Opinion Category

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Have the Can-Am Duels at Daytona outlived their usefulness? The evidence certainly seems to point that way. Since the outset of the Daytona 500, qualifying for the biggest race of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season has been a mix of single car qualifying for the front row and qualifying races to set the remainder of the field. In seasons past, with more cars entered than the field allowed, the two qualifying races held the Thursday before the 500 have been full of dramaRead More
By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer After Saturday night’s chaotic season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway, it will be two months before we see the ARCA Racing Series fire the engines for the second race of the 2018 season at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville. It’s completely understandable why the series wants to open the schedule on the high-banks of storied Daytona. Not only does it provide valuable experience for a series that helps develop young drivers looking to break into the top three series of NASCAR, it provides valuable exposure for theRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Saturday’s Lucas Oil 200 at Daytona International Speedway has as diverse a field as the ARCA Racing Series has seen in a long time. The race marks the first time ARCA will use composite bodies at a restrictor plate track, giving a fair playing field for all 39 drivers who’ll accept the 80-lap grind. The historic field consists of long-time veterans, a Navy Academy grad, female teammates and young guns in top budget teams. Let’s begin with Venturini Motorsports teammates Natalie Decker and Leilani Münter.Read More
By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer The 2018 editions of the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hours were polar opposites of each other. The Rolex 24 had only four cautions and because of that, the winner of the second class of cars broke the long standing distance record set by the overall winners in 1982. The Bathurst 12 Hours had so many cautions earlier in the race that broadcasters debated on whether the race would set a record for the shortest distance covered. The Rolex 24 had twoRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer A week removed from the annual NASCAR Media Tour, the buzz around media tabloids wasn’t about Speedweeks or season expectations, but drivers being vocal about NASCAR’s promotion towards the future as the sport enters its 70th season without a strong media darling like Dale Earnhardt, Jr. The first wave of the “Young Gun Movement” from the early 2000s are now the established veterans who are carrying the sport, but we’re seeing a promotional shift favoring the second movement with drivers Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, WilliamRead More
By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — The 2018 edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona is upon us and with 50 cars entered it is one of the more talent-filled rosters in the race’s history. Let’s make some predictions about Winners, losers and everything in between. Overall winner: No. 7 Acura Team Penske Team Penske has a stacked lineup with Helio Castroneves, Ricky Taylor and Graham Rahal behind the wheel. All three have extensive racing experience and know how to bring a car home in one piece. ThisRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Premium Motorsports acquired its biggest asset in team history Monday. Danica Patrick will pilot the No. 7 GoDaddy Chevrolet for her final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start in the 60th Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 18. The Jay Robinson owned operation went all in on making their 500 effort its best yet with Richard Childress Racing supplying ECR Engines for Robinson and pairing Patrick with Tony Eury, Jr. as her crew chief. Danica won’t have to worry about racing her wayRead More
By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Now that the 2017 NASCAR season is complete and the year is drawing to a close, we’ll take this opportunity to take a look back at the year that was. Up on the docket today, we finish off the 10 most memorable moments of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Jimmie Johnson Ties Cale Yarbrough Despite his late season struggles, Jimmie Johnson was on fire in the first half of the year, capturing three wins early on. His third win of the year cameRead More
By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Now that the 2017 NASCAR season is complete and the year is drawing to a close, we’ll take this opportunity to take a look back at the year that was. Today, we’ll tackle Part One of the 10 most memorable moments of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Calls it a Career After 18 seasons behind the wheel in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. hung up his helmet at the end of the 2017 season, retiring fromRead More
By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Editor’s note: This is the second of a four-part series focusing on why each of the Championship Four will end Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title in hand. Martin Truex, Jr. enters Sunday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway as the championship favorite, but there’s more to it than just his on track accolades this season. Heading into the final race of the season, Truex is enjoying the best year of his career, with seven wins (half of hisRead More