Throwback Thursday Theater

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor In the spring of 2016, Carl Edwards entered Richmond looking for his second win in a row, while his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Kyle Busch, was looking for his third win in the last four races. By the time all was said and done, the win would come down to those two drivers. Taking the lead from Edwards with 35 laps to go, Busch looked to have a clear path to victory on the 0.75-mile oval, but as his tires began to give up overRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor When it comes to dark moments in NASCAR history, the April 1993 weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway ranks right up near the top. With the tragedy of losing Alan Kulwicki far too soon reaching its 25th anniversary this year, we look back at the weekend that was at the World’s Fastest Half-Mile. Kulwicki was on top of the world after the 1992 season, having beaten the odds to hoist the NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship trophy following a thrilling season finale. As both the ownerRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Through the first decade of racing at Texas Motor Speedway, there had not been a repeat winner, with 12 different drivers taking home the patented six-shooters and cowboy hat from victory lane, but when the Cup Series rolled into the Lone Star State in April 2007, that was all about to change. Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton would lead the field to green, with Gordon dominating the first 153 laps of the race, leading 146 of them. On lap 154, a new contender emerged inRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor In his 29 previous starts at Martinsville, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had come so close, so many times on capturing that elusive grandfather clock trophy. But in the 2014 Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500, the stars aligned for NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver, as he finally scored a win on the half-mile bullring that is Martinsville Speedway. Starting 23rd, Earnhardt first made his way to the lead on lap 192 for a 13 lap stint before being overtaken Matt Kenseth for one lap and then returned toRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor With the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rolling into Southern California this weekend for the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway, the time has come again to dive into the past at the two-mile oval in this week’s edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater”. This week, with Kevin Harvick on a hot streak, winning the last three races in a row, we look back at the 2011 running of the Auto Club 400 and the fantastic finish between two California natives, Harvick and Jimmie Johnson.Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor This weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads into Phoenix for the second race of the West Coast swing. In this week’s edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater”, we take a look back to the race that started it all in the Valley of the Sun, the 1988 Checker 500. As the series headed into Phoenix in November of 1988, Bill Elliott and Rusty Wallace were locked in a championship battle that had seen Wallace gaining on Elliott’s lead over the last quarter of theRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Las Vegas is a city built on gamblers, so a bit of gambling would only be natural when NASCAR rolled into town back in March 2014. Except this time, the gamble didn’t quite work out for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. as his fuel tank ran dry a half a lap from the finish, allowing Brad Keselowski to streak by for the win. “Sorry buddy, I tried,” Earnhardt’s crew chief Steve Letarte said over the team radio. “Good job, man,” Earnhardt replied. “That’s a tough loss there.Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The start of the 2001 season started off with a dark cloud hanging over the sport following the death of Dale Earnhardt in the Daytona 500, but as the series rolled into Atlanta, little did they know that the healing would start just 500 miles later. Kevin Harvick, who had taken over the seat left vacant by Earnhardt at Richard Childress Racing following his passing, was making his third start of his Cup Series career in the renumbered white No. 29 car and it did notRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor As we head into the 60th running of the Daytona 500 this coming Sunday, we pause to take a look back on this “Throwback Thursday” at one of the most memorable Daytona 500’s in history, the 1998 Daytona 500. For 20 years, Dale Earnhardt had come to Daytona International Speedway to capture glory in the “Great American Race” only to suffer defeat in every way possible. Earnhardt had won nearly every other event held at the famous 2.5 mile superspeedway, but the Daytona 500 stillRead More