All posts by David Morgan

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season is officially at the halfway point, crossing the threshold last weekend in Daytona. To kick off the second half of the season, the series heads to the Bluegrass State for Saturday night’s running of the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. Kentucky first joined the Cup Series schedule in 2011 and has played host ever since, with just four different drivers claiming victory in the eight races held at the track so far. The track was knownRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Before the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series even hit the track for the first time Thursday morning at Kentucky Speedway, Stewart Friesen and his Halmar Friesen Racing team found themselves in hot water with NASCAR with their primary truck being confiscated by the sanctioning body. Despite the early setback that would force Friesen to start at the rear of the field in a backup truck previously run at Chicagoland two weeks ago, the driver of the No. 52 Chevrolet found himself in the runner-up spotRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor On a night that started off with several yellow flags in the first half of the race, the 2016 running of the Quaker State 400 on the newly reconfigured and repaved Kentucky Speedway would come down to fuel mileage in the closing laps to determine the race winner. With about 16 laps to go, the lead lap cars began peeling off of the track onto pit road to top off on fuel, but race leader Brad Keselowski kept his No. 2 Ford out front asRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – To pit or not to pit? That is the question that crew chiefs always face when weather is a factor late in the going. Make the wrong decision and it could cost your driver a chance at a win. Unfortunately for Kurt Busch and Chip Ganassi Racing crew chief Matt McCall, the odds weren’t in their favor in Sunday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, as an untimely lightning strike would be their undoing. Busch was able to escape the “BigRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – With 42 laps remaining in Sunday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, dark clouds closed in on the 2.5-mile superspeedway and as it always happens when weather threatens, the intensity ratcheted up and the inevitable “Big One” struck. Austin Dillon and Clint Bowyer had hooked up in the draft to find their way to the front of the field when Bowyer ducked low from second place to try and take the lead for himself. Dillon threw an untimely blockRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Kaulig Racing team owner Matt Kaulig issued an edict during the offseason that he wanted to go “trophy hunting” in 2019 and with three cars in the arsenal for Friday night’s Circle K Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway, the hunt finally paid off as the team netted its first NASCAR Xfinity Series win. Ross Chastain ended the night in Victory Lane driving part-time for the team in its No. 16 entry, adding another win to his resume that has seenRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A day after a run-in with Brad Keselowski during practice for Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, William Byron’s opinion of the incident between he and the 2012 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion hasn’t changed. Though the two were able to talk things out and he was able to hear Keselowski’s side of the story, the second-year Hendrick Motorsports driver still believes the move that sent his No. 24 car spinning and him to a backupRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR celebrated the Independence Day holiday the only way it knew how on Thursday, by taking to the track at Daytona International Speedway for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice and the fireworks certainly started early. The first of two sessions were entertaining and full of action, with drivers running two and three-wide in an effort to feel out the package that makes its debut at Daytona after receiving rave reviews at Talladega a few months back. Though the typical FloridaRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Following last Sunday’s battle in the Windy City, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads back to where it all began, Daytona International Speedway, for this weekend’s 60th running of the Coke Zero Sugar 400, the third superspeedway race of the season. From 1959 until 1987, the 160 lap, 400 mile shootout at the World Center of Racing, then called the Firecracker 400, was held on July 4th, even if the holiday fell in the middle of the week. Beginning inRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Jamie McMurray first came on the scene in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in the fall of 2002 when he took over in relief of Sterling Marlin and scored his first win at Charlotte behind the wheel of the No. 40 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge. Five years and 166 races later, McMurray had yet to make a second trip to Victory Lane, but by the time the checkered flag flew at Daytona International Speedway in July 2007, the drought wasRead More