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~

   

Jimmy Spencer #57 Heinz Pontiac

    Hello again, and welcome to the NASCAR Racing Champions blog~ I hope you didn't get too wild on Saint Patrick's day, and if you did, go get yourself a tall glass of V8 juice with a splash of Tabasco, and come on back here and we'll talk about Jimmy Spencer's time in the #57 Heinz Pontiac, owned by troubled former Cup owner, Rod Osterlund~

    Following the real estate crash of the late 70's - early 80's, Osterlund, who was a big real estate man had lost tons of money~ So much that he had to sell his team to probably the worst Cup series owner ever, J.D. Stacy, just to stay afloat~ The worst part of that deal was that Dale Earnhardt (who was driving for Osterlund at the time) had just won his first of seven Winston Cup Championships~

    Osterlund would return to the series in 1989, following an eight year absence, first with Hut Stricklin, then Spencer, followed  by a three race stint with Jim Bown, and ending with a one off Daytona 500 start for Buddy Baker~ So let's get into this post, and find out how Jimmy Spencer fared in the #57 Heinz Pontiac~

                                            Spencer hanging out in the garage area - 1990~

    Following a partial Cup season driving for Buddy Baker in 1989, Jimmy Spencer signed on to be the driver of Rod Osterlund's #57 Heinz Pontiac, that had been driven the year before by Hut Stricklin, who was fired~ Spencer started 17th in his 125 mile qualifier, and finished in 3rd, netting him a 6th place starting position for the 1990 Daytona 500~

    Spencer found himself leading for the first time in the Cup series when he only took two tires in the pits, and got out in front of Dale Earnhardt~ He led a total of four laps before being gobbled up by the field, and wound up finishing in 15th place~ Derrike Cope ended up winning the race due to Dale Earnhardt cutting a tire down on the final lap~ Terry Labonte finished second, followed by Bill Elliott, Rudd, and Earnhardt ended up finishing in the 5th position~

    Jimmy qualified 21st for the "Pontiac Excitement 400", with Ricky Rudd on the pole~ At the drop of the green flag, Spencer was able to bash his way up through the field to finish in 9th place, scoring his first top 10 with the Osterlund team~ The race was won by Mark Martin, followed by Dale Earnhardt, Ricky Rudd, Bill Elliott, and Dick Trickle, who ran a great race in the Cale Yarborough owned #66 TropArtic Pontiac~

                                                  Spencer on track in the #57 Heinz Pontiac~

    Spencer again had qualifying troubles for the "GM Goodwrench 500" @ Rockingham, where he rolled off 26th, but just like the Richmond race, he was able to claw his way up to finish in 8th, which ended up being his season best finish~ The race was won by Kyle Petty, who completely dominated the event, leading 433 of the 492 laps~ Geoff Bodine finished second, followed by Ken Schrader, Sterling Marlin, and Rusty Wallace~

     Jimmy had a strong car for the "Motorcraft Quality Parts 500" @ Atlanta, tying his season best qualifying position with a 6th place effort~ He wasn't able to do much in the race, but held on to finish in 15th, three laps off the pace of race winner Dale Earnhardt, who led 216 of the 328 laps to take the checkered flag~ Morgan Shepherd was runner up, followed by Ernie Irvan, Ken Schrader, and Mark Martin~

    The team then had a string of bad races, with finishes of 25th (TranSouth 500 - Darlington), 18th (Valleydale Meats 500 - Bristol), and 20th (First Union 400 - North Wilkesboro)~ This was followed up with an 11th place finish in the "Hanes Activewear 500" @ Martinsville, after starting from 21st~ Following this race, the team is in for nasty weather.. I'm talkin' Gilligan's Island style weather!~ Have Mercy!~

                                               Spencer was no match for the Intimidator~

    Spencer qualified 12th for the "Winston 500" @ Talladega, but a blown engine turned his Heinz Ketchup Pontiac into rotten tomatoes, relegating him to a 32nd place finish~ Following this race, he wouldn't qualify higher than 21st for the rest of the season, and would only finish in the top 15 one more time~ Like I said, it gets bad.. it gets really bad~ After qualifying 26th for the "Coca-Cola 600" @ Charlotte, he ended up 21st, six laps of the pace of race winner, Rusty Wallace~

    In the "Budweiser 500" @ Dover, Jimmy couldn't keep his dumb foot off of the gas again, blowing another engine, and finishing in 32nd place~ In the "Banquet Frozen Foods 300" @ Sonoma, Spencer qualified 40th, and still managed to finish three laps down, even though it was a road course~ He finished in 27th place~

    Jimmy rolled off from the 23rd position for the "Miller Genuine Draft 500" @ Pocono, and crashed out before lap 200, finishing in 30th place~ In the "Miller Genuine Draft 400" @ Michigan, he started 21st, and finished in 20th, in what must have seemed like a win for the team, following the horrid finishes they'd been having at the time~

                               A track worker checks on Spencer following a crash @ Pocono~

    Spencer rolled off 33rd for the "Pepsi 400" @ Daytona, and though he finished three laps down, still managed a 15th place run~ In the "AC Spark Plug 500" @ Pocono, he finished 19th, after starting from the 29th position~ After starting 31st for the "DieHard 500" @ Talladega, he was only able to move up a few positions  during the race, finishing in 24th place~

    Jimmy followed this up with a 29th place finish in the "Budweiser at the Glen" @ Watkins Glen, following another blown engine~ He then finished 25th in the "Champions Spark Plug 400" @ Michigan, and managed to crack the top 20 in the "Busch 500" @ Bristol, with an 18th place run~

    Due to his association with the Heinz Company, Spencer had high hopes for the "Heinz Southern 500" @ Darlington, but that was soured when he finished 23rd, seven laps off the pace of race winner, Dale Earnhardt~ Next up was the "Miller Genuine Draft 400" @ Richmond, but Spencer was again hampered with an ill handling car, which resulted in a 27th place finish~




                                  Spencer leads his first Cup series laps in the Daytona 500~

    Jimmy qualified 30th for the "Peak AntiFreeze 500" @ Dover, and finished the race twelve laps down to race winner, Bill Elliott, who crushed the field, leading 364 of the 500 laps~ Elliott was followed by Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt, Harry Gant, and Michael Waltrip finished out the top 5~




    In the "Goody's 500" @ Martinsville, Spencer qualified 29th, and finished in 18th place, twelve laps behind race winner, Geoff Bodine~ Up next was the "Tyson Holly Farms 400" @ North Wilkesboro, where after starting from 31st, he was able to move up only a few positions to finish in 23rd place~ Mark Martin won the race, followed by Dale Earnhardt, Brett Bodine, Bill Elliott, and Ken Schrader~

     Spencer qualified 34th for the "Mello Yello 500" @ Charlotte, but was involved in crash early on, which took him out of competition, and relegated him to finish last in the 41 car field~ The race was won by Davey Allison, followed by Morgan Shepherd, Michael Waltrip, Kyle Petty, and Alan Kulwicki~

                                          Custom Jimmy Spencer Racing Champions card~

    Following the Mello Yello 500 @ Charlotte, Spencer was fired from the Osterlund team, and replaced with Jim Bown, who drove the remaining three races left in the season, and did even worse than Spencer did, with finishes of  27th, 28th, and 39th~

    Spencer's time in the Osterlund car consisted of 26 races, with 2 top 10's, and 10 laps led~ He earned $219,775 in race winnings, and finished 24th in the points standings, with an average start of 26.3, and an average finish of 21.7~ He would go on to drive Travis Carter's #98 Banquet Frozen Foods Chevrolet during the 1991 Cup season, posting 1 top 5, and 6 top 10's~

    The Osterlund team went on to field Buddy Baker's #88 Marines Pontiac for the 1991 Daytona 500, where Baker qualified 16th, but suffered a blown engine just 35 laps in, resulting in a 37th place finish~ Osterlund then sold his team off, and went back to making tons of money in the real estate business out west~ And that's all she wrote, folks~

                                                   Jimmy Spencer #57 Heinz Pontiac~

                                                                 Click pics to enlarge~

    I can tell you one thing for sure.. this car is a lot more appealing than that boring 1990 season Spencer had~ This Heinz car was one of my favorites back then, and it still dazzles me today~ Heinz has the best ketchup in my opinion, and although I'm not a fan of Teresa Heinz-Kerry, I can't knock her ketchup, it rules~

    As with almost all of my custom cars, this one is a Photoshop custom, and not a real diecast~ I sure wish it was real though, because it's pretty amazing~ I'm gonna give this car an A- on the Racing Champions quality scale, with a couple points taken off due to it's just a custom~ After I thought I was done with this one, I had to go back and add the Heinz 57 logo, and I also added the gold rims to match the original car~

    Jimmy Spencer was a raging bull on the track, and that gained him a few fans, but it also cost him a few as well~ Personally, I always liked the guy, and his first Cup win was super awesome!~ I still have the newspaper article from when he won, and I look at it from time to time, and then re-watch the race on YouTube~ Those were some exciting times in NASCAR, and I yearn for them to return~
           
                                **BONUS CAR** Diggity Dave #16 Chocolate Soldier Buick~

    This is another one of my Photoshop customs, and it's sponsored by one of my all time favorite drinks, Chocolate Soldier~ Chocolate Soldier was basically like Yoo-Hoo, but much better~ It has been discontinued for several years now, but I can still taste its awesomeness to this very day~

    When I was a kid, we would have races to see who could chug a Chocolate Soldier the fastest~ I would usually win, although the winner didn't get anything for winning, but it's always good to be first at something, even if it is chugging Chocolate Soldiers~

    Thanks again to everyone who visits the blog!~ Please share this post with your friends on social media, and click the "follow" button at the top right hand side of this page~ Below I have included some clips from Spencer's career, enjoy them, and I'll see you next time, right here on the NASCAR Racing Champions blog!~ :)

                                   Spencer pitches a fit on Wally Dallenbach~ Dover - 1996~

                                    Spencer pitches a fit on Kurt Busch, then belts him one~

                                                      All of Spencer's Cup wins~ 3 total~

                            Spencer being awesome and telling the truth about current drivers~

 
   
   

Stub Fadden #16 NAPA Buick

    Hiya folks, welcome back to the blog~ Today's post has a bit of a unique story to it, and I'll do my best to tell it right~ We're gonna be looking at Stub Fadden's #16 NAPA Buick, which he drove in 2 BGN races during 1994, and 1995~ He also drove the car in the Busch East Series, where he had more success~

    Since he only ran the NAPA car in 2 BGN events, I'll write about both of those, and then delve into his 1994 Busch East Series season, which was his best season with the NAPA sponsor~ He ran NAPA cars in the Busch East Series until the end of the 1998 season~ Stub won over 230 feature races, during his five decade long career, and was always a threat on the short tracks~

                                          Stub Fadden on the track in the #16 NAPA Buick~

     Stub was a native of New Hampshire, born in North Haverhill, on October 18th, 1933~ He ran his first race in the NAPA Buick @ Loudon, in the 1994 NE Chevy 250~ Of the 65 cars trying to make the 44 car field, Fadden qualified in 25th place~ He was collected in a crash on lap 65, when Kenny Wallace spun out race leader Randy LaJoie, who then collected Dale Earnhardt, Mike Wallace, and Fadden, who was being lapped by the leaders at the time of the incident~

    The race was probably most well known as the first and only BGN win for long time racer, Derrike Cope, who was driving a very low funded car~ Bobby Dotter also had a great race, finishing runner up to Cope~ Fadden finished the race in 38th place, and was awarded $4,600 for his effort~ The crew chief for all of his BGN series starts, as far as I know, was Frank Stoddard~

                                                        Stub Fadden promo from 1995~

    Fadden was back at Loudon the following season, for the 1995 NE Chevy Dealers 250, in what would be his final BGN series race~ 58 drivers attempted to make the field, and Stub barely squeaked his way into the 43 car field, with a 42nd place starting position~ Mike McLaughlin won the pole, in the #34 French's Mustard Chevrolet~

    Stub managed to finish the race, and bring the car home in one piece, but he did so six laps down to race winner Chad Little, who was driving the #23 Bayer Ford~ Busch North driver Tom Bolles picked up the first of 2 BGN career top 10's, with a 9th place effort~ Stub finished in 27th, and was awarded $6,520 in race winnings~ Although this was the end of his BGN career, Stub raced in the Busch East Series until 2003, at the age of 69~

                                   Stub with the #16 NAPA Chevy - 1996 Busch East Series~

    The 1994 Busch East Series season was by far his best in that series, which is pretty awesome, considering he was 60 years old at the time~ He started the season out in the Tri-State Megabucks Twin 125's @ Loudon, where he started 5th in the 50 car field, and came home in 3rd place~ Two races later, in the Busch 150 @ Monadnock, Stub finished in 7th place in his #16 NAPA Buick~

    Fadden qualified 3rd in the Fisher Snowplow/Minute Mount 150 @ Williamson, and brought the car home in 10th place~ In the Busch 150 @ Holland, he again had a top 10 finish, with an 8th place run~ He matched that finish in the Watkins Glen 125, where he again finished in the 8th spot~

   The Stubster then qualified 4th for the Chevy 200 @ Jennerstown~ He went on to lead 148 laps of the 200 lap event, on his way to his first victory of the season~ He passed Martin Truex Sr. on lap 70, and never looked back~ Stub finished 3rd in the Auto Palace/Slick 50 150 @ Loudon, and also finished 3rd in the GMC Truck 150 @ White Mountain, after starting from the outside pole~

                                              The front of Stub's Racing Champions card~

                                     Notice it doesn't have a signature.. what's with that?~

    Stubby won the pole for the "Scranton Pontiac - GMC/NAPA 100" @ Riverside Park, but had issues with the car during the race, and only managed an 18th place finish in the event~ Jerry Marquis ended up winning the race, in the #23 Temporary Environmental Technicians Buick, followed by Glenn Sullivan, in the #34 Christy's Markets Chevrolet, and Bobby Dragon's #71 Talarico Dealerships Chevrolet finished in the 3rd spot~

    The next race on the schedule was the Bud 200 @ Lee Speedway in New Hampshire~ Stub qualified 5th for the event, while Tom Bolles won the pole in his #76 Bolles Racing Buick~ Robbie Crouch led 121 laps of the 200 lap event, but ol' Stubonator came though in the end, passing Dave Dion's #29 Berlin City Ford machine with 55 laps to go, and never looking back, on his way to the final victory of his Busch East Series career, at the age of 60~

  Stub ended the 1994 Busch East Series season with 1 pole, 2 wins, 5 top 5's, and 10 top 10's, in 18 events~ He led a career high 203 laps, and finished 6th in the final points standings~ Dale Shaw, who didn't win a race, nor lead a lap all season long, ended up winning the series championship, thanks to a very consistent season in the #7 Skoal Racing Pontiac~

                                          Back of the Stub Fadden Racing Champions card~

                                                       No signature on the back~

    Stub ended his Busch North Series career at the age of 69~ His final race came in the 2003 True Value 150 @ Thunder Road Speedbowl, in Vermont~ He qualified 19th, and by the end of the race, ended up with a 9th place finish to end his career on a high note~

    The final race of his entire racing career came a few months later, also @ Thunder Road, in the "Milk Bowl", where he finished in 21st place~ Less than 6 years after that final start, on March 11th, 2009, Stub passed away, at the age of 75~ In the New England states, if you're a race fan, you know who Stub Fadden was.. he's a legend up there.. but not many race fans know of him outside of the New England area~

    I don't know why both sides of Stub's card is missing the signature~ I know Stub could write, because I've seen autographs of his before... so I'm guessing some worker was slacking on "Stub Fadden" day, and just forgot to print the signatures on the cards~ As far as I know, this Stub card is the only Racing Champions card with this error, and I don't know if they ever corrected it, or if all of them are like this, but all the ones I've ever seen were like this~

                                                      Stub Fadden #16 NAPA Buick~

                                                             Click pics to enlarge~

    Well, the first thing I notice is the no signature thing, and the fact that it doesn't have the contingency stickers~ In the pictures of the real car, there never was that many on there either.. so I don't know if they left them off for that reason, or just forgot to put the stickers on~ Maybe the workers were under the influence during this whole "Stub Fadden" car day~

    It's funny holding the Racing Champions version of a 1995 Buick~ Also, Stub just may be one of the last drivers to drive a Buick~ If anyone knows that for sure, leave a comment below~ All in all, I give this car an A- on the Racing Champions quality scale, with a few points taken off for the signature thing, and the stickers~ I'm just happy that it was made, and it's a part of my collection~

    It's sad, but drivers like Fadden, who stood the tests of time, driving till almost 70, or in Morgan Shepherd's case, past 70, are all gonna be gone soon~ And I don't think they'll be drivers like them, that want to race that long~ These days, driver get paid multi-million dollars per season~ They don't need to hang around for 50 years, they can afford to retire, and they are doing so much earlier these days~

   I'm embarrassed to say, that there isn't any videos of Stub Fadden on the entire internet~ I've tried for 2 days, everything I could to try and find at least 1 video, but I just couldn't find one~ So below are just some random NASCAR clips, along with a bonus car~ Enjoy them, and thanks for stoppin' by the blog!~ Please share this post on any social media sites you are a part of~ :)

                            **Bonus Car** Diggity Dave #50 Valleydale Honee Weenee Ford~

                                                           1991 Winston 500 Big One~

                      
                                          1990 Valleydale Meats 500 Irvan/Earnhardt spin~

                                             Irvan has to apologize for being a bonehead~

                                              Rusty Wallace pranks Dale Earnhardt~  lol~

                                          
                                                  

    

Morgan Shepherd #21 Cheerwine Ford

   Hello again NASCAR fans, and welcome to the NASCAR Racing Champions diecast blog~ I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving~ The Christmas season is now upon us, and filling people with Christmas cheer, which got me thinking about Cheerwine~ The super sweet burgundy soda used to be a regional thing, but is now being sold nationwide by Pepsi Co.~ Growing up in the south, I drank my fair share of the stuff, and I must say, it's truly a classic taste.. especially if you can find it in a glass bottle~

   Our old friend Morgan Shepherd had the honor of driving the #21 Cheerwine Ford partially during the 1994, and 1995 BGN seasons~ In today's post, I'm gonna be going over his time in the Cheerwine car, which spanned 15 races during 2 seasons~ Oddly enough, I couldn't find a single picture of Morgan on track in the car~ If anyone has a picture of it they'd like to send in, you can do so by emailing me @ buttermilkjug@yahoo.com~ Now, let's grab us an ice cold Cheerwine, and get right into this story~

                                           Morgan Shepherd #21 Cheerwine Ford hero card~

    In 1994, at the age of 52, Morgan Shepherd started the BGN season off with newly acquired sponsor, Cheerwine~ The team got off to a bumpy start, qualifying 29th in the season opening Goody's 300 @ Daytona, but was able to fair much better after the green flag fell, charging their way up to a 7th place finish, which turned out to his season high~

    He then qualified 36th in the Goodwrench 200 @ Rockingham, and finished 13th, 1 lap off the pace of race winner, Terry Labonte, who was driving his self-owned #14 MW Windows Chevrolet~ Shepherd wouldn't race again in the BGN series until the 6th race on the schedule, in the Mark III Vans 200 @ Darlington~ While he had a season high starting spot with a 5th place lap, he just didn't have what it took during the race, which was run in very cold conditions, and was only able to muster up a 19th place finish, one lap down to race winner, Mark Martin's #60 Winn-Dixie Ford~

   Shepherd next raced in the Goody's 250 @ Bristol, where he had a horrid weekend~ Starting from the 31st starting position, he never was a threat in the race, and fell out of competition on lap 164, due to rear end issues, and finished 25th~ This was the infamous race where Mark Martin pulled off the track 1 lap early, thinking the race was over~ He ended up finishing in 11th place, and the race was instead won by David Green, who ended up winning the BGN championship that season~ It was the only race he won all year long~

                                                           Cheerwine advertisement~

   Morgan next ran the car in the Champion 300 @ Charlotte, where he started 37th, and was caught up in a lap 46 crash, which involved 9 other drivers~ Chad Little suffered the most damage in the crash, including a broken collarbone~ Phil Parsons went on to win the race, which would be his final BGN victory~ He was driving the #29 White Rose Collectibles Chevrolet, and was using Hoosier tires~

   Shepherd  qualified well in the Fram Filter 500K @ Talladega, with a 6th place run, but  faded during the race, after leading for 5 laps, and finished in 17th, 1 lap down to race winner, Ken Schrader, who was driving the #52 AC Delco Chevrolet~ This would end up being the final win of Kenny's BGN career~ He next ran in the Gatorade 200 @ Darlington, where he rolled off in 29th, and worked his way up to a 19th place finish~

   His final race in the 1994 BGN season came in the Autolite 250 @ Richmond, where he started in 13th, but dropped out of competition after only 41 laps, due to a handling problem~ In the 8 races he ran during the season, he recorded 1 lone top 10 finish, and led a total of 5 laps~ He finished 45th in the final points standings~ Going into the 1995 BGN season, Cheerwine stayed with Shepherd, and the team ran a total of 7 races during the year~ For some reason, Shepherd chose to skip the season opening race @ Daytona, and instead ran his first race of the season @ Rockingham, one week later~

                                          Custom Morgan Shepherd Racing Champions card~

    In the Goodwrench 200 @ Rockingham, Shepherd had his best run of the season, with a 6th place starting position, and a 5th place finish~ He led for 20 laps, but was passed by Chad Little, who never looked back on his way to victory lane, in the #23 Harris-Teeter Ford~ To date, Shepherd's 5th place finish in the race is his final top 5 in the BGN series~ The following week, in the Hardee's 250 @ Richmond, Morgan qualified in 23rd, and finished in 37th, due to rear end problems~

   He then ran the following week, in the Busch Light 300 @ Atlanta, where he rolled off in 34th, and beat and banged his way up to a 15th place finish~ Johnny Benson Jr. won the race, driving the #74 Lipton Tea Chevrolet, and driver Jim Bown had an outstanding run all day long, leading 4 laps, and finishing 3rd, in the #51 Luck's Foods Chevrolet~

   The Cheerwine team was in good spirits for the Mark III Vans 200 @ Darlington, after a 10th place qualifying effort~ Shepherd was running strong until he blew an engine on lap 72, which resulted in a 36th place finish~ Larry Pearson got the win, driving the #92 Stanley Tools Chevrolet~ It was his first win in the series since 1988~

                                                   Old Cheerwine painted advertisement~

    After skipping the next 4 events on the circuit, Shepherd was back @ Charlotte, in the Red Dog 300~ After qualifying in 23rd, the car suffered ignition issues after only 51 laps of competition~ This resulted in a 36th place finish for Morgan and the team~ Shepherd must have been a good luck charm for Chad Little, because Little won this race too, driving the #23 Bayer Ford~ Tracy Leslie, who started 2nd, also had a strong race, leading 48 laps, and finishing in 3rd~ Rich Bickle won his first career BGN pole for the race, and finished in 8th~

   Shepherd next raced in the series for the Detroit Gasket 200 @ Michigan~ He started the race in 21st, and was able to come home in the 11th spot, one lap down to race winner, Mark Martin, who was driving the #60 Winn-Dixie Ford~ Dale Jarrett dominated the race in the #32 Mac Tools Ford, and at first, had won the race... it was later found out hours later that Jarrett's car had an illegal carburetor, so he was banished to a last place finishing position, and the win was given to Martin~ This was also the final race for legendary BGN series driver, Jimmy Hensley~

   Morgan's final race with the Cheerwine sponsorship came in the All Pro Bumper To Bumper 300 @ Charlotte, where he qualified 9th in the 44 car field, led for 3 laps, and finished in 6th place~ Mark Martin also won this race, again in the famed #60 Winn-Dixie Ford~ This was the final race for veteran BGN driver, Tom Peck~

    Shepherd ended his 1995 campaign with 7 starts, 1 top 5, and 2 top 10's, while leading a total of 23 laps, and finishing 45th in the final points standings~ His tenure with Cheerwine spanned 15 races during 2 seasons, with a total of 1 top 5, and 3 top 10's, with 28 laps lead, and an average finish of 21st~

                                                Morgan Shepherd #21 Cheerwine Ford~

Click pics to enlarge~

     If you can't tell what I did with this car, it's really a 1/24 scale bank~ I just shrank it down and made a custom card for it on Photoshop~ As far as I know, a 1/64 scale version of this car was never made, which is sad~ It's bad enough I couldn't even find a picture of the car on the track... we could have at least been given a 1/64 scale version.. that would be much better than a bank, in my opinion~ 

    I love the look of the car~ It kind of reminds me of the ol' Winston cigarettes car that Jimmy Spencer used to drive, though this car came before that one~ A simple red and white paint scheme, yet it's very eye catching~ I'm gonna give this car a B+ on the Racing Champions quality scale, with points taken off for it not being a real 1/64 scale car, and never coming with a card~ Other than that, I love this car, and the history behind it~ 

   The 2017 season is going to mark 50 years since Morgan's first NASCAR race, and I'm so thankful we've had him in our lives this long~ A lot of newcomers to the sport may be heard mocking him, but guys like Morgan are what the sport was all about, and I applaud him for still doing what he loves, at his age~ I've had a lot of friends that will never see the age of 50, yet Morgan Shepherd's been racing for that long.. that's an amazing accomplishment, that deserves more credit and attention that what is currently being given to the man~ 

   Thank you all for stopping by the blog again!~ I'm looking forward to the holidays, and starting a new year, and I hope you all are too~ The blog has grown a lot in 2016, and I'm very thankful for that~ I don't want these old drivers to fade away, and be forgotten about, and you've all proved to me that you don't want that either~ It's fun to look back at their careers, and rekindle the feelings we used to have for the sport we loved~ Below are some clips, including the 1994 Champion 300 crash Morgan was involved in, although I don't think they show his car~ It's the best I could do~ Please share this blog post on any social media sites that you are on~ :)

                  **Bonus car** Morgan Shepherd's 1982 #98 Levi Garrett Buick on a 1989 body~

                                     1994 Champion 300 crash~ Morgan Shepherd involved~

                                     

                                                        1994 Purolator 500 finish~

                                     

                                                       Morgan Shepherd news piece~

                                     

     Auto Racing Crash-A-Rama Part 10~