All posts by David Morgan

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The 1998 Pepsi 400 was scheduled to be a monumental mark for NASCAR’s crown jewel track, Daytona International Speedway, as the track’s July 4th weekend race would be run under the lights for the very first time. However, a devastating wildfire that had swept through Central Florida around that weekend, destroying 126 homes and charring 500,000 acres, forced the race to be postponed to mid-October, making it one of the final races of the season. In addition to the race being run under the lightsRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor As expected, Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team was handed a penalty on Wednesday for unsecured lugnuts found at the conclusion of last Sunday’s race at Sonoma Raceway. Following his fifth place finish in the Toyota/Save Mart 350, two lugnuts were found to be improperly installed on Busch’s Toyota, bringing with it a one race suspension and a $20,000 fine for interim crew chief Ben Beshore. Beshore has been serving as Busch’s crew chief for the past three weeks as hisRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Following last Sunday’s road course race at Sonoma Raceway, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads back to where it all began, Daytona International Speedway, for this weekend’s 58th running of the Coke Zero 400, the third restrictor plate race of the season. From 1959 until 1987, the 160 lap, 400 mile shootout at the World Center of Racing, then called the Firecracker 400, was held on July 4th, even if the holiday fell in the middle of the week. Beginning in 1988, the raceRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Less than two weeks after Jimmie Johnson signed a contract extension to stay at Hendrick Motorsports through 2020, the organization’s youngest driver, Chase Elliott, has also signed a contract extension of his own to keep him in the seat of the No. 24 Chevrolet through the 2022 season. Elliott’s contract was not set to expire until the end of the 2018 season, but the extension gives the four-car organization some much needed stability for the future. “It means the world to me to be aRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway marked the first road course of the season for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the 1.990-mile track located north of San Francisco certainly did not disappoint. Leaving Sonoma, here are five of the top storylines of the day. Harvick Checks Another Track off the List Starting the season, Kevin Harvick had just four tracks that he had not yet won at: Kentucky, Pocono, Sonoma, and Texas. After Sunday’s race, Harvick took that list down to three,Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor In a car that looked more like it had been through a demolition derby than a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, Clint Bowyer showed just how strong his No. 14 team was after bouncing back to score a runner-up finish at Sonoma, which is his best finish on the season since finishing second at Bristol back in April. Entering the day, Bowyer’s confidence was high that he could make it back to back wins for Stewart-Haas Racing at Sonoma and score his first winRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Heading into Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma, Brad Keselowski had never finished better than 10th in seven previous starts on the 1.990-mile road course, but now the 2012 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion can mark down a top-five in the record book after bringing home a third place finish. “The Freightliner Ford was really good today,” said Keselowski. “We didn’t have the qualifying fun we wanted. We had amazing race pace. That’s a credit to everyone at Team Penske. It felt really good.Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Some days pit road calls, or the lack thereof, go your way and some days they don’t. For Johnny Sauter, a call to stay out on track late in the race on old tires didn’t quite go as well as his No. 21 team was hoping as he would drop from the lead to second place in the closing laps at Iowa after losing the battle against the drivers behind him with fresher tires on their trucks. Sauter would start the day in fourth place,Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Early in the going during Friday night’s M&M’s 200 at Iowa, Christopher Bell looked almost untouchable in the lead, but when pit strategy didn’t go their way at about the midpoint in the race, the two-time race winner in 2017 had his work cut out for him to be able to get back to the front and re-establish his dominance. However, things didn’t quite go to plan for Bell, as he only managed to make it back to fifth place by the time the checkeredRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor You wouldn’t think a driver that grew up on the dirt tracks of Kansas would be one of the best road course racers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, but over the years, Clint Bowyer has found success making left and right turns, especially at Sonoma Raceway, site of this weekend’s Toyota/Save Mart 350. In a season where he has had some hiccups with his new ride at Stewart-Haas Racing, a trip out west to California wine country could be just what the doctorRead More