All posts by David Morgan

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – When the NASCAR Cup Series takes to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course for the first time on Sunday afternoon, William Byron will be the driver that gets to lead them to the green after scoring the pole for the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard. After timing in fourth quickest during the first round of qualifying, Byron turned up the wick in the second round, charging around the 14-turn, 2.439-mile infield road course in 1 minute, 27.765 seconds to boost his No. 24 HendrickRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – Chase Elliott didn’t expect to be racing in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but when the opportunity came calling, he made the most of it. With Michael Annett still recovering from a recent leg surgery, JR Motorsports came into the need for a replacement driver prior to qualifying Saturday morning. After a number of missed calls from Hendrick Motorsports Vice President of Competition Chad Knaus, Elliott finally got the message to report to the No. 1 garage for duty. Elliott’sRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – It’s not the typical oval weekend for the NASCAR Cup Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the series takes on the track’s infield road course for the first time. After a mostly incident-free practice session Saturday morning, led by Martin Truex, Jr. with a lap of 1 minute, 29.577 seconds the question was posed to a number of drivers to see what they thought of racing on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile infield road course. Naturally, Truex had nothing but positive things to say about theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – Romain Grosjean may be a rookie in the NTT IndyCar Series, but one thing is for sure, he’s got the hang of things on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. After starting on pole and ultimately finishing second in the GMR Grand Prix back in May, Grosjean hit the ground running this weekend, showing speed from his first laps on track and giving notice that he’d be a contender for his first IndyCar win. Rolling off third for Saturday’s Big Machine Spiked Coolers GrandRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – AJ Allmendinger had already laid down a flying lap to put his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet on the top of the board, but in the final seconds of qualifying, he had one final challenger to wait out – Austin Cindric. The defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion crossed the line with less than 30 seconds remaining in qualifying, determined to unseat Allmendinger from the pole, but in the end, it wouldn’t be enough as Allmendinger’s strong lap of 1 minute, 29.831 seconds was enoughRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – With the clock down to mere seconds and a pole position at Indianapolis on the line, Pato O’Ward’s black and orange Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet streaked across the line, sending the No. 5 to the top of the board and securing him the pole for the third time this season. After a short dispute by outside pole sitter Will Power’s team, O’Ward’s lap of 1 minute, 10.714 seconds became official and the celebrations for driver and team could begin in earnest. “It’s good, man,”Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – Anytime the NASCAR Xfinity Series visits a road course, Austin Cindric is always a threat and Friday at Indianapolis, it was business as usual for him as he topped the board in practice for Saturday’s running of the Pennzoil 150. “It’s definitely good,” Cindric said. “If I’ve learned anything in my NASCAR career, it’s that practice doesn’t matter. It certainly shows we have a fast Ford Mustang. It’s a pretty important weekend for me and my team, so it’s good to check that box,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – Alex Palou comes into the weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the NTT IndyCar Series points leader and served notice during Friday’s lone practice for the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix that he intends on staying there. Posting a lap of 1 minute, 10.883 seconds, Palou climbed to the top of the leaderboard late in the 50-minute session and was able to hold off a late flurry of activity to lead the way when the checkered flag flew. Winner of May’s GMR GrandRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend for its annual trip to the Racing Capital of the World, but this time there’s a twist. Instead of racing on the iconic 2.5-mile oval for Year No. 28 at the Brickyard, NASCAR’s best will join their counterparts from the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NTT IndyCar Series in running on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile infield road course in what will be an action-filled tripleheader weekend. It will be uncharted territory for the majority ofRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson may only be running the road/street courses in his first season in the NTT IndyCar Series, but as the future for the driver of the No. 48 Chip Ganassi Racing comes into focus, that future could include the addition of oval races to his schedule and a possible attempt at the Indianapolis 500. Addressing the topic ahead of last Sunday’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in Nashville, Johnson noted that he and his team are taking a methodicalRead More