Spade Racing: 2026

Foundational Bricks—The 1994 Brickyard 400: 4th, Geoff Bodine

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 4th: Geoff Bodine #7 Exide Geoff Bodine Racing Ford

Finished: 39th (DNF—Crash)

Geoff in retirement

Career Highlights: 18 Cup Series wins, 1986 Daytona 500 winner, last driver to lap the field, “author” of one of the worst books I’ve ever read.

Total Brickyard 400 Starts: 7

Best Brickyard 400 Finish: 12th (2000)

1994 Fun Fact: Geoff (later Geoffrey) won an impressive three races in his first year as an owner-driver. Oh, and as required by law, I have to mention he lapped the field in one of those races as well.

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Spade Racing Opens Two Blaster Boxes of 2025 Select Cards—Pack 8 of 12

Rather than a “hobby box”, I decided to go with the more economical choice of two “Blaster Boxes” for the 2025 Select cards. With six packs of five cards each in each box, that’s twelve packs to open!

Pack 8: Strapped in, Waiting on a Win, and Banned Ag’in?

First Look: Kind of an odd look having Chris wear his HANS device straps here. Well, either that or he’s attached to a giant slingshot.

To the Back: “Driving race cars is the peaceful, quiet, easy part”, said the guy with no Cup wins despite racing for one of the top-three teams.

Say What: “If I get banned again, I’ll make sure its a track I really don’t want to run.”

Final Rating: 5 contingency decals out of 10

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Foundational Bricks—The 1994 Brickyard 400: 3rd, Jeff Gordon

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 3rd: Jeff Gordon #24 DuPont Hendrick Motorsports Chevy

Finished: Winner

Gordon in Victory Lane

Career Highlights: Four-time Cup Series champion, 93 Cup Series wins, most Brickyard 400 starts AND wins, had an entire club devoted to hating him.

Total Brickyard 400 Starts: 23

Best Brickyard 400 Finish: 4x Winner (1994, 98, 2004, 14)

Signed by Rick Hendrick

1994 Fun Fact: 1994 saw Jeff win the inaugural Brickyard 400, for which he was given a trophy with a brick on it. That’s it—no cup, no statue, no oversized logo—just a big brick.

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AUTO-Biographies: Cope

Author(s): Brock Beard

The Good: Derrike Cope is a bit of a meme amongst NASCAR die-hards, but this book takes a detailed look at one of the most-varied careers in the sport. Derrike seemed to participate fully in this book’s writing, so we get lots of insight into how he got started, his shocking 1990 Daytona 500 win, and his later career as a journeyman.

The Not-so-good: There seemed to be a bit too much focus on the latter non-NASCAR portion of Derrike’s career, which made the end of the book drag. Also, his time with StarCom Racing includes a mention of NASCAR “suggesting” that they sell their charter, something that probably could’ve been either investigated further or left-out entirely.

What I’d Change: Honestly, it would just be nitpicking here. Maybe one or two things could’ve been presented differently, but that’s it.

Read It?: Yes, although it could be a hard-sell to anyone who doesn’t know who Derrike Cope is.

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A MOXOC Media production

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Spade Racing Opens Two Blaster Boxes of 2025 Select Cards—Pack 7 of 12

Pack 7: Out in a Jif’, A very big If, and Fffffffff

First Look: Here we see Daniel as he probably looked leaving Trackhouse for good. Well, without the firesuit, of course.

To the Back: Um, considering that he’s 36 and has a tenuous hold on a part-time Xfinity ride, staying around till he’s 50 is a wish more than a goal.

Say What: “Fffffffffffff”

Final Rating: 5 picture-in-picture commercials out of 10

www.spaderacing.com updated four times weekly

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Visit the store https://www.cafepress.com/spaderacing

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A MOXOC Media production

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Foundational Bricks—The 1994 Brickyard 400: Outside Pole, Dale Earnhardt

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.

Earnhardt in 1994

Starting 2nd: Dale Earnhardt #3 GM Goodwrench Richard Childress Racing Chevy

Finished: 5th

Career Highlights: Seven-time Cup Series champion, 76 Cup Series wins, 1998 Daytona 500 winner, subject of a bunch of memes for some reason.

Total Brickyard 400 Starts: 7

Best Brickyard 400 Finish: Winner (1995)

Autographed by Richard Childress

1994 Fun Fact: Dale was on his way to a record-tying seventh Cup Series championship in 1994, clinching in the third-to-last race—proof that sometimes a contrived “playoff” points system can be a good thing.

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A MOXOC Media production

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AUTO-Biographies: J.D.: The Life and Death of a Forgotten NASCAR Legend

Author(s): Brock Beard

The Good: If I could explain the reason for this book existing, it would be this: Some legends cannot be allowed to fade away. J.D. McDuffie was not a successful driver in terms of on-track results, but he did more with less than virtually anybody out there. And this book does his career justice, explaining the “little wins” that he had by outracing those with similar equipment, or how a top-ten could’ve been bigger for him than a win was to a top team.

The Not-so-good: The book borders on hagiography at times, and I felt some more focus could’ve been placed on J.D.’s run of DNQ’s in his final few years. And while it deserved an in-depth look, a bit too much time was spent on J.D.’s final, fatal race.

What I’d Change: Not much really, other than perhaps some analysis of why a driver would choose to spend their career running lesser equipment, and maybe a few more critical voices.

Read It?: Yes, although if you’re not a hardcore fan this could be a bit too esoteric.

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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Spade Racing Opens Two Blaster Boxes of 2025 Select Cards—Pack 6 of 12

Pack 6: Impossible to Knock, a “Talking Rock”, and a Rising Stock

First Look: No jokes to be made here—to date, I still think that Alan Kulwicki’s 1992 championship is the greatest run in modern series history.

To the Back: Ah yes, Talking Rock Georgia, near Snoring Tree and Mumbling Meadow.

Say What: “Follow me, and you’ll find me in the Cup Series… assuming they can find a spot for me, that is.”

Final Rating: 4 sets of tires 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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Foundational Bricks—The 1994 Brickyard 400: Pole Position, Rick Mast

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 1st: Rick Mast #1 Skoal Precision Products Racing Ford

Finished: 22nd

Mast leading Jeff Gordon at
the Brickyard

Career Highlights: This pole position, a handful of top-fives in middling equipment, nearly took over for Dale Earnhardt, made only known reference to underwear in a post-crash interview.

Total Brickyard 400 Starts: 7

Best Brickyard 400 Finish: 8th (1995)

1994 Fun Fact: Rick’s race team was one of many to start on Hoosier tires in 1994, only to switch to Goodyear by season’s end. The switch not only provided what was thought to be a more-durable racing tire via Goodyear, but prevented Mast from having to wear that weird purple neckband thing Hoosier always handed out.

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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