Race Picks COTA/St. Pete: 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.


iAsk sez: “The Case for Tyler Reddick

Tyler Reddick enters the DuraMAX Grand Prix as the statistical favorite. Historically, Reddick has demonstrated elite proficiency on road courses, a skill set documented in modern racing compendiums as essential for the "Next Gen" car era.  Reddick won at COTA in 2023 and has consistently been a front-runner on technical layouts.  His 2026 season has begun with unprecedented momentum; by winning the first two races of the season, he became the first driver since Matt Kenseth in 2009 to achieve this feat.  If Reddick wins at COTA, he will become the first driver in NASCAR history to start a season with three consecutive victories.  His No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota has shown remarkable durability, winning the previous race at Atlanta despite losing a right-front fender in a mid-race incident.”

Meanwhile, here’s MY human picks:


Truck Series (1 win) OnlyBulls Green Flag 150 Saturday 12pm ET on Fox: CHANDLER SMITH—I think we have a new winner for “Oddest Race Name”.


O’Reilly Series Focused Health 250 Saturday 3pm ET on CW: JUSTIN ALLGAIER—glad to see Creed get off the schneid, but its back to normal at COTA.


Cup Series DuraMax Grand Prix Sunday 3:30pm on Fox  FAVORITE: SHANE VAN GISBERGEN—yeah it’s an easy pick, but I want a win in Cup.  NEXT FAVORITE: KYLE LARSON—a real “ok, the season’s back to normal” moment if a Hendrick or Gibbs driver wins.  DARK HORSE: CONNON ZILISCH—if any rookie can do it, he can.



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Spade Racing Opens Two Blaster Boxes of 2025 Panini Prizm Cards—Preview



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! 




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Foundational Bricks—The 1994 Brickyard 400: 8th, Ricky Rudd

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 8th: Ricky Rudd #10 Tide Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 


Finished: 11th


Career Highlights: 23 Cup Series wins, 1990 Cup Series championship runner-up, first owner-driver to win the Brickyard 400, successfully identified Kevin Harvick’s “little yip-yap mouth”.

Rudd's 1994 car

Total Brickyard 400 Starts: 13


Best Brickyard 400 Finish: Winner (1997)


1994 Fun Fact: Ricky was the top-finishing owner-driver for the 1994 season, coming home fifth.  And NO, I don’t count Rusty Wallace as an owner-driver, sorry.

Signed by longtime RPM crew chief Bill Ingle





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Chase Bank Clarifies Lack of Relationship with Nascar


This is a parody

Multinational banking firm Chase (a division of JPMorganChase) has issued a statement clarifying that, despite the word “Chase” being used frequently in association with Nascar, they have no formal relationship with the sport.

“We at Chase Bank are happy to see our name out there, but we wanted to set the record straight”, the statement read.  “We love motorsports as much as any monolithic corporation, but we currently have no agreements with anybody in Nascar.  In fact, we haven’t had any official sponsorship since that weird AARP deal we did with Jeff Gordon, which even WE didn’t understand at the time.”

Nascar has seen a sharp uptick in searches associated with “Chase” and “the Chase”, with the sport moving back to the so-called “Chase” post-season format in 2026.  Furthermore, two of the Cup Series’ top drivers are Chase Elliott and Chase Briscoe.

“We wish nothing but the best for Mr. Elliott and Mr. Briscoe, although we have no financial or promotional relationship with either driver”, the statement read.  “Actually, Briscoe is sponsored by a competitor of ours, so we wish him less than the best—like when you order a burger at Five Guys and they put mushrooms on it by mistake.”

The banking firm did not rule out a formal relationship with Nascar down the road.

“We’re always looking at new ways to connect with customers and prospective customers, so we might do some business in the motorsports field in the future”, the statement said.  “But hey—it’s not 2005, so we’ll make our own decisions on if we should get involved in Nascar.”

When reached for comment about Chase, Elliott responded with “That’s my name!  Well, not really.”



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Race Picks ATLANTA: 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.


Google Gemini sez: “Because the race is live/imminent, we don't have a winner yet, but here is the breakdown of who is most likely to take the checkered flag based on the latest odds and track history.  Atlanta's "new" configuration (re-profiled in 2022) makes it a "drafting track," similar to Daytona or Talladega. This means drivers with strong superspeedway skills have the edge.  William Byron: The defending winner of this race (2025). He has mastered the drafting style at Atlanta and is currently one of the safest bets.”


Meanwhile, here’s MY human picks:

Truck Series Fr8 208 Saturday 1:30pm ET on FS1: KYLE BUSCH—its Groundhog Day all over again.


O’Reilly Series Bennett 250 Saturday 5pm ET on CW: AUSTIN HILL—same time, same day, same channel, same winner.


Cup Series Daytona 500 Sunday 3pm on Fox  FAVORITE: DENNY HAMLIN—“break up the Toyotas!”.  NEXT FAVORITE: KYLE LARSON—the four cars of Hendrick could be a HUGE advantage at this drafting track.  DARK HORSE: anyone from SPIRE—7, 71, or 77 (so Geoff Bodine, Dave Marcis, or Bobby Hillin Jr.)



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Spade Racing Opens Two Blaster Boxes of 2025 Select Cards—Pack 12 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 12: Taking its Toll, Highlights of Cole, and On a Roll


First Look: Denny seems to be thinking here about strategy calls for the near future.  Or how many millions he’s gone through in legal fees for the Charter lawsuit.


To the Back: Yup, Cole’s a real modern version of Bobby Hillin Jr.


Say What: “Sponsorship and a great ride—now I just need a win…or top five… or top twenty.”


Final Rating: 5 post-race interviews out of 10




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Foundational Bricks—The 1994 Brickyard 400: 7th, Brett 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 7th: Brett Bodine #26 Quaker State/NationaLease King Racing Ford


Finished: 2nd


Brett Bodine's car (in green)
pre-Brickyard 400
Career Highlights: This race, one-time Cup Series race-winner, current pace car driver, ran the former Junior Johnson team into the ground.


Total Brickyard 400 Starts: 9


Best Brickyard 400 Finish: 2nd (1994)


1994 Fun Fact: The 1994 Brickyard 400 was the highlight of the season for Brett, who finished a surprising runner-up.  And hey—sometimes when someone says “I’d knock my own family out of the way to try and win”, they really mean it.



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Five More Dale Earnhardt Documentaries Currently in Production


This is a parody

Following the success of Prime’s “Earnhardt” and FS1’s “We’ve Lost Dale Earnhardt”, nearly half-a-dozen additional documentaries have been green-lit for production on Dale Earnhardt, sources have confirmed.

“We’ve barely scratched the surface on what can be done”, said Nascar Communications spokesman Steve Wright.  “There’s so many more perspectives to be seen, so many more moments to analyze, so much more money to be made.  Um, scratch that last one.”

NBC Sports confirmed that they are working on a two-hour-long documentary titled “Earnhardt: Extended Family, Extended Mourning” which will look at lesser-known members of the racing family and how Dale Sr’s death affected them.

“We have some great interviews with Nicki Earnhardt-McNair, Dale Sr’s second cousin”, said a producer on the special.  “Plus, you won’t want to miss how Earnhardt’s perishing on national tv has affected the karting career of Joey Foreman, Dale’s great-nephew’s half-brother.”

TNT Sports, meanwhile, is going in a different direction.

“Thanks to our longtime relationship with Nascar, we have access to some amazing never-before-seen footage of The Intimidator”, said John Forde about a currently untitled three-part series.  “You’ll love to see how Kenny Wallace reacts to footage of Dale brushing his teeth before the 1989 Winston Cup Awards Banquet.  And just wait until you realize the impact that Hank Parker Sr. had on Dale before the 1993 Coca-Cola 600—I don’t want to give anything away, but he told him ‘good luck’”.

All five documentaries under production are expected to be released later this fall, at which point they’ll be crushed in the ratings by a replay of a pre-season NFL game.


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Race Picks DAYTONA/PREVIEW: Spade Racing vs. AI

With my Uncle Max retiring from making race picks, I decided to start making my OWN picks again in 2026.  But who would I compete against?  An expert?  A friend?  Past performance?

No—how about Artificial Intelligence.

Every week this year I’ll ask an AI platform who it thinks is going to win the Cup race.  Then, 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.


ChatGPT sez: “I can’t definitively predict who will win the 2026 Daytona 500 — the race itself hasn’t happened yet (it’s scheduled for Sunday, February 15, 2026) and the outcome is uncertain until the checkered flag falls.

However, based on current odds, expert forecasts, and early betting markets, here’s a snapshot of the top contenders and likely favorites heading into the race:

Ryan Blaney—One of the top early favorites in betting markets.”


Meanwhile, here’s MY human picks:

Truck Series Fresh From Florida 250 Friday 7:30pm ET on FS1: TONY STEWART—no, it’s not fixed.  But it does help having four teammates in the draft.


O’Reilly (formerly Xfinity) Series United Rentals 300 Saturday 5pm ET on CW: BRANDON JONES—perfect combo of experience, teammates, and equipment…at Menards.


Cup Series Daytona 500 Sunday 2:30pm on Fox  FAVORITE: AUSTIN CINDRIC—the Austin who races for a family team that we like.  NEXT FAVORITE: AUSTIN DILLON—the Austin who races for a family team that we don’t like.  DARK HORSE: JUSTIN ALLGAIER—if only to bring back the glory days of the diecast market.



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Spade Racing Opens Two Blaster Boxes of 2025 Select Cards—Pack 11 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 11: Ensations, Two Different Occasions, and Orange Nation


First Look: With Freeway taking over as lead sponsor for Daniel at Spire, AND becoming a premiere partner next season, Suarez has what its take to rocket all the way to 15th.


To the Back: Odd wording there.  Maybe eliminate the second line and mention how it was the rare occasion he didn’t wreck half the field.


Say What: “Ugh—with all this orange I feel like I’m from Syracuse.”


Final Rating: 6 overtime restart out of 10



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