From NASCAR Fortresses To The 2026 Blazer EV SS

Castles, pirate hatches, trophy rooms, and a Manhattan condo that hit $30 million: we start by tracing how NASCAR success turns into real-world luxury, one jaw-dropping home at a time. We walk through the standout properties tied to names fans know, from Kevin Harvick’s fortress-like estate to Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Key West pirate paradise, plus the trophy-ready design choices that make a driver’s house feel like a personal museum.

Then we flip the focus from celebrity real estate to a hands-on electric SUV review with the 2026 Chevrolet Blazer EV, including the SS trim. We talk design details you’ll notice instantly, what options feel overpriced, and the cabin tech that changes the day-to-day experience. One of the biggest conversation starters: the Blazer EV setup with no start button and no stop button, along with GM’s move away from Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in favor of an in-house system tied to OnStar.

We also get into the EV numbers shoppers care about: a 102 kWh battery, dual motors with all-wheel drive, big horsepower, claimed range, and how real-world efficiency can feel different when you’re actually plugging in at home or at work. To help you place it in the market, we compare pricing and point to alternatives like the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Cadillac Lyriq, and Ford Mustang Mach-E. If you enjoyed the mix of motorsports culture and practical car-buying insight, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave us a review.

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Transcript

Jeff’s Motor Minute Kickoff

Don Armstrong 0:04

Time now for Jeff's Motor Minute.

NASCAR Wealth Becomes Real Estate

Harvick Castle And Earnhardt Pirate Home

Trophy Rooms And Equestrian Estates

Gordon Condo And Stewart Mega Lodge

Jeff Dziekan 0:06

Alrighty. You got this mark? You want me to do it? Yeah, go ahead. Just go it. I'll let you do the intro and I'll pop it. Okay, so from rookie contracts to racing wealth. These are the uh homes of some of the NASCAR drivers that we all know and and not necessarily your current. So what happens when speed, fame, and big wins turn into real estate, real world? Well, for NASCAR's biggest star, success doesn't just stay on the track, it shows up in the homes they build. From a quiet lakeside retreat to jaw-dropping mansions. So here we go. The first one on the block is uh Kevin Harvick's$3.5 million European castle. It's a 12,000 square foot Oak Ridge mansion. It looks more like a European fortress rather than a race car driver's pad. 2014 NASCAR champion. He listed the five-bedroom home featuring a garden for$3.5 million. It's a fitting residence for a man with 121 National Series wins, ranking him third all-time in NASCAR history. I like it, but I don't like the big hill there. I would probably trip and roll down it. The next one we have is Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s$3.7 million Pirate Paradise. Earnhardt, his love for history in the Key West, built this pirate home. 3,300 square foot nautical escape features rope-wrapped columns, shipwheels, and even a secret hatch. Don't know where it goes. 26 time cup winner listed the five-bedroom home for again for$3.7 million, showcasing a renovation hobby he once shared on the do on the DIY network. So he was actually doing remodels to it and uh put it on TV. The next one we have, this is a retired driver, is Kurt Bush's uh Trophy Room Palace. Located in Mooresville, uh which is North Carolina. Uh Kurt Bush's former 9,500 square foot estate was built to house a legacy. The inaugural Chase for the Cup champion designed the office specifically for 34 trophies, uh boasting five and a half bathrooms, uh garage large enough for a custom 1964 Volkswagen Beetle. Home recently hit the market for nearly 4 million bucks. So there you go. If you got an extra 4 million, you can buy it. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., equestrian estate. This home is a massive 9,986 square foot property, previously owned by NASCAR legend Ernie Irvin and Joe Nimachak. I don't think they owned it together separately. Valued at$16 million. The estate features an 18-stall horse barn, three-acre pond, and a putting green. The Daytona 500 residence often uh offers a spa and a cabana for the ultimate post-race relaxation. Jeff Gordon, who knows him? He's the Manhattan condo guy.

Don Armstrong 2:48

And your tiny little Speedo.

Jeff Dziekan 2:50

There you go. Four-time champion uh Jeff Gordon trademarked for uh the track for Central Park views with his$30 million residence. Now bear in mind that's an apartment or condo, I should say, featuring Brazilian cherry floors and an Italian ceramic kitchen.

Don Armstrong 3:05

Brazilian. I knew we would get that word in there sooner or later.

Jeff Dziekan 3:08

The word of the day. Thirty four hundred and fifty thirty, four hundred and fifty-four square feet uh home, tripled in value since Gordon's 2007 purchase. NASCAR Hall of Famer sold the lecture unit just two months before finishing it. He provided uh speed translates to real estate, is what he's talking about. So he real estate. Real estate. Not real estate. Uh-huh. An estate for the real. Tony Stewart's$30 million Indiana Lounge or Lodge. This is pretty cool. Uh known as Smoke, that's his moniker. Uh owns this most expensive residence, a$30 million rustic large spanning over 19,000 square feet, 415 acres. The home features an 8,700-gallon freshwater aquarium and an indoor trout stream. Oh boy, get out of bed and drop a line.

Don Armstrong 3:56

Uh drop something. Drop. I was gonna say trowel, but I guess that'd be kind of trout.

Jeff Dziekan 4:01

You can go trolling the night before. Built in the Northern Rockies low uh Lodge Pole Pine. Extreme luxury. The last one we have, this guy is known as the kid, Mark Martin. Uh this is the million-dollar Chef Haven, known as the Kid. I will too, but you talk about it. 700 square foot sanctuary on Lake Norman, the 40-time NASCAR champ winner. I enjoy Professional Chef's Kitchen, a private pavement, a pavement dock for Lake Access.$2.55 million. It remains a testament to his storied Roush racing career. And of course, he made a lot of money with uh when Viagra was his sponsor. He got that spot because he was winning. Were you serious? He was winning races by inches. Oh my god. And uh and I got it.

Don Armstrong 4:46

There was a joke in there. I'm just now getting it. Sorry.

Jeff Dziekan 4:49

Anyways, but there you go. So if you got a lot of money and you're a race car driver, and I know there's a lot of folks out there that are trying to be uh uh uh that level, keep trying. I mean, you gotta start somewhere, and and there's a lot of folks out there that know what they're doing.

Don Armstrong 5:01

Time now for this hour's car review.

Jeff Dziekan 5:07

And there's a lot of folks out there that know what they're doing.

Design Notes And Costly Sunroof

No Start Button Interior Tour

Don Armstrong 5:09

Time now for this hour's car review. Had a chance to drive the 2026 Chevrolet Blazer EV. Comes in these trim levels: the LT, the RS, and the SS. I had the SS. Now, this is considered by the government as a small SUV. We would like to call it really a medium size. Uh, ours was Habanero Orange. Seats 5 folks, including the driver, all new for 2024. Sharp and unique EV styling ranks high on our looking glass meter. Unique gills behind the front wheel well. Uh, driver's side in particular opens for a charge port over there. Good-looking 22-inch wheels, not ugly EV wheels, great looking rear hatch area, Chevy unique. And what I liked, the overall design kills it. What could use improvement? The power sunroof is a$1,500 option. It's not for Houston sunshine in the summertime. That my opinion. Uh, interior highlights. There's no start button, there's no stop button. You get in, sit down, uh, put your foot on the brake, and it's it turns on. Wow. Uh-huh. You want to get out? All you gotta do is just put the car in park and get out, and it shuts off.

unknown 6:36

Wow.

No CarPlay GM’s New Plan

Power Battery And Real Range

Price Competitors And Next Review

Don Armstrong 6:36

There's no button. Very different. It's kind of unsettling at first. Anyway, uh seating materials are cool. Three round vents on the dash for AC. Uh, layered dual screens are awesome. 17-inch center screen. Uh cargo room, adequate for a vehicle its size. What I liked, the overall interior design is awesome. What could use improvement? There is no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto available on this vehicle. It's a thing that General Motors is doing across the board, that they're going to do away with all of that and bring it in-house with the OnStar built in. And so they want your money that you would normally pay for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. They want to be in charge of everything on the no button. Engine, 120, uh, I'm sorry, 102 kilowatt per hour battery. Uh, it's got dual motors on it, it's all wheel drive. Uh, relative speaking, it's uh 615 horsepower, 600 650 pound feet of torque. No transmission, it's a direct drive electric motor. Uh range, it says 302 miles. Well, um, I got uh 2.6 miles per kilowatt hour, which uh related to about a 443.5 miles. Anyway, what I liked about it, um it's for a plug-in, I mean, it's it's okay. I plugged it in at home and I plugged it in at work. And so if you want to call it free electricity, as you know, there's no nothing free anymore. Riding handling, uh, it's smooth despite its heavy battery pack. What could use improvement? Nothing, I suppose. Here's the price. Uh base trim,$60,600. Price assessed$63,985. The base model price, not the SS now, uh, is$44,700. Competitors, Hyundai Ionic 5 starts at$35,000. Cadillac Lyric,$59,200, which I think would be its twin sister on the Cadillac brand. And then the Mustang Machie starts at$37,795. Next week I get to review the Kia K4.

Jeff Dziekan 8:56

I want to be back.