All posts by David Morgan

By David Morgan, Associate Editor HAMPTON, Ga. – Michael McDowell continued his superspeedway qualifying dominance on Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, capturing his fifth pole of the season with a lap of 30.926 seconds, 179.267 to lead the field to green in Sunday’s Quaker State 400. “I don’t think you ever go into it like, ‘Oh, we’ve got this.’ I knew that we would have a shot at it, but I knew when Blaney went faster than us that first round, even though it was only by a few hundredths, you knowRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor HAMPTON, Ga. – NASCAR Cup Series Playoff time is here again and the 2024 edition of the postseason is in for a doozy of a start. With the 16-driver field set in stone a week ago after a barn burner of a finish at Darlington in the Southern 500, the points standings have been reset as the series rolls right into a wild card race to kick off the 10-race march to the championship courtesy of Sunday’s Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Atlanta’s agingRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It all comes down to Darlington. With Harrison Burton claiming a season and career defining win to punch his ticket into the 16-driver NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field, just three spots remain up for grabs to finalize the list of drivers that will be eligible to contend for the championship. As it stands after Daytona, Martin Truex, Jr. is in the best position of those still not locked in, carrying a 58-point advantage into the regular season finale even after getting collectedRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – This one has been a long time coming. Harrison Burton, driving the famous No. 21 Ford for the Wood Brothers, took matters into his own hands in overtime Saturday night at Daytona, powering his way into the lead on the final lap and holding off the charge of Kyle Busch to claim his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory and punch his ticket into the Playoffs. The win also marks the 100th career win for the legendary Wood Brothers team, which hasRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Shane Van Gisbergen has gotten the call. He’s moving to the NASCAR Cup Series full-time with Trackhouse Racing in 2025. The move completes the journey for the 35-year-old New Zealander, who burst onto the NASCAR scene with his win at Chicago in his first-ever start in 2023 before moving into the Xfinity Series on a full-time basis in 2024 and now going full-time at NASCAR’s top division next season. With Trackhouse obtaining a third charter for its efforts to field a carRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Ryan Truex brought home the victory Friday night at Daytona International Speedway, surviving overtime to capture his second NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the season in the Wawa 250. Midway through the second stage, the younger Truex brother, driving the No. 20 Toyota on a part-time basis for Joe Gibbs Racing asserted himself into the lead for the first time all night and would remain a fixture among the leaders for the duration of the race. Truex and Kaulig Racing’s A.J. AllmendingerRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – What next? Denny Hamlin was flabbergasted with a penalty handed down by NASCAR on Thursday for an engine inspection violation that will have affects on he and his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team now and into the Playoffs. Hamlin’s race-winning engine from Bristol this spring was inadvertently torn down and rebuilt by Toyota Racing Development prior to NASCAR being able to inspect it and as such, the sanctioning body was left with no choice but to penalize them. Driver and teamRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Michael McDowell has qualifying on superspeedways figured out this year. For the fourth time in 2024, the driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford will start at the front of the grid for Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 after a lap of 49.136 seconds, 183.165 mph, setting a new Next Gen track record at Daytona. McDowell is one of several drivers not yet locked into the Playoffs and counts Daytona as an opportunity race for both he and hisRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In any other year, a return to Daytona International Speedway in the late summer would mark the end of the regular season and cement the field for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Not so much in 2024, as a quirk that comes with the Olympic break that was undertaken a few weeks back making Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 the penultimate race of the regular season, setting things up for a final showdown at Darlington over Labor Day weekend. But thatRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The chase for the NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship will have one less driver in the mix after a penalty handed down by the sanctioning body on Thursday. Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team, who have won three races on the year (Bristol, Richmond, and Dover) were among a four-some of drivers vying for the crucial 15 Playoff points that go to the driver that finishes Race No. 26 at the top of the standings. However, Hamlin now finds himself effectivelyRead More