All posts by David Morgan

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor For Roush-Fenway Racing, 2017 has been a year of resurgence after a poor outing last season led to off-season restructuring for the team. Leading the charge thus far for the team’s return to relevance has been Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Sunday’s race at Richmond was just another example of how far the team has come in so little time. After qualifying fourth, Stenhouse was strong early in the going in the 400-lap event as he held steadfast in the top-five, but contact with the TurnRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Joe Gibbs Racing has had their hands full this season as they still search for their first win as an organization, but Richmond International Raceway looked like it would be the place for one of their drivers to finally break through, given that the team had won the three previous races at the track heading into Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400. Leading the JGR charge through the weekend was the elder statesman for the team, Matt Kenseth, who blazed his way to the pole on FridayRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor For the second year in a row, Justin Allgaier found himself in the lead late at Richmond International Raceway only to not end the day in victory lane. In Saturday’s ToyotaCare 250, Allgaier was the dominant car throughout the event, but came up short of his second win of the season, having to settle for a second-place finish instead. Taking the lead for the first time at lap 27 after starting in sixth place, Allgaier would finish the first stage in second place behind AustinRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor When looking through the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series garage area, the number of drivers that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has had an impact on throughout his career is countless. Martin Truex, Jr. is a prime example of that, as Truex may have never gotten his shot to make it to the Cup Series contending for wins and championships if not for the connection between himself and Earnhardt. Having made only a handful of starts for his family team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series between lateRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor With the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heading back to another short track this weekend at Richmond International Raceway after a rain-delayed Monday race at Bristol, we’re set for another edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater” to take a look back at the 2008 Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond, which showcased racing at Richmond at its finest. Heading into the race weekend, there were several storylines that were the talk of the sport, including Denny Hamlin seeking his first win at hisRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a rain delayed race at Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend produced one of the best races of the season, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series packs up and heads to another short track, the third in the last four races, with Sunday’s running of the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Often described as the perfectly designed race track by drivers, the 0.75 mile track lends itself to not only short track characteristics of beating and banging, but also the characteristics of aRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After 18 seasons behind the wheel in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will hang up his helmet at the end of the 2017 season, retiring from NASCAR and bringing his driving career to a close. A mainstay in the Cup Series since 2000, Earnhardt has 26 career wins under his belt, including two Daytona 500 victories, 149 top-five finishes, 253 top-10 finishes, 13 pole positions, and a career average finish of 15.7 with 603 starts through Monday’s race at Bristol. InRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Clint Bowyer’s career resurgence in 2017 took another step forward on Monday as the Emporia, Kansas native was able to leave Monday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway with a second place finish, his best finish since a third place result at Auto Club Speedway last month. Bowyer started the day in ninth place, but was unable to finish inside the top-10 in either the first or second stage as he battled handling issues that had him hanging onto the lead lap. On lapRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Speeding penalties may have put a damper on the day for Kyle Larson and Martin Truex, Jr., but the two drivers that led the most laps in Monday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway did not let that stop them from rebounding to finish in the top-10. After starting on pole, Larson led the first 202 laps of the race, capturing the stage win in the first stage before giving up the lead to Truex at lap 203. Truex would go on to leadRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a fifth place result at Texas Motor Speedway two weeks ago, it looked like things were starting to turn around for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and his No. 88 team, but a mechanical failure during Monday’s rain-delayed race at Bristol would put an end to his hopes of scoring another good finish. Starting the day in 20th after qualifying was rained out, Earnhardt had his work cut out for him with the unknown conditions on the concrete surface of Bristol’s high banks and was onlyRead More