Spade Racing’s Stars in Unusual Cars: Joey Logano



Joey Logano debuts (sort of) with Hall of Fame Racing (2008)

Join me throughout this year as I take a look at when some of the sport’s biggest stars drove some unusual cars! (Presented in no particular order).

Joey's first-ever Cup Series practice


Why? With Tony Stewart leaving to start his own team in 2009, Joe Gibbs Racing needed a replacement.  They turned to the best NASCAR prospect since…well, “sliced bread”, prepping him with a handful of races near the end of the 2008 season.  After failing to qualify the JGR 02 car for Richmond, Logano moved to JGR satellite team Hall of Fame Racing, making his debut with them at New Hampshire.


How successful were they? It didn’t go well.  Logano made his much-anticipated debut and came home 32nd, followed by a 39th-place finish at Kansas.  He then returned to JGR’s 02 car for two more races (failing to qualify for one of them).


What was the aftermath? Talk about going in two different directions.  Hall of Fame Racing essentially closed down after the 2008 season, “running” as a Yates Racing entry for 2009 before completely shutting own as a legal entity.  Logano, meanwhile, has gone on to win three Cup championships, and is still racing today.


Ranking on the Strange-O-Meter? 7 confusing DLP commercials out of 10—maybe “its the mirrors”, but it still looks odd to see Logano in anything other than the 20 or 22 car.



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Promotion of Other Racing Series Bad for Some Reason

This is a work of parody

Amidst the pomp and circumstance of the Daytona 500, some fans and self-professed insiders have become concerned over Fox Sports’ promotion of its new IndyCar broadcast rights.  This is, apparently, bad for some reason.

“The IndyCar ads have been impossible to ignore, and there’s been at least three of them”, said Nascar-centric YouTuber ERiPMe.  “Meanwhile, Nascar only gets one commercial for the (Daytona) 500—how is that fair?  For some reason that just doesn’t sit well with me.”

The Fox Sports portfolio has included Nascar for 24 years now, with coverage of the first third of the Cup Series schedule and the entirety of the Truck Series.

“See, this is proof that Nascar is slipping—or even worse, dead”, said Nascar fan and critic Jimmy Heathcliff.  “When a network chooses to promote one racing series over another, that means that Nascar is in real trouble.  This is very bad for Nascar, although I can’t really explain why.”

Of note, the entire IndyCar schedule will appear on Fox, which is free and over-the-air, as opposed to Nascar, which will primarily air on FS1 after the first few races.

“They (Fox) are putting the whole IndyCar schedule on Fox, while they put Nascar on FS1?  Hoo boy, that’s not good news”, said a fan at this week’s Speedweeks events.  “I don’t know why Fox is doing that—maybe it’s just to justify how much they charge cable companies to carry FS1, but it’s probably some other reason I can’t quite define.”

The 2025 Daytona 500 airs live on Fox today at 2:30pm ET after a lengthy pre-race show.



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A MOXOC Media production

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Spade Racing 2025 Xfinity Preview: Nascar Wrestles with its Future



Spade Racing 2025 Xfinity Preview: Nascar Wrestles with its Future

1. Cup Regular Season Preview

2. Cup Team Rankings & Grades

3. TV/Streaming Preview

4. Truck Season Preview

5. Xfinity Season Preview


Who doesn’t like a good tag team?  You?  Well, too bad—I’m pairing up Xfinity Series drivers by where I expect them to finish and there’s not much you can do about it.


1. STARKEY & STARS: Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas—18 William Sawalich

and 19 (multiple drivers).  Sawalich has shown he can dominate already, but how will he adjust to going up against the second-best in stock car racing on a regular basis?  Well, having experienced teammates (even on a rotating basis) should help.

The top of the catch fence would
be a great spot for an elbow drop


2. THE COMPANY MEN: Haas Factory Team Fords—00 Sheldon Creed and 41 Sam Mayer.  Lots of changes at the former Stewart-Haas Racing, but having two solid wheelmen and rock-solid financial backing should help the transition.


3. THE YOUNG LIONS: JR Motorsports Chevys—1 Carson Kvapil and 88 Connor Zilisch.  Two drivers with little experience but lots of talent and incredibly bright futures in front of them.  Also, incidentally, probably the two drivers whose last names are most-frequently incorrectly auto-corrected.


4. THE WELCOME WAGON: Richard Childress Racing Chevys—2 Jesse Love and 21 Austin Hill.  Both have established themselves as Xfinity Series stalwarts, putting them at a Jason Keller-level of success thus far.


5. JR’S VETS: JR Motorsports Chevys—7 Justin Allgaier and 8 Sammy Smith.  Overshadowed a bit by their younger teammates, don’t be surprised to if either of them wind up in the championship four this year.


6. COACH’S BACKUPS: Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas—20 Brandon Jones and 54 Taylor Gray.  While not possessing the sky-high potential of William Sawalich or the win-or-else attitude of the #19 “all star car”, they DO have decent Xfinity Series rides.


7. THE KAULIGLOUS FREEBIRDS: Kaulig Racing Chevys—10 Daniel Dye, 11 Josh Williams, and 16 Christian Eckes.  These three could go just about anywhere in the standings this year, but it’s hard to leave a guy with an unironic mullet off of Bradstreet USA.


8. ONE CAR WONDERS: AM Racing Ford—15 Harrison Burton, and 48 Big Machine Racing Chevy—48 Nick Sanchez.  Who says you need to have teammates to make the playoffs?

Has anyone ever used a tire as a weapon in a
hardcore match?


9. EVERYBODY’S UNDERDOGS: RSS Racing Fords—28 Kyle Sieg and 39 Ryan Sieg.  The Official Underdogs of Nascar could use their own version of the Freebird Rule to sneak a car into the playoffs.


10. TEAM JAR: Jordan Anderson Racing Chevys—27 Jeb Burton and 31 Blaine Perkins.  They may not have the most funding, but they always have the most press releases.


11. OUR HUNT IS FOR WINS: Our Motorsports Toyota—5 Kris Wright, and 26 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota—Dean Thompson.  Look for them to be aggressive on plate tracks.


12. TEAM GREEN: SS-Greenlight Racing Chevys—07 (multiple drivers) and 14 Garrett Smithley.  Slowly but surely?  More like Quickly and Smithley (…sorry).


13. YOUNG, YOUNG & INDEPENDENT: Chevys of Alpha Prime Racing--4 Parker Retzlaff, Young’s Motorsports 42—Anthony Alfredo, and Jeremy Clements Racing—51 Jeremy Clements.  Three smaller teams aiming for top-twenties and, with a little luck, contending for a win or two.


14. THE FLYING FLORIDIANS: DGM Racing Chevys—71 Ryan Ellis and 91 (multiple drivers, mostly  Josh Bilicki).  Its not easy when you’re not based out of North Carolina.


15. THE MASKED BACKMARKERS: 35, 44, 70, 99 cars.  Somebody has to finish in the 30’s, but hopefully all these teams can make progress throughout the year.



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