Throwback Thursday Theater

By David Morgan, Associate Editor As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series packs up and heads west to start the West Coast Swing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, we’ll take a step back in time for today’s edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater” to the 2006 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 and the closest finish to ever occur at the 1.5-mile track. In the final race on the original configuration of the track, it looked to be another Roush-Fenway kind of day as Greg Biffle led the field to green from the poleRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor There have been great brother duos to race in NASCAR over the years, but one of the best was the combination of Bobby and Terry Labonte. Back in November 1996, the two got to showcase their talents in the season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Terry entered the race with a slim 47-point advantage over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon after finishing third at Phoenix the week prior. He had done so while nursing a broken left hand that was injured in a practice crash. WhenRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip found success at tracks of all shapes and sizes throughout his illustrious career, but one race eluded him for years on end – the Daytona 500. Coming into the 1989 running of the Great American Race, Waltrip was entering his third season with Hendrick Motorsports and had found moderate success, winning three races in the two seasons prior with the organization. Still, a marquee win at Daytona was missing from his resume and it would takeRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Though Kevin Harvick has made ISM Raceway in Phoenix his own personal playground over the last several years, the March 2016 running of the Good Sam 500 came down to a matter of inches for him to be able to continue his dominance in the desert. As the laps wound down, Harvick looked to have the win within his grasp for the eighth time on the one-mile oval, holding a decisive lead over second place Dale Earnhardt, Jr. with just six laps remaining. However, a blownRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor For the first eight years of its existence, Texas Motor Speedway had just one race weekend a year, but starting in 2005, the track was granted a second date in the playoffs and the racing at the 1.5-mile track certainly didn’t disappoint the first time out. Heading into the race, Tony Stewart led the points standings by 43 points over Jimmie Johnson, with Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, and Ryan Newman rounding out the top-five championship contenders. Newman may have won the pole, but he had toRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Since 1949, NASCAR has raced at Martinsville and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads back to the shortest track on the circuit this Sunday for the First Data 500. Before focusing on the present day and the opening race of the Round of Eight in the MENCS Playoffs, we’ll revisit the 2001 Old Dominion 500 – a race that gave NASCAR on ESPN analyst Ricky Craven his first career Cup Series win. As rain set in on the scheduled Sunday race date, the race wasRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Just days after the heart wrenching loss of Davey Allison to a helicopter crash at Talladega Superspeedway, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series returned to the 2.66-mile track for the 1993 running of the DieHard 500. Following a stirring pre-race tribute to Allison involving his family, the 43 drivers that made up the field that day strapped in for what was going to a barnburner of a race under the scorching July sun. Bill Elliott won the pole, with Ernie Irvan starting alongside for the 188-lap affair.Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The always treacherous Dover International Speedway lived up to its “Monster Mile” nickname back in May 2016, as a multi-car pileup with 45 laps to go changed the entire complexion of the race and left many of the contenders with junked race cars One of the drivers who was able to survive that lap 355 melee was Matt Kenseth, who had his hands full over the closing laps of the race, battling with Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott for the race win. Kenseth was able toRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Ryan Newman may have claimed the victory in the 2003 Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond Raceway, but the story of the night was the clash of Old School vs. New School in Ricky Rudd and Kevin Harvick that transpired in the closing laps. Before taking a dive into their incident that Saturday night in September, we have to go back in time a few years further to the 2001 running of the race, when Rudd and Harvick had their first run-in, which ended onRead More