Features

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Last July at Pocono, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was postponed to Monday wound up getting shortened by fog, leading to Chris Buescher scoring his first career win in NASCAR’s premier division. Turns out that wasn’t the first time a race at Pocono has been shortened by fog and visibility issues. The first race shortened by fog came 31 years ago in the 1986 Summer 500 at Pocono, leading to not only a shortened race, but one of the closest finishes everRead More
By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Since 1994, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series has been racing on the hallowed grounds of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the past 23 years producing some memorable moments and some that were, well, not so memorable. For this week’s edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater,” we’ll jump back to the 2002 running of the Brickyard 400 that resulted in NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott finally adding an Indianapolis win to help end his career on a high note. Between 1982 and 1994, Elliott won 41Read More
By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend for the running of the Overton’s 301, but before we look forward to Sunday’s race, we’ll take a step back in the past to the 1996 Jiffy Lube 300, a race that marked Ernie Irvan’s emotional return to victory lane. After the loss of Davey Allison in 1993, Robert Yates Racing tapped Irvan to take over the No. 28 Ford, with the team scoring five wins between the end of 1993Read More
By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer NEWTON, Iowa — For many drivers in the Mazda Road to Indy, ovals are not a type of track that gets regularly tested or raced on. In fact, in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda, there is only one oval on the 14 race schedule: Iowa Speedway. Various teams have tested on the ovals and two drivers new to ovals had a brief taste before heading to Iowa. Cape Motorsports tested series points leader Oliver Askew at Lucas Oil RacewayRead More
By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Becoming a sophomore in high school comes with a lot of responsibilities between school and other obligations, but when those obligations include a championship-caliber drive in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda, the cream rises to the top. And rise it has for Kaylen Frederick, who, at 15 years old is the youngest driver in the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires. The Maryland native drives the No. 81 Team Pelfrey Mazda in USF2000 and is currently thirdRead More
By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor While the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series has only been racing at Kentucky Speedway since 2011, both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series have been racing at the track since 2001 and 2000, respectively. With that being said, the focus of this week’s “Throwback Thursday Theater” will spotlight one of the best finishes ever at the track that happened in the Xfinity Series, the 2002 Kroger 200. With rain threatening scheduled Saturday night start of the race, the field was ableRead More
By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The 1998 Pepsi 400 was scheduled to be a monumental mark for NASCAR’s crown jewel track, Daytona International Speedway, as the track’s July 4th weekend race would be run under the lights for the very first time. However, a devastating wildfire that had swept through Central Florida around that weekend, destroying 126 homes and charring 500,000 acres, forced the race to be postponed to mid-October, making it one of the final races of the season. In addition to the race being run under the lightsRead More
By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor It’s not often that NASCAR takes away a win from a driver that crossed the finish line first. In NASCAR’s Modern Era, the sanctioning body has only taken that step twice: Back in 2008 at Talladega, when Regan Smith passed Tony Stewart below the yellow line to win and 26 years ago at Sonoma Raceway, site of this weekend’s Toyota/Save Mart 350. With that in mind, the 1991 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 and the controversial finish that ensued will be the focus of this week’sRead More
By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Entering the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan in June 2012, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had gone four long years since his last trip to victory lane, which came in the same race on Father’s Day in 2008. With the weight of the world on his shoulders and his rabid fan base willing him to victory, Earnhardt silenced the doubters with a dominating win on the two-mile oval. With a freshly repaved track greeting the drivers as they arrived at Michigan, speeds immediately began to skyrocket onRead More