All posts by David Morgan

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Anytime a new piece of equipment gets rolled out in real-world conditions, issues are sure to rear their head and Sunday’s debut of the NASCAR Next Gen car in the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum was no different. As the car was put through its paces on a purpose-built track inside the confines of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the demands of the quarter-mile track provided one of the toughest tests yet for the designs of the new car. Through the heat races and lastRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Since its inception in 1979, the Busch Light Clash has undergone a number of changes, but for the 2022 running, the season-opening exhibition race is readying for its biggest change yet. After being held at Daytona International Speedway as the opening salvo to Speedweeks throughout its existence, the race moves away from the birthplace of NASCAR out to the West Coast, as the confines of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and a purpose-built quarter-mile track await. Along with the unknown a new venue brings, the raceRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor A mainstay on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit for more than a decade, Aric Almirola announced Monday that the upcoming 2022 season will be his last behind the wheel, as he’ll be hanging up the helmet at season’s end to spend more time with his family. The 37-year old Tampa, Florida native first appeared on the Cup Series scene back in 2007, running part-time for a number of different teams before making the jump to full-time racing at NASCAR’s highest level with Richard Petty Motorsports andRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – As Chase Elliott was driving his way toward winning the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship last season, Hendrick Motorsports’ newest hire was keeping a keen eye on the proceedings back at the shop in North Carolina. That driver was Kyle Larson. Signed by Hendrick after losing his ride with Chip Ganassi Racing just four races into 2020 due to the use of a racial slur on iRacing, Larson’s path to redemption also became a path toward becoming a Cup Series champion. After watchingRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – Long runs were Denny Hamlin’s superpower on Sunday afternoon in Phoenix, but instead he just got kryptonite. Coming into the weekend as fired up as ever to finally win a NASCAR Cup Series championship of his own, Hamlin knew that if he was going to make that happen, he needed a long run for his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to come to life and propel him to the front of the field. Just as Hamlin started closing ground on the leaders and lookedRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz — 35 races down, one to go. Sunday afternoon, the NASCAR Cup Series will hit the track at Phoenix Raceway for the 2021 season finale, bringing this season to a close and crowning a champion. After being held at Homestead-Miami Speedway from 2002 to 2019, the championship race moved to the Arizona desert starting last season, giving the four drivers competing for the title a whole new challenge in their pursuit of the Bill France Cup. Heading into this year’s championship race, it willRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – A dream fulfilled. Daniel Hemric entered the night at Phoenix Raceway having never won a race in any of NASCAR’s three national series. Now he leaves the one-mile oval in the Arizona desert as champion. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who has seemed snake-bitten throughout his career, watching his chance for victory slip from his grasp time and time again, would not be denied this time around. When the chips were down, Hemric made it happen. While Austin Cindric looked to be theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – Day two at Phoenix Raceway will be highlighted by NASCAR’s second highest division, as the NASCAR Xfinity Series wraps up its 2021 campaign by crowning its newest champion. Twelve championship hopefuls started the six-week march to the Valley of the Sun, with only four drivers left standing to duel it out in the Arizona desert on Saturday night. Austin Cindric will look to make it back-to back Xfinity titles before moving on to the Cup Series in 2022, while AJ Allmendinger, Daniel Hemric,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – As the laps were winding down in Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway, Ben Rhodes could see the championship slipping away and he wasn’t going to settle for second place. Setting his sights on championship rival Zane Smith, Rhodes was a man on a mission, chewing up the ground between himself and Smith to catch up to the rear bumper of Smith’s No. 21 Chevrolet. After a bump in Turn 3 with nine laps to go, Rhodes sent Smith up theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – When the checkered flag waves on Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway, it will mark the end of an era. After a run of nine years, the current Gen 6 car, which has run through different iterations since 2013, will be retired and replaced by the Next Gen car, representing the biggest shakeup in the way NASCAR races in recent memory. As a part of championship weekend in Arizona, NASCAR President Steve Phelps took the podium for his annual State ofRead More