Tom Peck #31 Channellock Chevrolet

    Hello once again diecast fans, and welcome to the NASCAR Racing Champions blog~ I hope you're all having a wonderful Memorial day today, and I'd like to start this post by thanking all of the soldiers who died for our freedom~ They may not be around to see my gratitude, but we should never forget those who lost their lives for our country~

    In today's post, I'm going to be delving into the history of Tom Peck's time in the #31 Channellock Chevrolet, which was owned by BGN champion Steve Grissom, and his father Wayne~ Grissom had won the championship with the car during the 1993 season, and was moving up to the Cup series full time for the 94 season, and the team pegged Peck as their driver of the future~ The marriage was short lived, as Peck was outed from the car just eight races into the 1994 BGN season, all but ending his NASCAR career~

                                                           Tom Peck #31 Promo card~

    Peck qualified 35th for the season opening "Goody's 300" @ Daytona, while Michael Waltrip won the pole in the #30 Pennzoil Pontiac~ A total of 21 drivers failed to make the field for the event, including Jimmy Spencer, Hut Stricklin, Patty Moise, and Jason Keller, among others~ A slew of Cup drivers were in the field for this one, including Dale Earnhardt, Dale "Boring" Jarrett, Terry Labonte, Ernie Irvan, Sterling Marlin, Bill Elliott, Mark Martin, Michael Waltrip, and Ken Schrader~

    With the exception of the conclusion of the race, the event was moderately boring, with the Cup guys leading all but four laps of the thing~ In the end, Dale Earnhardt passed Terry Labonte on the final lap in dramatic fashion to win his fifth consecutive Goody's 300~ He was followed to the line by Dale Boring, Chad Little, Terry Labonte, and Ernie Irvan, in what sounded more like the conclusion of a Cup race, minus the fact that Little was third~

    Although the spot light wasn't shown on him hardly at all during the event, Tom Peck was able to claw his way to a 10th place finish, picking up his first top 10 with his new team in his very first start~ It looked like Peck was in for a heck of an awesome season, and he was more than eager to drive his car into victory lane for the first time in his career~ It looked as though he wouldn't have to wait long before his dream became a reality~ But the greedy ol' Grissoms were already plotting his demise~

                                    Peck's car receives medical attention~ Richmond - 1994~

    Next up on the schedule was the "Goodwrench 200" @ Rockingham, and Peck and the #31 team qualified 24th for the event~ Robert Pressley grabbed the pole in the #99 Papke Racing Chevrolet~ This was to be the final consecutive start for legendary BGN driver, Tommy Houston, as he failed to make the field for the upcoming Richmond race~ Up until then, he had started every single BGN race since the inception of the series in 1982~

    I have to admit, this was a very pleasurable race to watch, with the exception of the race winner, who I find to be almost as boring as Dale Jarrett, but a little more genuine, so that makes up for it~ Dennis Setzer led a majority of the race in the #59 Alliance Training Centers Chevrolet, but faded in the end to finish 9th~ Terry Labonte led the final 29 laps of the event to take the checkered flag~

    Labonte was followed to the line by "Handsome" Harry Gant, Hermie Sadler, Randy LaJoie, and Robert Pressley~ Our ol' pal Tom Peck silently fought his way to a 6th place finish, narrowly missing out on his first top 5 with the team~ His record so far was pretty good however, and following the race, he was 4th in the BGN championship points standings~ But don't get too excited about his success... them sneaky ol' Grissoms are hot on his tail, and they're mighty hungry - and the only thing that'll satisfy their hunger is Tom Peck's NASCAR career~

                                          Custom Tom Peck poster made from an old shirt~

    The #31 car wasn't up to speed @ Richmond for the "Hardee's Frisco 250", qualifying 36th in the 39 car field~ He did however beat out several Cup drivers to make the field, including Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Michael Waltrip, Kyle Petty, Dale Boring, and Bobby Labonte, among others~

    The Peckster was collected in a lap 28 crash when Mike Stefanik lost control of his #1 Luxaire Ford~ Peck slid into the wall - ripping the back bumper off of his car, before heading to the pits~ He was able to get back out on the track, but was caught by the leaders and put a lap down~ Peck was able to get his lap back, and stayed out following a lap 111 caution to take the lead~ Confusion ensued, and it took NASCAR 16 laps of caution to figure out the starting order of the field~

    When the field was set, the green flag waved - and Peck made one lap around the track before coming in for four tires~ Back then, the only way you could take on four tires in one stop was under green flag conditions~ As a result of his lengthy pit stop, he came out two laps down, and wound up four laps down by the end of the race, finishing in 20th place~ The race was won by Joe Nemechek, who led 147 of the 250 laps on his way to victory~ He was followed by Kenny Wallace, Harry Gant, Elton Sawyer, and Hermie Sadler~

                                            Side shot of the Peckmobile~ Richmond - 1994~

    Tom qualified 29th for the "Busch Light 300" @ Atlanta, while Shawna Robinson became the first female in the history of NASCAR to win the pole position~ She would be taken out on the first lap of the race by that nasty little weasel Mike Wallace, who in my opinion deserves another punch in the mouth~

    Mark Martin had the car to beat early on, but a blown engine put him out of contention on lap 155~ Harry Gant led the final 42 laps of the event on his way to the final victory of his BGN career~ He was followed by Larry Pearson, Randy Porter (the only top 5 of his career), Terry Labonte, and Tracy Leslie~ Peck never found speed throughout the race, and was regulated to a 26th place finish~

    Moving on to Martinsville, Peck qualified 20th for the "Miller 500", while David Green won the pole position in the #44 Slim Jim Chevrolet~ Hermie Sadler had the car to beat for a while, but he was collected in a lap 71 crash involving six other drivers~ Kenny Wallace took the lead from there, and gave it up to Terry Labonte 25 laps later~

    Labonte dominated the rest of the day, leading a total of 205 of 300 laps in the #14 MW Windows Chevrolet~ He was followed by David Green, Kenny Wallace, Randy LaJoie, and Doug Heveron, who picked up his first career BGN top 5, driving the #75 Food Country Oldsmobile for long time BGN car owner, Charlie Henderson~ Peck finished 25th after having another ill handling race car~ Could this be a sabotage job by those greedy, sneaky little snakes, the Grissoms?~

                                                           Front shot of the Peckmobile~

    Peck again was without power for the "Mark III Vans 200" @ Darlington, qualifying 34th in the 42 car field~ The 1990's version of Kyle Busch (Mark Martin) was on the pole in the #60 Winn-Dixie Ford, and that was never good for BGN regulars~ Shawna Robinson (who had won the pole for Atlanta two races earlier) failed to make the field~

    Mark Martin dominated the race, leading 138 of 147 laps on his way to his first BGN victory of the season~ He was followed by Larry Pearson, Randy LaJoie, Kenny Wallace, and Harry Gant~ Peck rode around the track like a little ol' snail, finishing two laps off the pace of race winner - in the 27th position~

   As the team was putting the car back in the hauler to head home, the Grissoms were already there - plotting their next move~ Following four straight finishes of 20th or worse, they figured they had to be getting close to pulling off their evil scheme - destroying the NASCAR career of Tom Peck~
                                                      
                                      Peck is interviewed after finishing 6th @ Rockingham~

    With the short track of Hickory, North Carolina next up on the schedule, Peck qualified 10th (season high) for the "Sundrop 400", while David Green captured the pole position in the #44 Slim Jim Chevrolet~ Fifteen drivers failed to make the 30 car field, including short track ace Junior Miller, Rodney Combs, Shawna Robinson (again), and former Atlanta Falcons football coach, Jerry Glanville~

    Ricky Craven passed Green at the drop of the green flag, and led for the first 174 laps~ Kenny Wallace led a handful of laps, along with David Green, and Hermie Sadler, but in the end - Craven led 206, including the final one on his way to the checkered flag in the #2 DuPont Refinishes Chevrolet~ Craven was followed by Randy LaJoie, David Green, Johnny Benson Jr., and Tommy Houston, who had been having a horrible time finding sponsorship money during the start of the season~

    The Peck-O-Matic was strong all night long, and he came home quietly in the 6th position, for what would be the final top 10 of his career~ The Grissoms were completely furious with the strong run Peck had, and knew they had to make sure it never happened again~ They needed one final nail in the coffin to assure Peck's career would finally be put to rest - Permanently!~

                                     Peck drives by the #05 car, driven by Randy MacDonald~

    Tom's final race in the #31 Channellock car came in the "Goody's 250" @ Bristol, where he barely made the 36 car field, with a 35th place qualifying effort, while Mark Marin won the pole for the event~ Before the start of the race, Peck found himself 9th in the BGN championship points battle, and was confident a win was coming his way real soon~ The Grissoms however were going to make sure that didn't happen, giving Peck one of the worst Grissom cars in the history of Grissom's career at Bristol~

    Mark Martin led 195 laps, but did that thing he did... and handed the win over to David Green, in what was his only win during the season - a season in which he went on to win the BGN championship~ Tommy Houston finished 2nd in a Piggly Wiggly car (You know that pissed off Food Country and the Henderson team), followed by Jeff Green, Dale Jarrett, and Jim Bown, who had a great run in the #63 Lysol Chevrolet~

    Peck was left to die in a rotted ol' turd of a car the Grissoms had rigged up~ He finished the event 112 laps off the pace of the race winner, in 29th place~ Following this event, the Grissoms had convinced Channellock that a change had to be made - and thus Steve Grissom took over for the remainder of the year~ The team shuttered down following the end of the season, never to return again~

                                The sad end of Tom Peck's NASCAR career~ Click to enlarge~

      Tom was interviewed the following week in the broadcast booth during the "Pantry Stores 300" @ Rougemont, where he told the announcers that the team was sold to Cup owner Gary Bechtel, whom Grissom was driving for at the time, and that Bechtel wanted extra seat time for his young driver - thus leaving Peck as the odd man out~ The problem with that story is that Bechtel didn't assume ownership of the team until the start of the 1995 BGN season~ Wayne Grissom was still the owner of the team, along with his son, Evil Steve~

    When compared side by side, Peck's stats blow Grissom's away hands down~ In his 8 starts with the team, Peck had three top 10's, with a best of 6th twice, along with leading 16 laps~ He had an average start of 27.9, and an average finish of 18.6~ Compare that to Grissom's 11 starts in the car, where he had one fifth place finish, an 18th, and a 19th place finish, and the remaining eight races - he finished no higher than 22nd, he led a total of 0 laps, and had an average start of 27.5, and an average finish of 26.6~ Peck was running at the end of each of his races with the team, while Grissom only finished four out of eleven races he ran in the same car~ It's called finesse, Grissom - and you never had it~

    Although the Grissoms didn't really "kill" Tom Peck, the deal they made with him pretty much did him in as far as being a driver~ He had sold his old team to Kirk Shelmerdine to drive for the Grissoms, so after that deal fell through, he didn't have anything to fall back on~ He ran a one off race for Mike Greci @ Watkins Glen, and two races for Curtis Key, where both resulted in blown engines (Key's cars were notoriously terrible)~

    He finished out his career the following season, driving two races for "Group III Racing" in the #18 Unifirst Uniforms Ford, with a best finish of 19th in the "Gatorade 200" @ Darlington, before running his final race in Michael Peck's #67 Spartan Motors Chevrolet~ That race was the "All Pro Bumper to Bumper 300" @ Charlotte, where he qualified 40th, and held on for a 24th place finish in an extremely low budget car~ His final attempt in a NASCAR race came in the "Jiffy Lube Miami 300" @ Homestead, where he failed to make the field~ The final nail was in the coffin, and the Grissoms finally lowered the NASCAR career of Tom Peck into the ground - Forever!~

                                                    Tom Peck #31 Channellock Chevrolet~

 Click pics to enlarge~

    I was a huge fan of this paint scheme (and of this team in general) back then, and it still holds up well today~ As I've said in previous post, I have a love for these light blue race cars, so I was a fan of Peck driving this car from the start~ Now when I see a Channellock car, I get sad and think about the Grissoms killing Peck's career the way they did, and I just want to spit on some ol' dirty rags~ 

   This is your typical Channellock car, nothing really special about it, and it had this same paint scheme when Grissom drove the rest of the races in 1994~ Of the cars that Racing Champions produced for 1994, this Peck one is perhaps somewhat harder to come across than some of the other cars~ This car's value is around 7 dollars currently, which I feel is a fair price~

   Though there wasn't anything special about Peck's Channellock scheme, it's still a beautiful paint scheme, as well as a great card~ Peck is just gleaming with confidence as he stands in front of his first truly competitive ride in the series, with sponsors backing him well - He had no clue what the future had in store for him at this point, and he looks totally stoked~ This one has to get an A+ on the Racing Champions quality scale~ Super awesome car, and a great job on the card - it doesn't get any better than that for Racing Champions diecasts~ Now let's dive into the bonus car for this post, shall we?~ 

                                   Rich Vogler #50 Coors Light Chevrolet~ Pocono - 1990~

    A fellow NASCAR fan named Rob emailed me recently, and requested amongst others - a custom of Rich Vogler's #50 Coors Light Chevrolet, from the 1990 Winston Cup season~ Vogler (a five time USAC Midget, and two time USAC Sprint Car champion) was attempting to break into the Cup series after noticing its growing popularity~ He had ran a BGN race back in 1988 @ Rockingham, where he finished 17th in the "Goodwrench 200", driving the #31 B.A. Lawmaster Ford~

    His first attempt in the #50 Coors Light car cam in the "Miller Genuine Draft 400" @ Michigan, where he failed to make the field by one position~ Two races later, Vogler made the field for what would be his first Winston Cup series start, in the "AC Spark Plug 500" @ Pocono, where he qualified 32nd in the 40 car field~ 

    The night before the Cup race, Vogler competed in a sprint car event at Salem Speedway, in Salem Indiana~ He was there to do one thing... beat the heck out of up and coming star, Jeff Gordon~ He was doing just that when his car smacked the wall with one lap remaining, killing him instantly~ Because of USAC rules on red flags, Vogler was awarded the victory posthumously, his 170th~ His qualifying spot was left open for the start of the Cup race, and he was awarded the 40th finishing position~ 

   Now I've gotta say, I never found a single photo to go off of for this car, and so this isn't what his car looked like 100%, but I feel like it was something like this~ I know the car was driven by Ted Musgrave that season a little, and his car was white with red numbers, so I'm guessing Vogler's was the same~ I used Ken Schrader's #25 as the "donor" car for this one, and I think it turned out pretty good~ It's not the best, but heck.. I didn't have anything to go by~ If anyone has a picture of his car, and could email it to me, I can make a more accurate version, but for now, this will have to do~ 

    As usual, thank you all for stopping by the blog again!~ We're keeping the old NASCAR scene alive, one post at a time, and I couldn't do it without the support of others like myself, who still crave the old glory days of NASCAR, and Racing Champions diecasts~ Please share this post with your friends on social media, and remember to click the "Follow" button at the top right hand side of this page~ Below are some videos featuring Peck's career, along with some of Vogler's, enjoy them, and until next time - keep my skillet good and greasy while I'm gone!~ 

                                           Tom Peck explains his absence @ Rougemont~

                                             

                            David Bonnett hits Tom Peck in the rear~ Volusia County 1992~

                                                       Hidden Heroes: Rich Vogler~

  Rich Vogler segment from ESPN~

Jerry Nadeau #15 Buss Fuses Ford

    Greetings race fans, and welcome once more to the NASCAR Racing Champions diecast blog~ With the recent changes to the upcoming NASCAR schedule, we once more are forced to deal with an ever evolving set of changes that quite frankly, none of us are asking for~ That's why it's nice to work on these blog posts.. to escape to a simpler time in the sport.. back to the good ol' days, where I feel more welcome~

    I'm sure younger, more current fans of the sport get tired of hearing the older crowd complain, but I really don't care what they think~ I want my race car drivers to be men, and act like men.. not that I mind a woman being in the sport.. just not Danica, she sucks~ I just miss the personalities the older drivers had~ The current group of drivers is as boring as the newer tracks NASCAR forced upon us~

   But enough of being an old curmudgeon for now, let's dive into this post~ This one is gonna be on Jerry Nadeau, and his time in the #15 Buss Fuses Ford, which he drove during the 1995 BGN season, in what was his rookie campaign~ The car was owned by Greg Pollex, who also owned the #23 Bayer/Harris Teeter Ford that Chad Little won 6 races in during the 1995 season~ Nadeau drove in five events for the team, and attempted another three, but failed to qualify~

                                             Nadeau's first promo card in the BGN series~

    Jerry's first time in the #15 Buss Fuses Ford was actually a DNQ in the "Hardee's 250" @ Richmond, in the third event of the 1995 BGN season~ He was one of seven drives who failed to make the field~ Other notable drivers who failed to make the race were Buckshot Jones, Robbie Reiser, and Shawna Robinson~

    He made his first BGN start in the "Sundrop 400" @ Hickory, where he rolled off 26th in the 30 car field~ Ten drivers failed to make the field, including Andy Houston, Bill Venturini, Tommy Houston, Bobby Hillin Jr., and Patty Moise, who ended up racing anyway when she bought Johnny Chapman's car for the event~ The announcers keep saying it's Chapman in the #70, but it's not.. it's Moise~

    The race was pretty crazy, with a total of 13 cautions for 50 laps~ Chad Little was dominating in the end, and was easily going to win the race, when the lapped car of Kevin Lepage took him out of the race while trying to get a lap back~ It was horrible, and just... I wanted to throw a rock at Lepage~ NASCAR black flagged him, but it wasn't enough for me.. heck, he killed Chad Little.. not really, but gosh.. Lepage always did real dumb stuff that I just couldn't believe~

    After the incident, Johnny Benson held on for the win, followed by Hermie Sadler, Mike McLaughlin (who they called "Magic" at the time~), Jason Keller, and Bobby Dotter~ Pete Silva had a nice 10th place finish in Jack Ingram's ol' #11 car, which was sponsored by Ingles Supermarkets~ Nadeau had a couple minor incidents in the race, but held on till the end (though nine laps down) to finish in 21st~

                                    Nadeau goes for a spin @ Hickory, in his first BGN start~

    Nadeau and the team were back the following week @ Loudon, for the "NE Chevy Dealers 250"~ "Magic" Mike McLaughlin was on the pole in the #34 French's Mustard Chevrolet, and Nadeau qualified in the 15th position~ A total of 15 drivers failed to make the field for the event, including Ricky Craven~

    Jeff Green led two large chunks of the race, but creepy Mike Wallace spun him out, and he never regained the lead, finishing in 14th~ Chad Little went on to lead the final 77 laps of the event, on the way to the checkered flag~ He was followed by Elton Sawyer, "Creepy" Mike Wallace, "Magic" Mike McLaughlin, and Johnny Benson Jr.~

    The "Hero of the Race" award goes to Tom Bolles, who brought the #76 Bolles Chrysler-Plymouth Chevrolet home in 9th place, for his first of two BGN career top 10's~ The "Heartbreak of the Race" award goes to Jimmy Spencer, who blew an engine in the #20 Fina Lube Ford, while leading the race~ Nadeau finished the race seven laps down, in 29th~ This race was also the final BGN start for legendary New England driver, Stub Fadden - who finished in 27th place, after starting 42nd~

                                                   Up in the grill of the Buss Fuses Ford~

    Nadeau was back in the car (following a three race absence) for the "Carolina Pride/Red Dog 250"
    @ Myrtle Beach, where he qualified in 10th - a season high~ Jeff Green won the pole, driving the #3 GM Goodwrench Service Chevrolet~ Five drivers failed to make the field for this race, including Buckshot Jones, again~

    This was a moderately boring race, with Jason Keller and Jeff Green dominating a majority of the event~ In the end, Larry Pearson held on to win what would be his final BGN victory~ He was followed by Keller, Dennis Setzer, Jeff Green, and Bobby Dotter~ Curtis Markham had a decent finish in the #63 Lysol Pontiac, coming to the checkered flag in the 7th position~

    Jerry wound up finishing in 19th place, which turned out to be his season high~ He was six laps off the pace of race winner, Larry Pearson~ This race also marked the final BGN start for Darryl Sage, who had made his most recent start 12 years prior to this event~ It's also fair to mention Doug Heveron's strong run in the #35 Cincinnati Milacron Ford~ Heveron was running up front when rear end problems ended his day~ He led a total of 10 laps after starting from the 11th position~

                                               Nadeau battles the #7 car of Stevie Reeves~

    After skipping one event, the team was back for the "Sears Auto Center 250" @ the Milwaukee Mile, where Nadeau qualified 22nd in the 39 car field~ Dennis Setzer won the pole in the #59 Alliance Training Centers Ford, in what would be their final start in the series, and thanks to a low driver turnout, Buckshot Jones finally made a race in the #00 Longhorn Steakhouse Ford~

    This race was another snooze fest, and I hate to say that - because the 1995 BGN season was amazing~ It just so happens that Nadeau entered some of the more boring races, as you'll see later~ Jeff Green led for most of the race, but in the end it was Dale "King of Boring" Jarrett who came out victorious in the #32 Mac Tools Ford~

    Jarrett was followed to the checkers by Larry Pearson, Jeff Green, Dennis Setzer, and "Magic" Mike McLaughlin~ Nadeau came home in 20th place, three laps down to the winner~ Curtis Markham again had a 7th place finish in the #63 Lysol Pontiac~

                                  Nadeau goes around the #74 Lipton car of Johnny Benson~

    Nadeau's final race in the car came in the "Kroger 200" @ IRP~ He qualified 30th for the event, while Elton Sawyer won the pole position, driving the #38 Ford Motor Credit Ford~ Everyone that showed up made the field, so Buckshot Jones made the race again, and crashed on lap 7, and 17 year old Kevin Ray made his first and only BGN start, rolling off from the 35th position, and finishing in 21st~

    Elton Sawyer led the first 51 laps before Johnny Benson passed him, who then led for 98 laps until he was caught up in an eight car pileup~ He still finished the race, but was one lap down - in 13th place~ Jason Keller then led the final 51 laps of the event on the way to the first BGN victory of his career~ I'd like to bring up Doug Heveron again in the #35 car, because he just had a rough 1995 season all the way around~ He qualified in 6th, but was taken out the same crash that Benson was involved in~

    Elton Sawyer wound up finishing second after starting from the pole, followed by "Magic" Mike McLaughlin, Tracy Leslie, and Tommy Houston~ This would be the final top 5 of Houston's decorated career~ Speaking of Tommys, Tommy Ellis made a rare appearance in this race, driving the #50 Healthsource Ford - he finished in 17th after starting 31st~  Jerry Nadeau never improved from his poor qualifying effort, finishing in 31st  after suffering suspension issues midway through the event~

   Later in the season, he attempted to qualify the car in the "AC-Delco 200" @ Rockingham, and the "Jiffy Lube Miami 300" @ Homestead, but failed to make the field for either event~ The team shuttered the #15 following the 1995 season, and just ran Chad Little's #23 for the 1996 campaign, in which he went winless~ Nadeau would run 3 more BGN events during his career, but never picked up a top 10, never won a pole, and never led a lap in his entire BGN career~

                                                     Jerry Nadeau #15 Buss Fuses Ford~

                                                                Click pics to enlarge~

     I've noticed that with certain Racing Champions cars, (mostly the darker colored ones) that they look much better out of the package - this car is a perfect example of that~ In the package, it looks kind of bland - but when you take it out... Man!~ It just sparkles and shines all over the dang place~ This car was also available in a set, where you got the car for free if you bought a pack of Buss fuses~ This type of set is worth quite more than the standard Racing Champions packaged car, and doesn't come with the card, nor the stand~

    Speaking of the card, I just really do not like this card one bit... not one small, little bit!~ It looks as if Jerry is getting his photo taken for the "Employee of the Month" award at Advance Auto, and I just despise Advance Auto!~ I'm on team O'Reilly!~ I like the fact that the secondary sponsor is boldly visible on multiple places on the car, just like the real one~ Racing Champions did such a good job on the car, minus the dumb looking 1995 tires, so why did they give him such a horrid looking card?~

    I'm giving this one a B- on the Racing Champions quality scale, just because I despise that card so much~ The car itself is easily an A+ in my opinion~ I'm sad Nadeau's career ended the way it did, but I'll save that for a different Nadeau post that I'll do in the future when I get a chance~ For now, let's take a look at the bonus car for this post~

                    **BONUS CAR** Tommy Sigmon #21 Tar Baby's Pancake House Buick~

                             **BONUS PHOTO** The actual car from the 1993 BGN series~

    The fact that NASCAR picked on poor ol' Carl Long for wanting to be sponsored by Veedverks, and banning him from doing so, yet they allowed a sponsor called "Tar Baby's" race in numerous BGN races during the 1993, and 1994 seasons just really burns me up~ Don't get me wrong.. I'm a satirical person, so I can see the humor of naming your restaurant "Tar Baby's", and I think it's kind of funny seeing it on an actual BGN car and all... but why pick on poor ol' Carl Long over a fake week vapor sponsor?~ It seems petty, and absurd, and I don't like it one little small crumb!~

    As you can see by the pictures, I tried to get the car as close as I could to what the original one looked like~ I messed up on the black in the back a little bit, but I'm satisfied with what I did with it~ I used Clifford Allison's #12 Sports Image Buick for this one, and I think it looks pretty awesome myself~ I'd guess that at least a few of you are thinking that "Tar Baby's Pancake House" couldn't possibly be open in today's PC world, but you'd be wrong~ It's still operating in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and people love it to death~

    I'd give this car an A- on the Racing Champions quality scale~ I mean heck.. it looks pretty cool, and though I messed up the angle of the black on the back, it's still a nice looking car, even if it does say Tar Baby's on it~ :P     
    
    Thank you all for checking out this edition of the NASCAR Racing Champions blog!~ Please share this post with your social media friends, and don't forget to click the "Follow" button at the top right hand side of the page here~ Below are some videos featuring Nadeau throughout his career~ Enjoy them, and until next time... drink more Ovaltine!~ :)

                                        Interview with Jerry Nadeau 3 years after the wreck~

    
                                   Nadeau's only Cup win was the end of ESPN covered races~

                 1999 TranSouth Financial 400 finish~ Horrible video/amazing commentary~

                                                             Top 5 Nadeau crashes~

   

Jeremy Mayfield #98 Fingerhut Ford

    Hello again to all of you NASCAR Racing Champions diecast fans, and welcome to another installment of the blog~ In this post, I'm going to be looking back on the career of former NASCAR star, Jeremy Mayfield - more specifically his time in the #98 Fingerhut Ford, which consisted of the final half of the 1994 Winston Cup season~

    Mayfield started driving the car midway through the season, after Derrike Cope was fired by team owner, Cale Yarborough~ He started the season driving for the Sadler Brothers, in the #95 Shoney's Ford~ In seven attempts with the team, Mayfield failed to qualify for three races, and his best finish was a 27th showing in the "Pontiac Excitement 400" @ Richmond~ He then ran four races in T.W. Taylor's #02 Children's Miracle Network Ford, with a best finish of 21st, in the "Coca-Cola 600" @ Charlotte~

                                            Mayfield had one heck of a bad rookie season~

    Mayfield's first race in the Fingerhut car came in the "Miller Genuine Draft 500" @ Pocono, where he qualified 23rd, and Geoff Bodine won the pole in the #7 Exide Batteries Ford~ Bodine crushed the field all day long, leading 156 of 200 laps, and leaving only six other cars on the lead lap~ Ward Burton finished second in the #31 Hardee's Chevrolet, followed by Joe Nemechek, Jeff Burton, and Morgan Shepherd~ Jeremy finished in 21st place, three laps down to the dominant Bodine~

    Next up was the "DieHard 500" @ Talladega, and Mayfield qualified 25th for the event, with Dale Earnhardt taking the pole position~ After his near win at Pocono the week before, Ward Burton failed to make the field for this one, along with nine others who failed to qualify~

    This race was a real nail biter, with Jimmy Spencer winning his season race of the year (as well as his final Cup win) in exciting fashion~ Bill Elliott beat out Ernie Irvan for the runner up spot, with Ken Schrader coming home in fourth, and Sterling Marlin finishing out the top 5~ Mayfield dropped out of the race on lap 140 with wheel bearing issues, and finished in 32nd place~

                                   Mayfield passes Jeff Burton in the Goody's 500 @ Bristol~

    I would consider this next race Mayfield's crowning accomplishment in 1994~ This was the inaugural running of the "Brickyard 400"  @ Indianapolis, and 87 drivers attempted to make the field, partially due to the large purse~ Despite running sub-par equipment, Mayfield was able to qualify the car in 31st place, and is one of only 43 drivers to have the honor of saying they raced in the first Brickyard 400~

    Now, me personally, I'm not a fan of Indy for NASCAR, but at the time, it was new and exciting.. it was talked about for months, and hyped in the newspapers, and on television~ It was a very big deal at the time, and so just making the race meant a big deal to these guys.. just making the field was like a victory to guys like Mayfield, and even Independent veterans like Dave Marcis~

    As you may already know, Jeff Gordon went on to win the race, followed surprisingly by Brett Bodine, Bill Elliott, Rusty Wallace, and Dale Earnhardt~ Mayfield finished two laps down, in 26th place~ To this day, Brett Bodine finishing runner up in this race surprises me as much as his only Cup win surprised me back in 1990~ It just doesn't seem real, and the 1990 win really isn't real.. but there they are, cemented in history.. it really happened~

                                                 Mayfield battling with Darrell Waltrip~

     The team then failed to qualify for the "Bud at the Glen" @ Watkins Glen, and moved on to the "GM Goodwrench Dealer 400" @ Michigan, where they rolled off from the 39th spot~ This is the race that Ernie Irvan had his bad practice crash in, and he was hospitalized for several weeks, so the team withdrew from competition for the event~ Geoff Bodine went on to win in the #7 Exide Ford, followed by Mark Martin, Rick Mast, Rusty Wallace, and Bobby Labonte~ Props to Mast on his third place finish by the way.. I was always a fan of his, so it's great when he would have a good day~ Mayfield finished in 23rd place, four laps off of Bodine's pace~

    Mayfield qualified 25th for the "Goody's 500" @ Bristol, and I'm here to tell you, he banged around on everything that night~ He really got his workout that night for sure, and ended up having a fairly decent finish to top it all off~ Harry Gant won the pole for the event, and led 88 laps before fading away at the end~ Rusty Wallace ended up winning the race, followed by Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, and Bill Elliott~ Although he finished fourteen laps of the pace of the race winner, Mayfield was still able to squeak out a 21st place finish~

    The team had a rough time in the "Mountain Dew Southern 500" @ Darlington, where after qualifying 25th, the car suffered a blown engine just shy of 100 to go, and as a result, Mayfield finished in 33rd place~ Bill Elliott passed Dale Earnhardt with thirteen laps remaining, and held on to win the race, followed by Earnhardt, Morgan Shepherd, Ricky Rudd, and Sterling Marlin~ Geoff Bodine won the pole for the event, but also suffered a blown engine, and finished in 27th place~

                                  Jeremy Mayfield and Cale Yarborough Fingerhut postcard~

    
    Mayfield qualified 37th in the "Miller Genuine Draft 400" @ Richmond, in a field of only 38 cars~ He didn't have enough time to move up any during the race, as he backed the car into the wall on lap 29, ending his day prematurely with a 37th place finish~ Terry Labonte led nearly half of the race on his way to the checkered flag, and he was followed by Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, and Ricky Rudd~ Brett Bodine, who must have been taking NASCAR brand steroids at the time, finished in 8th place~

    The team rolled off from the 33rd starting spot for the "SplitFire Spark Plug 500" @ Dover, while fellow NASCAR roider Geoff Bodine won the pole again with the #7 Exide Ford~ Bodine and Martin battled all race long, and in the end.. well, let's just say the NASCAR roids kicked in, and ol' Mark Martin's day was done, and Rusty Wallace prevailed over both of them, taking the checkered flag in his famed #2 Miller Genuine Draft Ford~ Earnhardt was second, followed by Darrell Waltrip, Ken Schrader, and that dirty little rat, Geoff Bodine~ Mayfield silently putted his way to a 24th place finish~

    Jeremy and the team failed to qualify for the "Goody's 500" @ Martinsville, and moved on to the "Tyson Holly Farms 400" @ North Wilkesboro, where Mayfield squeaked in by the skin of his teeth, qualifying 34th in the 36 car field~ Geoff Bodine borrowed some more of Brett's NASCAR roids, and led 334 of 400 laps, on his way to another victory~ He was followed by Terry Labonte, Rick Mast (How bout that?~), Rusty Wallace, and Mark Martin~ Mayfield finished in 27th place, a million billion laps down~

                                            Mayfield with Kenny (#28) and Mike Wallace~

    Mayfield qualified 32nd for the "Mello Yello 500" @ Charlotte, with Ward Burton winning his first Cup career pole~ Geoff Bodine was stomping the field, but gave his car too many NASCAR roids, and blew it up~ The most boring person in the history of NASCAR, Dale Jarrett passed the legendary Morgan Shepherd with four laps remaining to win the race~ Dale Earnhardt was third, followed by Ken Schrader, and Lake "Where'd he come from?~" Speed finished out the top 5~ Mayfield held on to finish in 20th place, for his first top 20 of his NASCAR career~

    Next up was the "AC-Delco 500", where Mayfield would roll off from the 39th position~ Ricky Rudd won the pole in the #10 Tide Ford, and was passed by Geoff Bodine and his NASCAR roids~ The roids got the best of the car again, as Bodine blew yet another engine~ Dale Earnhardt held of Rick Mast for the win, followed by Morgan Shepherd, Ricky Rudd, and Terry Labonte~ I cried when Mast finished second in this race, and wanted so bad for him to get the win~ Mayfield picked up his best finish of the year, with a 19th place showing~

    The team barely made the field for the "Slick 50 500" @ Phoenix, qualifying 41st in the 43 car field, with Sterling Marlin on the pole in the #4 Kodak Chevrolet~ Ricky Rudd was strong early on, leading nearly 100 laps, but faded as the race went on, and Terry Labonte ended up winning the race in the #5 Kellogg's Chevrolet~ He was followed by Mark Martin, Sterling Marlin, Jeff Gordon, and Ted Musgrave~ Mayfield came home in 20th, and would fail to qualify for the final race of the season~ He would start the 1995 season out with newly acquired sponsorship from RCA~

                                               Mayfield getting interviewed @ Richmond~

    It's sad that when you bring up Mayfield's name these days, everyone just makes fun of him, and calls him a meth head~ I'm not saying he did or didn't do what he's been accused of, but what I am saying is that I'm not gonna be the one to judge him for what he did or didn't do~ From what I've seen of him, he sure doesn't look like any meth head that I've ever seen~ He's always looked healthy, and very fit, and continues to look that way to this day~

    People read things on the internet, or hear things on the "news", and just act like it's the gospel truth, like they were there when Michael Jackson molested little boys, or when OJ killed Nicole~ Guilty or not, we're not worthy of judging them, or anybody else~ I don't know what Jeremy did or didn't do, but I know he was a pretty good race car driver, and the couple of times I got to meet him, he was a nice guy, who totally didn't seem like he was on ANY type of drug whatsoever~

    I still like Jeremy Mayfield, and I don't care if he did use meth, to be honest with you~ We've all done stupid stuff in our lives, and people who act like they never have are the ones you've got to worry about~ I think it sucks that Jeremy never got the chance to get his Cup team up to par before he was banished from the sport~ I never saw him do anything on the track that would warrant a permanent banishment~

                                                   Jeremy Mayfield #98 Fingerhut Ford~

                                                               Click pics to enlarge~

    This continues to be one of the greatest looking cars of all time, in my opinion~ The bad news?~ The Racing Champions version of this car tends to crack all over the place where the pink paint is~ It's nearly impossible to find a decent version of this one, and it took me almost two years to find one that I liked enough to buy~ The Derrike Cope version must have been made from a different shade of pink, because it doesn't appear to have the same problem, from the ones I've encountered~

    Nevertheless, this car looked amazing on the track, and it looks amazing in diecast form as well, as long as you can get a good one~ When I was younger, I didn't know what Fingerhut was, and it sounded kinda pervy, plus the car had pink on it, so I figured it was something sexual, so I liked it~ Turns out Fingerhut was just a boring company, and nothing like what I'd imagined with my youthful, dirty mind~

    I give this version of the car an A- on the Racing Champions quality scale, with points taken off for the blandness of the card~ Also, this was a 1995 Preview version of the car, and Mayfield never ran it in 1995, as the team picked up sponsorship from RCA before the start of the year~ I think the car looks amazing in the pictures here, and I really enjoyed doing this post~ Now let's move on to the bonus car for this post, which sadly doesn't look as good as this one, but it's still cool~

                           **BONUS CAR** Patty Moise #37 Crisco Butter-Flavored Buick~

    Behold, Patty Moise's #37 Crisco Butter Flavored Buick~ This was one of the very first cars that I ever Photoshopped, so it's not the best quality, but it was lying around here in the customs folder for a while now, so I figured I'd show it the light~

    Patty drove this car in 11 events during the 1988 BGN season, with a best finish of 15th in the "Commonwealth 200" @ Richmond~ Patty was also the owner of the team, and worked on the cars a lot herself~ She was way better than Danica Patrick ever thought about being, in my opinion, and was a trailblazer for other women drivers, though none have had much success to this date~

    I give this car a D- on the Racing Champions quality scale~ It's barely good enough to even be called a custom car~ Maybe I'm being a little harsh, but I doubt it~ Thank you all for checking out this blog post, I appreciate each and every one of you who enjoy these post, the drivers, their cars, and their history in the cars~ Please share this post with your friends on social media~ Below are some Jeremy Mayfield videos, enjoy them, and I'll be back when I can for another installment of the NASCAR Racing Champions diecast blog!~

                                                The Mayfield Story~ Part 1~ 16 minutes~

                                               The Mayfield Story~ Part 2~ 16 minutes~

                                                  All of Mayfield's Cup wins~ 7 minutes~

                                                             Top 5 Mayfield crashes~

   

Stevie Reeves #7 Clabber Girl Baking Powder Chevrolet

    Hello again, and welcome back to the blog!~ I've been dreading this post for a while, but I've finally decided to do it.. Stevie Reeves' #7 Clabber Girl Baking Powder Chevrolet~ The main reason I've been putting it off is because Reeves was horrible at NASCAR~ He was a two time USAC champion, but that doesn't always relate to success in NASCAR, and poor ol' Reeves never even managed a top 5 finish in 8 years of NASCAR competition~

    Although Reeves never amounted to anything in NASCAR, he was good enough to catch the eye of legendary Grand National team owner, and Bristol's own, Ed Whitaker~ That's right.. Reeves was picked to take over for Harry Gant's old BGN ride~ Gant used to tear it up in this car in the early 90's, and won a lot of races in it, so Reeves should have done the same... right?~ Not even close~ He only lasted one season in the car before being let go of his driving duties~

    I've always assumed that Reeves' father must have been part owner in the Clabber Girl Baking Powder company, because that's the only way I can explain them sponsoring him for as long as they did.. however, I've never found any proof to back up that assumption~ Reeves was born in Indiana, and the company is based in Indiana, and the company also owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, so who knows~ At any rate, let's bust into this post on Mr. Reeves' time in the #7 Clabber Girl Baking Powder Chevrolet~

                                                  Custom Stevie Reeves card that I made~

    His first race in the car came in the season opening "Goody's 300" @ Daytona, where he started 34th, and was involved in a lap 8 crash that ended his day, and relegated him to a 43rd place finish~ Things didn't go much better the following week at Rockingham, for the "Goodwrench 200"~ After starting from 22nd, Reeves was only able to move up two spots in the race, to finish in 20th~

    It looked like it was gonna be a lot more of the same for the "Hardee's 250" @ Richmond, with Stevie qualifying 29th.. but he caught some nice breaks during the race, and was able to hang on to a 6th place finish~ Surprisingly, this was the best finish of his entire career... not just for the season, but for all 8 years in the sport, this was his best finish of them all~ He then sadly followed it up with a 33rd place finish in the "Busch Light 300" @ Atlanta, following a blown engine~

   Stevie followed up the blown engine @ Atlanta with a lap 175 crash in the "Opryland USA 320" @ Nashville~ The accident knocked him out of the race, resulting in a 34th place finish~ As if things couldn't get any worse, he blew an engine in the "Mark III Vans 200" @ Darlington, where he finished 35th, and blew another one the following week, in the "Goody's 250" @ Bristol, resulting in a 33rd place finish~

                                   Stevie on track in the original Clabber Girl paint scheme~ 

    Following the blown engine @ Bristol, Reeves then failed to qualify for the "Red Dog 300" @ Charlotte~ He rolled off 19th in the "GM Goodwrench/Delco 200" @ Dover, but finished the race four laps down, in the 21st position~ At this time, Reeves found himself 30th in the BGN points standings~

    By the way this season went, it's no wonder Ed Whitaker was out of the sport only 25 races after his dealings with Reeves~ With Stevie in the car, the team brought in 21,000 dollars less than they did the season before, with Harry Gant at the wheel~ That kind of hit on a small, part time team will really do some damage, and the Whitaker race team was never the same after the season with Reeves~

    Stevie qualified 32nd in the "Sears Auto Center 250" @ the Milwaukee Mile, but was only able to move up six positions during the race, to finish in 26th~ He then qualified 38th for the "Hummingbird Fishfinder 500K" @ Talladega, but was involved in the "big one" only nine laps into the race, ending his day prematurely with a 41st place finish~

                                              Reeves chats with Jeff Gordon at PIR - 1992~

    One of the highlights of the season (if you can call it that) was when Reeves finished 12th in the "Kroger 200" @ IRP, after starting from 29th~ Besides his 6th place run @ Richmond earlier in the year, this is as close as Stevie would come to another top 10 during the 1995 campaign~ Jason Keller won the race in the #57 Budget Gourmet Chevrolet, followed by Elton Sawyer, Mike McLaughlin, Tracy Leslie, and Tommy Houston~

    After finishing 31st in the "Detroit Gasket 200" @ Michigan, Reeves shocked the NASCAR world when he won the pole for the "Food City 250" @ Bristol, in what would be his only career pole~ He led the first 60 laps before getting passed by Johnny Benson Jr., and wound up finishing in 14th place~ Steve Grissom went on to win the race in the #29 Chennellock Chevrolet, followed by Jeff Green, Tim Fedewa, Chad Little, and Terry Labonte~

    Reeves qualified 6th for the Gatorade 200" @ Darlington, and it was beginning to look like he knew what he was doing~ He lasted 28 laps before retiring for "handling" issues~ Mark Martin and the #60 Winn-Dixie Ford went on to win the race, followed by Johnny Benson, Ward Burton, Phil Parsons, and Joe Nemechek~ Larry Pearson, who won the pole for the event, finished in 17th place in the #92 Stanley Tools Chevrolet~

                                                  Stevie and Bobby Dotter on track~ 1995~

    After qualifying 36th for the "Autolite 250" @ Richmond, Reeves again failed to finish the race, going out with 26 laps remaining, due to "rear end" problems~ Let's just hope those rear end problems were with the car, and not the driver~ He would follow this race up with a 35th place finish in the "MBNA 200" @ Dover, following a 12th place qualifying effort~

    Stevie and the team then failed to qualify for the "All Pro Bumper To Bumper 300" @ Charlotte, the same track the dnq'd at earlier in the season~ At least 64 drivers attempted to make the 44 car field, and among some of the other dnq'ers were Rick Wilson, Michael Waltrip, Patty Moise, Derrike Cope, Todd Bodine, and Mike Wallace~ Stevie finished 19th in the "AC-Delco 200" @ Rockingham, and 20th in his final race for Ed Whitaker, in the "Jiffy Lube Miami 300" @ Homestead~

    Reeves finished the 1995 BGN campaign having ran 18 of the 26 events, while dnq'ing for another two, amassing 1 pole, and 1 top 10, while finishing 29th in the final points standings, with an average start of 24.3, and an average finish of 27.5~ For his career, he ran 85 BGN races, finishing on the lead lap in only seven of those races, and he also ran 3 Truck Series races in 2000 to finish out his driving career, where he had a best finish of 24th in the "Michigan 200"~

    Following his driving career, Reeves got work as a spotter for Dale Earnhardt Jr., and later spotted for Jimmie Johnson during a championship season~ He currently is the spotter for Paul Menard in the Cup Series, and also does some BGN (I'm not calling it whatever it is now.. it's forever Busch Grand National to me) spotter work~ So even though he didn't amount to a hill of beans in the NASCAR world, he wound up still being a part of it anyway by transforming into a master spotter~ Sometimes crappy stories have a happy ending after all~ Awww~ :P

                                   Stevie Reeves #7 Clabber Girl Baking Powder Chevrolet~

                                                               Click pics to enlarge~

    Even though I talked a little smack about his racing career, I always was fond of his Clabber Girl cars~ They were always one of the sharpest looking cars out there at the time, and even to this day the paint scheme still holds its own~ His Ed Whitaker car was my favorite of them all, as I preferred the #7 to the #96~

    There was also a #7 Clabber Girl car produced for the 1996 Preview Edition, but Reeves was booted before the season started, and instead drove the #96 Clabber Girl Ford for Donald Laird~ His best finish that season was 15th in the "Goodwrench Service 200" @ Rockingham, and he drove a total of fifteen races that season, so it was pretty bad~ Along with his best finish being dismal, he also failed to qualify for six more races~

    Back to the car here.. I think this car is a true beauty~ That slanted red #7, combined with the white and sky blue Clabber Girl colors really made this car stand out on the race track, as well as in your diecast collection~ It's a truly beautiful car, and if it was only based on the car, I would give it an A+.. but since the card counts as part of the score, I have to give it a B+.. yeah, to me the card is that bad~ The blue paint on this one tends to crack on some cars, so you have to look carefully before you buy one, unless you don't care about cracks~ Anyway.. let's move onto the bonus car for this post~

                                           Shawna Robinson #99 Tombstone Pizza Ford~

    This was the first car Shawna Robinson ever attempted to make a Winston Cup race in~ It was for the 1995 running of the Daytona 500, where 64 drivers were attempting to make the 42 car field~ Robinson wound up 52nd, and didn't make the field~ Among others who dnq'd that day were Bobby Hillin Jr., Greg Sacks, Doug Heveron, Kenny Wallace, Jim Sauter, Jimmy Spencer, James Hylton, and Ritchie Petty, the son of Maurice Petty~

    Robinson being Tombstoned out of the Daytona 500 wasn't the end of her being Tombstoned in the Tombstone car however, as she also attempted to field a Tombstone car for the "Hardee's 250" @ Richmond in the BGN series, and again failed to qualify~ It was to be her final tombstone~

    I guess I'd give this car a C- on the Racing Champions quality scale~ I was kind of rushing it along when I was working on it, and it's a little sloppy in areas that I could have did better on~ I used the 1989 body for it because I already had a blank black old body Ford sitting around, so that's what I used~ It's still a pretty neat looking car, and looks close enough to the real thing she drove back then~

    Thank you all for stopping by and reading this post!~ Please share this post on social media sites to help get some more people reading these posts~ The blog is growing bigger everyday, and it's all because of people like you, who enjoy the posts, and share them around to others who'll enjoy them~ Below are some random videos, because they're aren't any good Reeves videos~ Enjoy them, and goodnight Mrs. Calabash.. wherever you are!~

                                                1991 Martinsville trophy model builder~

                                                 Steve Byrnes and Ned Jarrett bloopers~

                                                  Cale, Ned, and Benny tell rain stories~

                                                J.D. McDuffie 1985 Daytona 500 profile~