Blake Bjorklund (born September 8, 1985) is an American professional

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

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 NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...

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 snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

Racing career

ARCA Re/Max Series

Before his venture into NASCAR, Bjorklund raced in the series full-time for one year in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. He made a run for Rookie of the Year with Country Joe Racing, 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 an American 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 ...

. Although he failed to qualify for the season-opening

Daytona Daytona may refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach, Florida * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as Daytona, the region around Daytona Beach Motor racing * Dayto ...

and

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

races, he bounced back with poles at

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

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 championsh ...

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 de ...

to run in the

. 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 the to ...

, he earned a best finish of 13th place at

Nashville Superspeedway Nashville Superspeedway is a tri-oval intermediate speedway in Lebanon, Tennessee. The track has held a variety of racing events since its opening in 2001, including NASCAR and the IndyCar Series. It is currently owned by Speedway Motorsport ...

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 (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 LE full-ti ...

to drive the No. 28 U.S. Border Patrol/

Kibbles 'n Bits Kibbles 'n Bits is a brand name for dog food that The J.M. Smucker Co. decided to include among the pet food brands sold to Post Holdings. On April 28, 2023, PH announced that it had completed the acquisition of Kibbles 'n Bits, which is now mar ...

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

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 (known as California Speedway before and after the 2008–2023 corporate sponsorship by the Automobile Club of Southern California) was a , D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, ne ...

. 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 ...

Kentucky Speedway Kentucky Speedway is an inactive tri-oval intermediate speedway in Sparta, Kentucky. It has hosted various major races throughout its existence, including NASCAR and IndyCar races. The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, LLC (SMI) and ...

, but failed to qualify the No. 96

K-Automotive Motorsports Keselowski Motorsports, formerly known as K-Automotive Racing and Brian Keselowski Motorsports, was a stock car racing team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. K-Automotive previously raced in Automobile Racing Club of America, ARCA and the Nati ...

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) (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