Foundational Bricks—The 1994 Brickyard 400: 35th, Bobby Hillin Jr.

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 35th: Bobby Hillin Jr. #44 Buss Fuses Charles Hardy Racing Ford


Finished: 21st


Career Highlights: One Cup Series win, two Busch Series wins, fourth place finish in the 1986 Daytona 500, “Thanks for the Ride, Harry Hyde”.

A 1994 Hillin trading card, from
Trading Card Database

Total Brickyard 400 Starts: 3


Best Brickyard 400 Finish: 21st (1994)





1994 Fun Fact: 1994 was the last year for Bobby’s Hardy Racing ride, as it would essentially become the Bill Elliott co-owned 94 car the following year.  Bobby would re-emerge midway through the 1995 season driving the Jasper Motorsports “company car”.



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Suggested Titles for the Days of Thunder Sequel



Tom Cruise has announced that a sequel to Days of Thunder will be coming out in the Summer of 2028.  Here’s some suggested titles:


Days of Twonder


Days of Thunder 2: The Thundering


2 Days 2 Thunder


Days of Thunder 2: Electric Engine Boogaloo


I Still Days What You Of’d Last Thunder


Thunder and the Days of: The Squeakquel


Thunder Act 2: Back in the Firesuit


F1 The Movie but its Nascar



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Race Picks Daytona: 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.


Microsoft Grok AI (5 wins) sez: Ryan Blaney is a strong pick to win (or at least contend strongly), though Daytona superspeedway races are notoriously chaotic and hard to predict with high confidence.


Truck Series (2 wins) off


O’Reilly Series (4 wins) Winn-Dixie 250 Friday 7:30am ET on CW: AUSTIN HILL—if only he could win…well, anywhere else.


Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 Saturday 7:30pm ET on NBC  FAVORITE (1 win): CARSON HOCEVAR—they’re already starting with the “he’s doing too much outside of racing” stuff.  NEXT FAVORITE (2 wins): JOEY LOGANO—Team Penske getting hot at the right time.  DARK HORSE (1 win): RYAN PREECE—on all four wheels this time.




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Spade Racing Opens a 2026 Donruss Hobby Box of Cards—Pack 14 of 16



It’s back to a hobby back for the first official 2026 cards.  Join me as I go through all 16 packs of 8 cards each!


Pack 14: Rubbery, Old Folksy, and a Mystery


First Look: We got us a tire card!  And there’s a good chance that it was run at one of Martin Truex Jr’s home tracks.


To the Back: He tells ya.  Those Blue Max and/or Penske hot rods were flat out flyin out there.


Say What: “Wait, who am I?”


Final Rating: 6 races on cable out of 10


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Foundational Bricks—The 1994 Brickyard 400: 34th, Jimmy Spencer

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 34th: Jimmy Spencer #27 McDonalds Junior Johnson & Associates Ford


Finished: 43rd (DNF—Crash)


Career Highlights: Two Cup Series race wins, most-recent race-winner entering the 1994 Brickyard 400, two-time Modified Series champion, never forgets.


Total Brickyard 400 Starts: 11

Spencer's 1994 car

Best Brickyard 400 Finish: 8th (2003)


1994 Fun Fact: Jimmy went from top to bottom in a week’s time in 1994, winning the previous race at Talladega then injuring himself in a crash at the Brickyard, coming home last.  Somehow I bet he managed to blame an Earnhardt-centric conspiracy again.



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Cody Ware Walking Around Garage with “Money in the Bank” Briefcase

This is a parody

A dull “race to the Chase” in Cup may be getting spiced-up a bit, as perennial backmarker Cody Ware has been seen walking around the garage today with a WWE “Money in the Bank” briefcase.

“I bought this on the WWE website”, Ware said, “and the way I figure it, this will get me a one-on-one match-race for a Chase spot.  Sure, everyone’s seen me in 400 lap races, but wait till you see me in a 25 lap sprint against just one guy.”

Nascar has not yet ruled on the legality or validity of the “Money in the Bank” rules Ware has proposed.

“We usually don’t allow outside gimmick concepts in Cup—we have enough inside ones as it is, lord knows”, a Nascar spokesman said from the New Hampshire Motor Speedway garage this morning.  “Still, considering how boring the battle for Chase spots is looking, we’ll allow it and rule on it in the near future.  We just wish it was Ross Chastain or Austin Dillon holding the briefcase.”

Ware currently sits 35th in points, easily the worst of all the full-time Cup drivers. However, to hear him tell it, Ware has been planning this out for some time.

“It’s all about getting the rest of the field to let their guard down”, Ware said while tapping the briefcase.  “Once I spring this baby on the likes of Austin Cindric or SVG, they won’t know what hit them.  And hey—it’ll be nice to hit another car instead of just the wall for once.



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Race Picks New Hampshire: 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.


Microsoft Copilot AI (5 wins) sez: Christopher Bell — the statistical favorite

Bell is the strongest pick according to multiple sources:

He has won 7 of 11 races at NHMS across NASCAR’s top three series. 

He won the most recent NHMS Cup race in June 2024, leading the final 64 laps. 

Predictive models give him ~10.9% win probability, second only to Blaney. 

Bell’s combination of elite track history and current form makes him the most likely winner.


Truck Series (2 wins) Team EJU 175 Saturday 1:30pm ET on FS1: CHANDLER SMITH—Front Row having such a good Trucks program is like a basement-dwelling MLB team having a great AA-level minor league squad.


O’Reilly Series (4 wins) off


Cup Series Dollar Tree 301 2pm ET on USA  FAVORITE (1 win): JOEY LOGANO—AND it’s a local win for him (until they build a track in Connecticut).  NEXT FAVORITE (2 wins): DENNY HAMLIN—INSERT LOBSTER JOKE HERE.  DARK HORSE (1 win): ROSS CHASTAIN—no “Hail Melon”, but he needs something similar to get back on track.



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Spade Racing Opens a 2026 Donruss Hobby Box of Cards—Pack 13 of 16


It’s back to a hobby back for the first official 2026 cards.  Join me as I go through all 16 packs of 8 cards each!


Pack 13: Highlight, Out of Sight, and Style Fight


First Look: 12 wins in a Truck Series season!  And his reward is a full-time Cup ride…a year later.


To the Back: Could anyone have predicted Austin Hill’s 2026, well, besides angering over drivers?


Say What: “I had this look before Joey did!”


Final Rating: 4 flags out of 10



www.spaderacing.com updated four times weekly


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Foundational Bricks—The 1994 Brickyard 400: 33rd, Ward Burton

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 33rd: (rookie) Ward Burton #31 Hardee’s A.G. Dillard Motorsports Ford


Finished: 31st

Ward Burton in retirement

Career Highlights: Five Cup Series race wins, 2002 Daytona 500 winner, 2001 Southern 500 winner, Cat Skid Steer Loader.


Total Brickyard 400 Starts: 12


Best Brickyard 400 Finish: 6th (1999, 2001)





1994 Fun Fact: Despite failing to qualify for a number of races in 1994, Ward posted a stunning second-place finish at the July Pocono race.  To be fair, its not the first time someone was surprised by Hardee’s (seriously, who puts raw bacon on a Frisco burger?).


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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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