All posts by David Morgan

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor When it comes to Darlington, the treacherous track is tough for rookies and veterans alike, with one small miscue liable to end your chances for victory in a hurry. For the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookies, Darlington was a mixed bag, as just one of them was able to score a top-10 finish, while the others weren’t as fortunate. The best of the rookie class for the second week in a row was Chase Elliott, who started the night in 11th place, but workedRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor After missing six races while recovering from a concussion, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will miss the remainder of the 2016 season as he continues his recovery. On Friday, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Earnhardt had not been medically cleared to race for the final 12 races of the year. “I wish I could return to the No. 88 team this season. To say I’m disappointed doesn’t begin to describe how I feel, but I know this is the right thing for my long-term health and career. I’mRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor With Darlington next up on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, it’s time again for another edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater”. Our “Lady in Black” edition will recap the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington that many will recall as the photo finish between Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch. Darlington has always been known for its rough and tumble style of racing, with the drivers battling not only each other, but the treacherous track as well. When the series headed to Darlington in MarchRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor After a weekend in Michigan, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to one of the crown jewels on the circuit, Darlington Raceway, for this weekend’s running of the Bojangles’ Southern 500. Darlington Raceway has been a staple of the Cup Series since opening in 1950 for its annual Labor Day weekend event with the Southern 500 being held on that date until a controversial decision was made to move the race away from Labor Day weekend in 2003. After 12 years away from its LaborRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor With just three races remaining in the regular season, all eyes were on the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookies to see how they would fare on the fast two-mile oval at Michigan International Speedway and whether the other rookies could join Chris Buescher in the win column. Picking up right where he left off in June, Chase Elliott was stellar throughout the weekend at Michigan as he looked for redemption from his near win at the track earlier this season. Elliott started the dayRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Since being added to the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule in 2010, Road America has been one of the tracks on the circuit that tends to provide drivers with their first NASCAR wins and the tradition continued on Saturday afternoon. In the first six events at the track, three of those went to drivers who scored their first NASCAR wins, with Nelson Piquet, Jr. becoming the first in the 2012 event, followed by AJ Allmendinger in 2013, and Brendan Gaughan in 2014. As the NASCAR SprintRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor When the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rolls into Michigan, the impetus for all three manufacturers to run well is accelerated as two of the three, Ford and Chevrolet, are located down the road in Detroit, while Japanese based Toyota always looks to steal the show from the hometown favorites. On Friday, the manufacturer wars heated up ahead of Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 as all three manufacturers were well represented in the top-three of the lineup for the race. Though Toyota gained the upper hand inRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor After dealing with rain and the Bristol night race being postponed to Sunday afternoon last weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads north to Michigan to race on one of the biggest and fastest tracks on the circuit, Michigan International Speedway and Sunday’s running of the Pure Michigan 400, which marks three races remaining in the regular season. With this race taking place near the home of two of the three manufacturers (Chevrolet and Ford), teams put extra emphasis on winning this race for braggingRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor We all know Dale Jarrett as a NASCAR Hall of Famer and the 1999 Winston Cup Champion, but his road to glory began way back in 1991 when he scored his first Winston Cup win in a photo finish with Davey Allison at Michigan. As the Sprint Cup Series heads to Michigan this weekend, this week’s edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater” will look back at that race, the 1991 Champion Spark Plug 400. Heading into Michigan, Jarrett had run six seasons in the Cup Series,Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor After announcing that William Byron would be moving up to the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2017 with JR Motorsports after signing with Hendrick Motorsports, the fate of their other two drivers seemed to be up in the air. But on Wednesday, the team put those rumors to bed by announcing that both of their current full-time drivers, Elliott Sadler and Justin Allgaier, would be returning to the team next season to join Byron in a four-car effort. Along with Byron, Sadler, and Allgaier all runningRead More