Throwback Thursday Theater

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Ahead of this weekend’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway that will see one of four drivers walk away with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship trophy, we’ll take a step back to 2004 and the first year of the Chase format, along with the drama that played out in the season finale to deliver Kurt Busch with his first Cup championship. With Sprint/Nextel taking over the series title sponsorship from Winston at the end of the 2003 season, a new championship format was introduced, calledRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor It takes a lot to get Jeff Gordon riled up, but when the Cup Series visited Phoenix in November 2012, the four-time series champion had decided he’d had enough. Gordon and Clint Bowyer had been embroiled in a feud stemming from contact at Martinsville earlier in the year and with the season winding to a close, contact between the two at Phoenix just sent the Hendrick Motorsports driver over the edge. As the two were battling for a spot in the top-five with less thanRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series drivers get back to work this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, it’s time once again for “Throwback Thursday Theater”. In this week’s edition and in honor of his final trip to the Lone Star State, we look back at the first wins for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in both series, which both came at Texas in 1998 and 2000. Through the first six races of Earnhardt’s rookie season in the Xfinity Series in 1998, Earnhardt had reboundedRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor “They touch once! Twice! Drag race! Jimmie Johnson!” When looking back at memorable moments at Martinsville Speedway, the duel between Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon in the spring of 2007 is often near the top of the list. The race, which featured the much maligned Car of Tomorrow in only its second outing, would turn into a Chevrolet showcase with the four drivers that dominated the race all driving a car with a bowtie on the grill. Dale Earnhardt, Jr, Denny Hamlin,Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The 2001 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season started off with profound loss, but also ushered in an era of unprecedented growth for the series as they made their way to new markets and new tracks later in the year. One of those new tracks/markets was Kansas Speedway, a 1.5-mile intermediate oval just outside of Kansas City that would make its debut in September 2001. Jason Leffler and points leader Jeff Gordon would start on the front row, but it wouldn’t take long for thingsRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor As Dale Earnhardt, Jr’s full-time career in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series continues to wind down, this weekend, he heads to Talladega Superspeedway – the track he has been the most productive at – for the final time. With Sunday’s Alabama 500 being his last ride around the 2.66 mile facility, this week’s “Throwback Thursday Theater” takes a look back at his triumphant Talladega moments over the years. 2001 EA Sports 500 – October 21, 2001 After winning at Daytona earlier in the yearRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The Fall race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is often overshadowed by the Coca-Cola 600 and the All-Star Race, but there have been a few occasions when the second race date at the track provides a memorable finish. The 1972 National 500 was one of those races. David Pearson would put his Wood Brothers Mercury on the pole, with Buddy Baker joining him on the front row. In what would be the final race that the Wood Brothers entered two cars, A.J. Foyt qualified third, followedRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Dover International Speedway has always been a treacherous track since its inception in 1969, but the “Monster Mile” really earned its nickname when the asphalt surface was converted over to concrete in 1995, making Dover the first concrete track on the circuit and really giving “Miles the Monster” some teeth. Our Dover edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater” will focus on that first race on the concrete surface – the 1995 Miller Genuine Draft 500. The new concrete surface brought worries about the tires being ableRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The pressure that comes with competing for the championship in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is immense for the drivers that make the cut into the postseason to be one of the few to have a shot at the title and sometimes that pressure can be too much to bear. In the 2005 Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, tempers flaring among the drivers, those in the playoffs and on the outside looking in, nearly overshadowed a stellar finish between Ryan NewmanRead More