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By Luis Torres, Staff Writer As a person who’s watched the Verizon IndyCar Series on a regular basis since 2007, I’ve always wondered what my INDYCAR experience would be like. This past weekend at Portland International Raceway, I had the privilege of covering the series return in the Pacific Northwest, but it also brought some flashbacks of my days at the University of Idaho. Compared to my first NASCAR race as a credentialed media member at Sonoma Raceway in June, my first-ever INDYCAR experience was like jumping into a big pound,Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Fans can always expect a blurred line of clean or dirty racing on the final lap, especially in the treacherous Turn 10, of just about every trip the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park has made since 2013. In all but two finishes, especially the last three editions, fans have been mostly outraged on the outcomes, including myself. Noah Gragson simply ran into his Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate Todd Gilliland, and snatched him of a maiden series win. Worse of all,Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer For 54 years, ABC was the main television home for IndyCar coverage, including the Indianapolis 500. During their roller coaster run, open wheel fans witnessed the good, the bad, and the ugly side of racing, and its television coverage. However, that chapter is, for the lack of a better phrase; finally over and how it bid farewell on June 2nd was callous. Knowing the second dual of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix ran past its allotted time, and local news, along with Game two ofRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Seven rounds have been completed, and all the pre-season predictions has either been spot on or have completely missed the mark. Some teams are either producing expected results like Ferrari and Mercedes while others are struggling to find sheer consistency, notably Force India’s bid of retaining the “Best of the Rest” title known as fourth in the Constructor’s Championship. In this first installment of “Heptagon Viewpoints,” I’ll highlight seven takeaways as the Formula One season has reached the one-third mark. The Emergence of Charles LeclercRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The fascinating and cruel nature of Bump Day reignited the debate of whether it’s a good idea having cars failing to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 compete. It’s simple, if they’re not fast enough or didn’t make the gun, they’re out. Two drivers’ aspirations of drinking the glass of milk and their heads engraved on the Borg-Warner Trophy were dashed Saturday as the charitable lass Pippa Mann and arguably, the face of IndyCar, James Hinchcliffe didn’t make the 33-car grid. Mann was bumped and didn’tRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Let’s face it, we all have mixed opinions about the Halo in Formula 1. Some understand it’s for the sake of safety, and the drivers wanted something to be done for head protection after notable incidents that’s ended seasons, and even a driver’s life. Others utterly despise the new look, and wish there was a different approach of protecting a driver, like the canopy NHRA Top Fuel drivers use. After opening day of free practice for the Rolex Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne, I sawRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer When NASCAR fans think of who’s the greatest crew chief of all-time, more often than not, you’ll hear the names of Hall of Famers Ray Evernham and Dale Inman. How about the 1980s? Tim Brewer, Jeff Hammond and Gary Nelson pop into fans heads, but one that’s been ignored lately is Kirk Shelmerdine. The NASCAR Hall of Fame announced its latest nominees for the Class of 2019 on Tuesday and Shelmerdine, alongside Harry Gant, Jeff Gordon, John Holman and Ralph Moody are the newest nominees.Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Restrictor plate racing is a strategic game, requiring critical thinking to make the right moves. A few days removed from Sunday’s Daytona 500 and it has dawned on me how frustrating this current era of racing has become. What happened to the word patience? The days of strategizing your move without causing a junkyard is gone. Part of this has to do with three things — stage racing, the demand of winning the Great American Race at an all-time high, or just a generational problem.Read 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