Blue Ridge Ben

  Whether you consider Texas part of the South, Midwest, Southwest or some combination of those, many normal people I talk to with only a passing knowledge of NASCAR are always surprised to learn when I tell them that historically there have not been many Texans in stock car racing. Of course, there are some really notable champions like Terry Labonte (2 time Cup), Bobby Labonte (1 Cup, 1 Xfinity), Chris Buescher (Xfinity) and James Buescher (Truck) but they are the exception to the rule all being drivers who relocated to North Carolina very early in their careers to pursue racing and the Bueschers coming after the period where sprint and midget racers coming to NASCAR had been normalized of which Texas has always had a culture dating back to the days of AJ Foyt, aided by Oklahoma being a sacred place in that world. However, historically the bulk of asphalt short tracks in Texas has been located in San Antonio and when those eventually closed there was very little left for late mo...

  In the world of auto racing, there is always an inherent populist bias against the concept of a “pay driver”, somebody who gets a good car more by the virtue of the budget they bring through family money, sponsorship, or a mixture of both than by sheer talent alone. Everybody is guilty of it, including myself, despite the reality that almost all drivers in the modern era get their first opportunities because they are bringing a budget unless they land in a particularly good driver development program, and there are plenty of good drivers who just happened to have landed good partnerships who buy their rides nearly just as much. Anyway, today’s entry is one of the most well known pay drivers in the history of NASCAR: Paul Menard. John Menard founded Menards hardware stores in 1964, which grew into one of the biggest chains of stores in the midwest over the following decades, even rivaling Home Depot and Lowe’s in the area. An auto racing enthusiast, he also became a team owner i...

  One of the most iconic interviews of the entire 1990s in NASCAR was when Rich Bickle finished 4 th at a Cup race at Martinsville in 1998, and he openly bawled during his interview, being so happy and proud. Everybody’s heart melted. But, who was Rich Bickle? Growing up on two wheels with great success, Rich spent his late 70s and 80s as probably the most accomplished driver not to race full time in even ARTGO, let alone ASA, during one of the all-time greatest periods of concentrated talent in the Upper Midwest with names like Wallace, Martin, Kulwicki, Miller, Trickle, Sauter, Musgrave, Shear not just competing in the bigger money tours but also regularly at a lot of these short tracks in Wisconsin that was the lifeblood of the midwest stock car scene. Rich ran a year of ASA, finishing runner up in rookie points and finishing a really solid 9 th in the points, but his regular racing stats are spotty after that for a few years except his greatest claim to fame as a driver. F...