All posts by David Morgan

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

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