Mark Martin Tag

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 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 On a normal day, Andy Lally can be found driving his No. 93 Acura in the GT Daytona division of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, but from time to time the New York native takes a break from his full-time sports car efforts to try his hand at NASCAR. The road course specialist was called upon once again for this year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Mid-Ohio and Lally did not disappoint, turning in a top-five finish when the checkered flag waved on the Mid-OhioRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Racing at Michigan International Speedway often comes down to fuel mileage on the fast, two-mile oval, especially with long green flag runs and a scarcity of caution flags to slow the race pace down. In this week’s “Throwback Thursday Theater,” we’ll look back at one of those races that saw the lead swap three times over the last six laps when the leaders fuel tanks began to run dry. Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch would lead the field to green in the 2009 LifeLock 400,Read 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 1998 Pocono 500 was a big day for Owensboro, Kentucky with not one, but two of their native sons in the field at the Tricky Triangle an in contention for the win. When the checkered flag flew, Jeremy Mayfield would come out on top, while his boyhood idol and fellow Owensboro native, Darrell Waltrip, continued a career resurgence by coming away with the final top-10 finish of his career after battling for the win with Mayfield. The 200 lap race would get off toRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor 1997 Miller 500 – Dover Downs International Speedway For the first 55 races held at Dover from 1969 to 1997, the “Monster Mile” had been a 500-mile affair with attrition being the name of the game, but starting with the fall race in 1997 the race length was shortened to 400 miles, leaving one last 500 mile hurrah in June of that year that certainly did not disappoint. Starting on pole, Bobby Labonte took command of the race for the first 30 laps before disasterRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor These days Jimmie Johnson is considered one of the greatest of all-time with seven championships and 80 wins to his name, but there was a time when the California native was a fresh faced rookie just looking to make a mark on the sport. As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Auto Club Speedway this weekend, we’ll take a look back at the 2002 NAPA 500 in this week’s “Throwback Thursday Theater”, where Johnson scored the first of his many wins. Johnson signedRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series gets set to begin its West Coast swing in Las Vegas this weekend with the running of the Kobalt 400, it’s time once again to venture into the past in this week’s edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater”. This week we take it all the way back to 1998 and the inaugural NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on the 1.5 mile speedway. Fans in that area of the country were ready for some NASCAR action in their hometownRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Heading into the 59th running of the Daytona 500 this Sunday, it’s time again for another edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater,” in which we’ll take a look back at a race from Daytona’s past. This week’s edition features one of the greatest upsets ever in the “Great American Race” – the 1990 Daytona 500, which saw underdog Derrike Cope pull off the win after a dominant day from Dale Earnhardt went awry with half a lap to go. Earnhardt claimed a front row starting spotRead More