Blake Bjorklund (born September 8, 1985) is an American professional
stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
driver. He has raced in the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of thr ...
,
Nationwide Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
, and the
ARCA Re/Max Series
The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...
. In addition to racing stock cars, he has also raced
snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...
s.
Racing career
ARCA Re/Max Series
Before his venture into NASCAR, Bjorklund raced in the series full-time for one year in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
. He made a run for Rookie of the Year with
Country Joe Racing
Win-Tron Racing (formerly known as Country Joe Racing) was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series. The team merged into Truck Series team AM Racing beg ...
, a team well known for developing young talents such as
Joey Miller
Joseph Miller (born January 22, 1985) is an American former professional stock car racing driver in the American Speed Association, the ARCA Re/Max Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Career
Miller grew up in the Lakeville, Minnesota ...
and
Ryan Hemphill
Ryan Hemphill (born December 30, 1981) is a former NASCAR driver from Apollo, Pennsylvania.
Racing career
Hemphill, a second generation racer, started his racing career at the age of 12, when his father put him behind the wheel of a go-kart. He ...
. Although he failed to qualify for the season-opening
Daytona Daytona refers to the city of Daytona Beach, Florida, or things named after it.
Daytona may also refer to:
Locations
* Daytona Beach Shores, Florida
* South Daytona, Florida
* The Daytona Beach metropolitan area
* Halifax area, also known as Da ...
and
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
races, he bounced back with poles at
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
and earned his first career victory at
Salem Speedway
Salem Speedway is a long paved oval racetrack in Washington Township, Washington County, near Salem, Indiana, United States, approximately south of Indianapolis. The track has 33° degrees of banking in the corners. Major auto racing series ...
, passing ARCA legend
Frank Kimmel
Francis James Kimmel (born April 30, 1962) is an American former stock car racing driver. He competed primarily in the ARCA Racing Series, from 1990 through 2016. Kimmel is the most successful driver in ARCA history. He has won the ARCA champions ...
with two laps to go. Bjorklund also earned the Bill France Triple Crown award for the three dirt tracks on the ARCA schedule. He finished the season 5th in points with one win, ten finishes in the top ten, and two poles.
Craftsman Truck Series
In 2007, Bjorklund was signed by
MRD Motorsports
MRD Motorsports is an American NASCAR team. The team is owned by Dave Malcolmson but has been inactive as of 2009.
Malcolmson originally started the team in the Allison Legacy Series as a driver before retiring as an owner. Malcolmson would debut ...
to run in the then-
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of thr ...
. Driving the No. 8
Chevrolet Silverado
The Chevrolet Silverado is a range of trucks manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand. Introduced for the 1999 model year, the Silverado is the successor to the long running Chevrolet C/K model line. Taking its name from th ...
, he earned a best finish of 13th place at
Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville Superspeedway is a motor racing complex located in Gladeville, Tennessee, United States (though the track has a Lebanon postal address), about southeast of Nashville. The track was built in 2001 and is currently hosting the Ally 400, ...
.
Nationwide Series
After his release from his truck ride, Bjorklund was signed late in 2007 by
Jay Robinson Racing
Premium Motorsports (formerly Jay Robinson Racing) was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team last fielded the No. 15 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 LE full-time for Brennan Poole, and the No. 27 Ca ...
to drive the No. 28
U.S. Border Patrol
The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States' U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Customs and Border Protection and is responsible for securing ...
/
Kibbles 'n Bits
Kibbles 'n Bits is a brand name of dog food currently owned by The J.M. Smucker Company since it acquired its previous owner, Big Heart Pet Brands, in 2015.
The brand was originally created in 1981 as the first dual textured dog food, having sof ...
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
in three races. Two of his races were ended early by engine failures and he was only able to muster a best finish of 30th at
California Speedway
Auto Club Speedway, originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previ ...
.
In 2009, Bjorklund returned to the Nationwide Series in the
Meijer 300
The Alsco 300 was a NASCAR Xfinity Series race held at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, United States. The distance of the race was 300 miles (482.803 km).
History
Kentucky Speedway, opened in 2000 by Jerry Carrol, held its first B ...
at
Kentucky Speedway
Kentucky Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, which has hosted ARCA, NASCAR and Indy Racing League racing annually since it opened in 2000. The track is currently owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Before 2008 J ...
, but failed to qualify the No. 96
K-Automotive Motorsports
Keselowski Motorsports, formerly known as K-Automotive Racing and Brian Keselowski Motorsports, is a stock car racing team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. K-Automotive previously raced in ARCA and the Nationwide Series. K-Automotive is own ...
Dodge
Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Nationwide Series
Craftsman Truck Series
ARCA Re/Max Series
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bjorklund, Blake
Living people
1985 births
People from Isanti County, Minnesota
Racing drivers from Minnesota
NASCAR drivers
ARCA Menards Series drivers
ARCA Midwest Tour drivers