All posts by David Morgan

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Two weeks ago, seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson was making his inaugural start in the Boston Marathon. Back at the race track for the first time since completing that grueling event, the race that Johnson called “awful and amazing at the same time” could be just what the doctor ordered when it comes to his on-track performance. “I had a goal in mind to run a certain pace and tried to hang onto it,” Johnson said of theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Uncertainty surrounded the first day of on-track activity at Talladega Superspeedway, with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series getting their first glimpse at the new post-restrictor plate aero package that will be used at the 2.66-mile facility as well as Daytona for the foreseeable future. The new package features a tapered spacer instead of a restrictor plate, making it the first race since 1987 to feature the horsepower sapping device. To counteract the increase in horsepower, about 100 more than the teamsRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – With the first off weekend of the season in the rear-view mirror, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series gets back to business in grand fashion as they get set to take on the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway and Sunday’s running of the GEICO 500. Racing at Talladega has always been crazy from the time the track opened back in 1969. From the driver boycott of the first race that led to unknown driver Richard Brickhouse scoring his one and only win in theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Everyone knows Talladega Superspeedway as the biggest, baddest track on the circuit that has produced amazing racing and a plethora of memorable moments since its inception, but half a century ago, the 2.66-mile behemoth of a track in Alabama was just getting its start, and it was a controversial one at that. With the success of Daytona International Speedway, the first superspeedway project for Bill France, Sr. 10 years earlier, NASCAR’s founder wanted to go even bigger and with that, the dreams of Talladega tookRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Short track races have defined the last month of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule with two out of the last three being held on tracks less than a mile in length. This weekend, Richmond Raceway joins the short track party with Saturday night’s running of the Toyota Owners 400. Often described as the perfectly designed race track by drivers, the 0.75 mile track lends itself to not only short track characteristics of beating and banging, but also the characteristics of a larger trackRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Over the years, Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon have had their share of on-track battles and some that continued outside the car, but in September 1998, the two gave Burton’s home state fans in Virginia a race to remember and one of the closest finishes ever at Richmond Raceway. Both drivers started in the top-five for the Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400, but the lead would jump between 10 different drivers in the first 150 laps of the race, including Burton, Rusty Wallace, Bobby Hamilton,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor For the second time in his career, Fernando Alonso will be competing in the Indianapolis 500, making his first start in the Memorial Day Weekend classic since 2017. On Tuesday at Texas Motor Speedway, the two-time Formula One champion started his preparation for the race in earnest as he made his first laps in the No. 66 McLaren Chevrolet, which is a dual effort between McLaren and Carlin to field the NTT IndyCar Series entry for the 37-year old Spaniard. While the differences are vast betweenRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – There are only three constants in life: death, taxes, and Scott Dixon finishing in the top-three at Barber Motorsports Park. For the eighth time in 10 starts at the 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course, the driver of the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, was in the fight for a podium finish, coming home second in Sunday’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. “All in all, we’ve got to be happy with that,” Dixon said. “It’s always tough competition. We come hereRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – What a difference a day makes. After struggling throughout the weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, including a dismal 16th place qualifying effort, Josef Newgarden was back to his typical form in Sunday’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, though it took a “creative” effort from the Hendersonville, Tennessee native to make it a reality. “I’m happy about it,” said the driver of the Fitzgerald USA Team Penske Chevrolet. “It’s really good for points. Without the caution, we would have finished eighth, so weRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – “It’s tough out there,” Graham Rahal said after making his second-place qualifying run for Sunday’s running of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. Those four words can sum up just how treacherous the challenging 2.3-mile, 17-turn natural terrain road course has been this weekend for almost every driver in the field. From drivers making off-track excursions into the gravel traps and tire barriers in nearly every practice session to the major teams stumbling in qualifying on Saturday, theRead More