Tag Archives: Ken Schrader

One of the many things we’ve learned about NASCAR in 2018: take any — any! — retirement announcements with a grain of salt. Or, you know, at least really read the fine print. Throughout 2018, multiple drivers have announced their retirement from full-time competition, such as Elliott Sadler and Kasey …

Let’s sling some dirt, y’all. This week, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Rossburg, Ohio and Eldora Speedway for the fifth annual “Mudsummer Classic,” the Eldora Dirt Derby 150. After an off-weekend, 34 trucks are on the preliminary entry list for the mid-week dirt race from the half-mile …

Who’s in the headline – Brad Keselowski won his first Cup race at Talladega in 2009. While he isn’t mentioned in the same breaths with Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt or Tony Stewart when plate racing prowess is discussed, the bottom line is he won his fourth plate race at Talladega …

Ken Schrader Racing and Federated Auto Parts have announced that they have teamed up for a 16th consecutive season. Ken Schrader will continue to compete in select ARCA Racing Series events and select dirt events around the country. “We are looking forward to another exciting season as the sponsor of …

Welcome, race fans. For nearly 50 years, the 4th of July weekend at Daytona has marked the ceremonial, and in the case of this season, the physical halfway point. The Truck Series took the week off, so it was the Cup and Nationwide Series competing at the World Center of Racing this weekend. The Cup Series’ Coke Zero 400 is the centerpiece of TNT’s Summer Series, so they roll out some extra stops for the race. As you may already know, TNT refers to the near-commercial free broadcast as their “Wide Open Coverage.” More on this a little later... for now, in keeping with the chronological order, we’ll start with the Nationwide Series’ Subway Jalapeno 250 on Friday night.

The first night race of the 2009 Cup season offered fans a rare Sunday off. I hope most of you were able to enjoy the same beautiful weather that we had here in the Northeast, as Spring finally made its long overdue arrival. My plans for Sunday were pretty simple; I slept in a bit. I rode the Harley. I did a little (very little, I assure you) yardwork, then cracked a beer and sat down to enjoy the ARCA race from Rockingham. Because I can’t always follow the ARCA series the way I’d like, I’d circled Sunday’s date on the calendar in red.

After hearing that John Andretti is going to drive a car fielded by Richard Petty to try and make the Indianapolis 500, the thought crossed my mind: Why not give someone else a chance who isn’t in a Cup ride right now? In his long and storied career of racing almost everything that has wheels, Ken Schrader has never raced in the Indianapolis 500. Richard Petty would gain a lot of support and attention if he would give Schrader one more shot to make the greatest spectacle in racing.

Schrader’s season was marked by seat time for four different teams. He began the year by reuniting with BAM Racing, a team he drove for in 2003-05 with modest success. But after sponsorship left to run with Michael Waltrip Racing, the organization suspended operations -- forcing him to look for other rides. From that point on, Schrader was a "super sub" for Cup teams in need. He ran the first Talladega race for Haas CNC, then attempted but failed to make the spring Richmond race for Ganassi. Schrader then ran the Coca-Cola 600 for Richard Childress Racing, then was shut out for the summer before finally landing at Hall of Fame Racing to finish out the year. Schrader ran 10 races for the No. 96, failing to qualify for an 11th for Hall of Fame.

For so many millions of us, favorite athletes become so much more. Role models for our kids, our communities, ourselves; they’re put on a pedestal of success we can only wish to achieve. Through them, we choose to live our wildest dreams, placed in a fantasy world in which a larger-than-life persona can show us the joys of perfection. Every once in a while, we get lucky in love, and the dream never dies. Our idols leave the sport we love at the top of their game, and we’re allowed to remember the end just the way we want it – like a fairy tale. But more often, the bubble bursts and we find out the truth – that these drivers we worship are human, too, unable to fend off the inevitability of age and time. And that makes it so much harder when you see their careers come crashing down.

With so many drivers' success or failure dependent on luck, the Bristol Motor Speedway is bound to offer you more questions than answers heading into the weekend. Will Kyle Busch continue his winning ways? Can Carl Edwards win the night race at Bristol again? Is Tony Stewart finally going to break the winless streak? Can Dale Earnhardt Jr. avoid another pit road issue? Will Jamie McMurray continue his run of strong finishes? Only this week’s Picks ‘N’ Pans will tell you which guys you should keep on your roster and which ones should be riding the bench after spending half the night with crumpled sheet metal in the garage.