.facebook.com/spaderacing


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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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