Spade Racing Opens a Box of 2023 Panini PRIZM Cards, Pack 10 of 12

PACK 10: A little fun, number one, and a battle won

FIRST LOOK: “To win is human.  To smell great, divine.  PRIZMATIC, the new masculine fragrance from Martin Truex Jr., available in cologne and eau de toilette.  Smell like New Jersey.”

TO THE BACK: Always neat to see the first card of a series, even if this conversation is pretty mundane.

SAY WHAT?: “I made it to the top—now I just need to make sure some weirdo from Delaware doesn’t make me look like I’m in a cologne ad.”

RATING: 5 green flag commercials out of 10

www.spaderacing.com updated four times weekly

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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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NASCAR ROTY RANKINGS 2000: 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.

2000

Matt Kenseth

Winner: Matt Kenseth (Roush).  Runners Up: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (DEI), Dave Blaney (Bill Davis), Scott Pruett (PPI), Stacy Compton (Melling), Ed Berrier (Donlavey), Mike Bliss (Eel River/Foyt).  Aborted Attempts: Jeff Fuller

How their careers turned out: “In the yearrrr 2000…” we saw a crowded class with two stand-outs in Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Both acquitted themselves quite well, with Kenseth a champion and model of consistency, while Dale Jr. made us wonder if he could’ve won it all if DEI had been better-run.  The rest mostly “witnesses to history”, such as Dave Blaney finishing third at Darlington to Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch, and Scott Pruett not being THAT Scott Pruitt, and Ed Berrier and Mike Bliss simply having funny-sounding names.

“Fun” “Fact” about the winner: Matt Kenseth’s early crew chief, Robbie Reiser, once complimented me on my Cal Ripken Jr. jersey.

Ranking: #9 out of 50

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

www.moxoc.com

Track “Facts”: Chicago

EDITOR'S NOTE: This was the only Track "Facts" entry that wasn't posted last year.  So here it is!

Nascar races on all sorts of tracks, from short to long, oval to road course, concrete to asphalt.  Here’s a weekly look at all the tracks of Nascar’s National Touring Series.

CHICAGO STREET COURSE

2.2 mile asphalt temporary street course

Debuted 2023

Lights?  No

Series: Cup

Nicknames: n/a

THREE FUN FACTS:

1. The Chicago street course was first attempted in the virtual world of iRacing.  I’m disappointed that more sports don’t adopt video game innovations, like basketball players shooting flaming shots after making three in a row, or Bo Jackson being untacklible.

2. The Chicago street course is only 2.2 miles long, which could be due to the fact that it replaced Road America, a 4 mile-plus road course in the middle of nowhere (sorry, cheeseheads).

3. This circuit returned Nascar to the greater Chicago area, thankfully no longer at the now shuttered Chicagoland Speedway, aka That Place With The Muppet Boycott.

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

www.moxoc.com