All posts by David Morgan

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – What next? Denny Hamlin was flabbergasted with a penalty handed down by NASCAR on Thursday for an engine inspection violation that will have affects on he and his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team now and into the Playoffs. Hamlin’s race-winning engine from Bristol this spring was inadvertently torn down and rebuilt by Toyota Racing Development prior to NASCAR being able to inspect it and as such, the sanctioning body was left with no choice but to penalize them. Driver and teamRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Michael McDowell has qualifying on superspeedways figured out this year. For the fourth time in 2024, the driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford will start at the front of the grid for Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 after a lap of 49.136 seconds, 183.165 mph, setting a new Next Gen track record at Daytona. McDowell is one of several drivers not yet locked into the Playoffs and counts Daytona as an opportunity race for both he and hisRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In any other year, a return to Daytona International Speedway in the late summer would mark the end of the regular season and cement the field for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Not so much in 2024, as a quirk that comes with the Olympic break that was undertaken a few weeks back making Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 the penultimate race of the regular season, setting things up for a final showdown at Darlington over Labor Day weekend. But thatRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The chase for the NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship will have one less driver in the mix after a penalty handed down by the sanctioning body on Thursday. Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team, who have won three races on the year (Bristol, Richmond, and Dover) were among a four-some of drivers vying for the crucial 15 Playoff points that go to the driver that finishes Race No. 26 at the top of the standings. However, Hamlin now finds himself effectivelyRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor MADISON, Ill. – They all knew David Malukas was here. Coming into Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, expectations were high for Malukas and his No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing team to have a strong run to kick off the final stretch run of the season. After all, Gateway has statistically been Malukas’ best track on the NTT IndyCar Series circuit and he had been in prime form all weekend, showing speed in both practice and qualifying – enough soRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor MADISON, Ill. – There will be some fences to mend at Team Penske after the conclusion of Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. It was shaping up to be battle between all three of the Penske drivers, Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, and Will Power before everything came to a head on a restart with nine laps to go with Newgarden and McLaughlin running 1-2 and Power aiming to get in the mix from a few positions back after leading aRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor MADISON, Ill. – The Bus Bros. finally had their long-awaited battle Saturday night at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. As the laps wound down in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500, Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden found themselves as the only two cars on the lead lap with both needing just a splash of fuel to make it to the end. McLaughlin had been the man in charge, leading 67 laps on the day, with Newgarden in hot pursuit. When the caution flag flew with 19Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor MADISON, Ill. – When the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series schedule was released with a heavy oval lean, optimism was high that an entertaining year was ahead, especially toward the end of the season where the ovals dominate the calendar. However, with the mid-season introduction of the hybrid system, the entire paddock has been thrown for a loop as they work to learn what this system needs and how to best utilize it and the added mass that comes with it on the current IndyCar chassis. InRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor MADISON, Ill. – On a notoriously difficult to pass race track like World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, track position is the name of the game. But when the green flag drops on Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500, the Chip Ganassi Racing duo of Alex Palou and Scott Dixon will have the work cut out for them following grid penalties assessed to them this weekend. Both cars exceeded the engine limit rule in place when they put in their fifth motor of the season ahead ofRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor MADISON, Ill. – David Malukas is a man on a mission. Since a preseason wrist injury sidelined him and eventually saw him booted from his ride at Arrow McLaren before even turning a lap for them, the 22-year old from Chicago has been working to prove himself in his current home at Meyer Shank Racing after taking over driving duties for the No. 66 Honda. In the five races since his return to the cockpit, Malukas has been progressively getting better, leading into this weekend’s raceRead More