All posts by David Morgan

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Days after NASCAR decided against penalizing Austin Dillon for his run-in with Cole Custer at Phoenix, penalties were still a hot topic when the drivers arrived at Auto Club Speedway and Danica Patrick, who has felt the wrath of NASCAR in the past, weighed in on the penalties, or lack thereof, from the sanctioning body. In 2015, Patrick was fined $25,000 and penalized 25 points for wrecking David Gilliland under caution at Martinsville and just last year earned a behavioral penalty from NASCAR for leavingRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor These days Jimmie Johnson is considered one of the greatest of all-time with seven championships and 80 wins to his name, but there was a time when the California native was a fresh faced rookie just looking to make a mark on the sport. As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Auto Club Speedway this weekend, we’ll take a look back at the 2002 NAPA 500 in this week’s “Throwback Thursday Theater”, where Johnson scored the first of his many wins. Johnson signedRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Following the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix, penalties were expected to come down from NASCAR for post-race inspection issues and on Wednesday afternoon, the sanctioning body laid out the penalties that they had handed down to the teams involved. Brad Keselowski had finished fifth at Phoenix, but after the race, his No. 2 team did not pass weights and measures, failing the post-race rear wheel steer on the Laser Inspection Station. As a result, Keselowski’s finish will be encumbered and crew chiefRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor After stops in Las Vegas and Phoenix to kick off the Western swing, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wraps up their venture to the West Coast this weekend as they roll into Southern California to do battle on the two mile Auto Club Speedway in Sunday’s Auto Club 400. Built on the site of an old steel mill featured in the movie “Terminator”, the two mile oval has been a part of the NASCAR schedule since opening in 1997. The track has gone throughRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Add another runner-up finish to the tally for Kyle Larson and his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing team. After finishing second in three of the previous four races entering Sunday’s Camping World 500 at Phoenix, Larson finished as the runner-up once again for the third week in a row with another strong performance in the Valley of the Sun to come away as the points leader Starting the day in fourth place, Larson ran inside the top-10 for the majority of the day, even takingRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor On a scorching hot day at Phoenix Raceway, temperatures in the mid 90’s wreaked havoc with brake heat and tire issues as a couple of big names had their days come to an early end as a result. The first of those drivers to have their day end short of the finish was Matt Kenseth, who qualified 12th for the Camping World 500 and ended final practice in second place, so there was hope that the team could score a third straight top-10 finish afterRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series gets set to head to Phoenix International Raceway this weekend for the second stop of the West Coast Swing and the Camping World 500, we’ll take a step back in time for this week’s “Throwback Thursday Theater” to the 2007 running of the Subway Fresh Fit 500. This time last year, fans, drivers, and media alike were all talking about Jimmie Johnson winning at Atlanta, tying the late Dale Earnhardt, Sr. at 76 wins on the all-time winsRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor After the kickoff to the West Coast swing last weekend in Las Vegas culminated in a victory by Martin Truex, Jr. to mark the third different winner in the first three races of the season and also featured a post-race pit road brawl, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Valley of the Sun this weekend to take on the Camping World 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Phoenix has resided on the Cup Series schedule since 1988, but the track looks completely differentRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Following the aftermath of Sunday’s post-race fight between Joey Logano and Kyle Busch at the conclusion of the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, all eyes turned to NASCAR to see if they would levy any fines or penalties on the two drivers in the days ahead. On Monday morning, NASCAR Vice President Steve O’Donnell made an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio to give the sanctioning body’s thoughts on the incident to this point and the possibility of penalties going forward. “It’s certainly underRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Kyle Busch looked to be on the way to a top-five finish in Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but after last lap contact between Busch and Joey Logano, Busch went for a spin that not only left him with a bad finish at his home track, but with his tempers flaring. As Brad Keselowski was dropping back with a wounded car after losing the lead, Busch and Logano both dove low under Keselowski’s Ford entering Turn 3 on the last lap, nearlyRead More