All posts by David Morgan

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LONG BEACH, Calif. – Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is both a homecoming and a dream realized for NTT IndyCar Series rookie Jimmie Johnson. The Southern California native, who grew up attending races in Long Beach in his younger days before moving over to the stock car ranks and eventually winning seven NASCAR Cup Series championship, had long dreamed of being able to climb behind the wheel of an open-wheel car to compete in the annual IndyCar race on the streets of Long Beach.Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor And then there were three. After the checkered flag waved on Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, it became official that the battle for the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series championship will come down to three drivers – Alex Palou, Pato O’Ward, and Josef Newgarden. Palou retook the points lead last weekend with his victory in Portland and Sunday at Laguna Seca did exactly what he had to do in order to maintain his position atop the standings, finishing second on theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Bristol Motor Speedway hosted the first elimination race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs on Saturday night, marking the end of the road for four drivers and their championship aspirations. Several drivers entered the night within striking distance of the top-12 in points, but when the checkered flag fell Aric Almirola, Tyler Reddick, Kurt Busch and Michael McDowell were the unlucky drivers to be on the outside looking in. Just two points separated Almirola and Reddick from being able to continue on in the Playoffs,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor When the NASCAR Cup Series rolls into Bristol Motor Speedway, it’s almost a guarantee that the night will end with bent sheet metal and hurt feelings. Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race lived up to that hype as the closing laps featured a run-in between Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott that spilled over after the race into not one, but two heated conversations between the two drivers. Everything started with contact between Harvick and Elliott as they were racing for the lead with 35Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After running on the dirt at Bristol earlier this year, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the track we all know and love this weekend for Saturday night’s running of the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race and the first elimination race of the Playoffs. Racing at Bristol is always intense, but when the lights go down for the night race, the intensity gets cranked to 11. The aggressiveness that the drivers will show on the high-banked bullring that is called “The Last Great Colosseum” toRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Two races down, one to go. With the conclusion of Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond, the first round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is nearly complete, with Bristol Motor Speedway and the first elimination race looming large next weekend for those drivers who have yet to lock themselves into the next round. Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., and Kyle Larson are safe from whatever carnage may lie ahead at Bristol as the Playoff field is cut from 16 to 12. Following thatRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The final result may not have been exactly what Dale Earnhardt, Jr. would have liked to have seen in his lone NASCAR Xfinity Series start of the season Saturday at Richmond Raceway, but one thing is for sure, he was having fun getting back behind the wheel. “They race hard there in the middle of the pack, especially around me, but I was up for it,” Earnhardt said after his 14th place finish. “It was fun. We got to beating on some of those guys. TheyRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Race No. 2 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is here as the championship contenders get set to take on the Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders at Richmond Raceway. After a barn burner in last weekend’s Southern 500 at Darlington to kick off the first round of the Playoffs, the traveling circus moves north to Virginia to take on the 0.75-mile oval, which will go a long way in determining which drivers move on to the Round of 12, especially as the BristolRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Just send it. Heading into the final set of turns in Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington, Kyle Larson had one chance to try and surpass Denny Hamlin for the win and in true Larson fashion, he gave maximum effort. Larson launched his car around the outside lane of Turns 3 and 4, bouncing off the wall a few times, but still managed to gain ground on Hamlin, eventually finding himself on Hamlin’s back bumper as they came down the home stretch to the checkeredRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor For the 16 drivers battling it out in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, the pressure is already immense. Add in a tough Playoff opener in Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington and that pressure has the tendency to boil over. For Kyle Busch, that came just 10 laps into Stage 2 when contact between him and Austin Dillon in Turn 2 sent Busch’s car for a four-wheel slide into the outside wall, causing heavy damage to his No. 18 Camry. The damage was too muchRead More