All posts by David Morgan

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The countdown to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is on, with just 10 races remaining in the regular season to set the field of contenders that will fight for the championship later this fall. Kicking off the summer stretch will be Chicagoland Speedway and Sunday’s running of the Camping World 400, which returns to its mid-summer roots for the second year in a row after several years as the Playoff opener. The track, which joined the circuit in 2001, only hosts the CupRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After getting to enjoy a much needed week off, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is back in business with a little road course racing. This week, the series makes the trek out to California wine country to take on Sonoma Raceway, a 12-turn technical road course situated about 30 miles north of San Francisco. This week’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 consists of 90 laps, which calculates out to 226.8 miles, or 365 kilometers. Over the years, the course at Sonoma Raceway has gone through aRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor When Riverside International Raceway was shuttered following the 1988 season, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series was forced to look for another road course venue to replace it on the schedule. Officials didn’t have to look far as Sonoma Raceway, a winding 12-turn, 2.52-mile course in Northern California fit the bill and was added to the 1989 schedule with the running of the Banquet Frozen Foods 300. From the start of the weekend, the track proved treacherous, with Michael Waltrip flipping in practice and theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – The look of disappointment was written all over Alexander Rossi’s face when he emerged from his Andretti Autosport Honda Saturday night in Texas. Having just staged a thrilling battle with Josef Newgarden over the closing laps of the DXC Technology 600, Rossi looked to be in prime position to score his first win in the Lone Star State and break his streak of near-misses that have been haunting him in recent weeks, but had to settle for yet another runner-up finishRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas –Santino Ferrucci certainly hasn’t let the lack of experience on ovals slow him down this season as he scored his best career finish Saturday night in Texas with a fourth-place result. After the conclusion of the DXC Technology 600, it’s safe to say the driver of the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda, whose first race experience on ovals came last month in the Indianapolis 500, has become enamored with the high-speed tracks after his two best finishes of the season haveRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – Marcus Ericsson has been around the motorsports world on an international level for a handful of years, but when it comes to the NTT IndyCar Series, the former Formula 1 driver and current pilot of the No. 7 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Honda is still trying to get his arms around the different circuits that the series visits, ovals in particular. Saturday night’s DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway marks just the second oval race for the Swede, coming off aRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – In what’s been dubbed the “Melon Man Challenge,” Ross Chastain made his presence known in his first points paying NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race of the season, bringing home a 10th place finish Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway. “The fastest truck didn’t win tonight. We had it,” said Chastain. “It might not have showed it lap leading wise, but we had the best truck. It’s a shame that we weren’t able to capitalize. That’s all we need to doRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – Austin Hill gave his fellow NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series competitors a run for their money Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway, but ultimately didn’t see the race fall his way in the closing stages and had to settle for an eighth-place result when the checkered flag flew. “By far, that is the best truck I have had ever on a mile-and-a-half, Hill said. “Can’t thank Scott (Zipadelli, crew chief) and these guys enough. They worked their asses off in theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – Heading into NTT IndyCar Series qualifying Friday evening at Texas Motor Speedway, both oval ace Will Power and Alexander Rossi were thought to be threats for strong qualifying runs, but instead the two drivers came away disappointed with their starting positions for Saturday night’s DXC Technology 600. Power has won at Texas twice and since August 2016 has been a threat at nearly every oval, with five of his last seven wins coming on oval tracks. After putting up speeds inRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – Scott Dixon enters Saturday night’s DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway as not only the defending race winner, but also the active wins leader with three victories at the track. When he took to the track for qualifying Friday afternoon in his No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, he showed exactly why he leads the way on the 1.5-mile circuit, posting the second fastest two-lap average time at 47.0738 seconds (220.250 mph) to claim the outside pole alongside Takuma Sato.Read More