All posts by David Morgan

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AUSTIN, Texas – Entering the inaugural IndyCar Classic at Circuit of The Americas, it had been 10 NTT IndyCar Series races since Graham Rahal had piloted his No. 15 TOTAL Honda into the top-five, dating back to June of last year. Now that streak is broken after a fourth-place run in Sunday’s race on the 20-turn, 3.41-mile road course. Starting the day in 10th place, Rahal held steady in that position for roughly the first 10 laps of the race before climbing as high as secondRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AUSTIN, Texas – If Simon Pagenaud didn’t have bad luck in qualifying, he’d have no luck at all. After running into trouble during qualifying for the season opener at St. Petersburg that resulted in a 13th place start, the 2016 NTT IndyCar Series champion and driver of the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time once again during qualifying for Sunday’s IndyCar Classic at The Circuit of the Americas. The Frenchman was out on a flying lapRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AUSTIN, Texas –  Team Penske served notice to the rest of the paddock that it’s the team to beat this weekend for the inaugural IndyCar Classic at Circuit of The Americas. Josef Newgarden and Will Power put up the fastest times of the day to sweep Friday’s opening practice sessions. Newgarden, the 2017 NTT IndyCar Series champion and current points leader after winning the season opener at St. Petersburg two weeks ago, got things kicked off for the team in the morning session with a lap ofRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After weeks of aero package this and aero package that, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returns to some normalcy this weekend as they head to Martinsville Speedway for the first short track race of the season and Sunday’s running of the STP 500. A mainstay on the schedule since 1949, the historic half-mile, which is also the smallest on the circuit, will test both man and machine over 500 grueling laps. The track has basically one groove, meaning the only way to pass will beRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor We all know how dominant Petty Enterprises was in its heyday, as the organization captured 250+ wins over the course of its lifespan with Richard Petty, Lee Petty, and a handful of others behind the wheel, but after Petty’s final win in 1984, trips to Victory Lane would become a much rarer sight. Only three other times after that would a Petty Enterprises No. 43 car take the checkered flag and in April 1999, John Andretti would be the last driver to deliver a win forRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor If there’s one Chevrolet team that has stood out above the rest of the Bowtie Brigade in 2019, it has been the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing team piloted by Kurt Busch. Following a 25th place finish in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season opener, Busch and company have rebounded in the races since, piling up top-10 finish after top-10 finish. In Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway, it was more of the same with the elder Busch brother bringing home a sixth-placeRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor “Well, ****,” Kyle Busch exclaimed over his team radio as the laps wound down during Saturday’s NASCAR’s Xfinity Series race at Auto Club Speedway. A number of laps earlier, the 199-time NASCAR National Series winner looked to be on autopilot toward win No. 200, but a trip to pit road on lap 115 changed everything. After leading 98 laps and winning the first two stages, the penultimate caution of the race brought the field to pit road for routine service, but for the No. 18 teamRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The annual NASCAR Goes West campaign reaches the end of its three week run this weekend as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Southern California for Sunday’s running of the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway. Built on the site of an old steel mill featured in the movie “Terminator”, the two-mile oval has been a part of the NASCAR schedule since opening in 1997. During its 20+ years on the circuit, the track has gone through ownership changes, as well as expandingRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Racing at Auto Club Speedway has had its ups and downs over the years, but the annual trek to California in 2013 became one of the best races in the track’s history. Due to the worn out track surface, drivers were racing from the very bottom of the track all the way to the outside wall, creating three and four wide racing throughout the event, especially on restarts. All just an appetizer for the main event at the end of the race. With the race windingRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Kyle Busch seemed to be unstoppable en route to the win Sunday at ISM Raceway, but Ryan Blaney sure put up a hell of a fight in an effort to give Team Penske a victory sweep on the day. “We’ve been poised to have days like this, contend for wins and run top 5 it just hasn’t happened this year,” said Blaney.  “We haven’t gotten the finishes we deserved and this is more like it, so that was good.  This is a good place to startRead More