All posts by Toby Christie

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Following in the footsteps of a legendary father in motorsports is good in one aspect, as it usually opens doors for you that most drivers won’t have an opportunity to open. However the downfall of carrying on a legacy is having lofty expectations from a fan base that want you to be as good as your father. Chase Elliott’s father — Bill — was one of the greatest to ever drive around Daytona International Speedway. The elder Elliott won the Daytona 500 twice (1985 and ’87)Read More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor For the past 57 years, Daytona International Speedway has relentlessly and unbiasedly chewed up and spit out thousands of racecars. A lot of times, the driver who dominated the race at this intimidating 2.5-mile track finds themselves in a sadly predictable late-race melee which nearly always happens in restrictor plate racing. Until 2017, there was no real actual silver lining for those who led the majority of the event only to be wiped from the final running order. Enter NASCAR’s new Stage Racing Format. Regardless ofRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor There were times last year during his recovery from a concussion sustained after a crash in Michigan, that Dale Earnhardt Jr. felt 90-percent sure that he would never race again. The long road back into the driver’s seat was paved literally with sweat and tears, but Earnhardt dug deep. In his doctor’s estimation, Earnhardt would be able to race again. That was the proverbial carrot dangling in front of the 14-time Most Popular Driver. “I’m not an expert.  My doctor is,” Earnhardt said Wednesday. “So whenRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor No this isn’t a recycled article from years past, there will be an all Hendrick Motorsports front row for the 2017 Daytona 500. On a week where all of the talk was about how fast the Ford and Toyota race teams were, it was Chase Elliott and Dale Earnhardt Jr. who stood above the pack when it came to single car qualifying runs for the biggest race of the year. Earnhardt, who is making his return to the sport after missing the second-half of last yearRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor He may not have a ride for the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, but Alex Bowman continues to showcase his talents in every opportunity he gets. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is usually the driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS, told his team and sponsor that Bowman deserved to run the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona — a non-points race designed to reward pole winners from the season before. Bowman won the pole in the fall race at Phoenix while fillingRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Although he doesn’t have a ride lined up for the 2017 NASCAR season, Alex Bowman looks to have a role at Hendrick Motorsports again this year. Bowman, 23, will continue running the simulator program at HMS, and if unfortunate circumstances strike any of the four Hendrick drivers this season — Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott and Kasey Kahne — Bowman should be first in line to relieve the drivers. Bowman split driving duties of the No. 88 Chevrolet with Jeff Gordon over the second-halfRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Darrell Wallace Jr. finds himself in a precarious position heading into what he hopes will be his third full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series season. Wednesday during Charlotte Media Tour, Wallace revealed that he doesn’t have a full season of sponsorship lined up for his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang. “We’re in kind of a little tight spot here,” Wallace admitted. “We’re trying to figure out the rest of the game plan, but our goal is to be at Homestead for the season finale and winRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor There were times over the past 18 years, where Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t necessarily want to be at a press conference to discuss the upcoming season. But since his rough and tumble days of being one of NASCAR’s young guns, Earnhardt has done some serious growing up. Wednesday at Charlotte Media Tour, Earnhardt explained that he is ready to get back to work after being on the shelf for an extended period of time due to a concussion sustained last season. “I’m excited to beRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor *Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Season for 24 drivers. We will release one driver preview per day over a 24-day stretch. Age: 24 Years in Cup: 3 Career Wins: 1 Biggest Accomplishment: Cup win at Michigan (2016) Expectations are a hard thing to live up to sometimes. That was the case for Kyle Larson over the first two years of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career. Although the California native showed flashes of living up to the hype heRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor In December, NASCAR announced a new entitlement sponsor for it’s “Cup” Series — Monster Energy Drink. The aesthetics of a name change wont be the only difference this upcoming season. Saturday evening, NASCAR released that there would be a press conference Monday at 6pm ET to discuss the format of races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for the upcoming year. This email, sent to every member of the press, began speculation as to what changes the sanctioning body would make to races inRead More