Up to Speed Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – The Lone Star State comes calling this weekend when the NASCAR Cup Series rolls into Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s running of the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400. Texas first joined the circuit in 1997, but back in 2017 went through a reconfiguration, dropping the banking in Turns 1 and 2 from 24 degrees to 20 degrees, as well as widening the racing surface from 60 feet to 80 feet. Meanwhile, Turns 3 and 4 remain banked at 24 degrees and 60 feetRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After a long six-month offseason, the NTT IndyCar Series is back in action for the 2024 campaign, beginning with Sunday’s running of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. As the home of the IndyCar season opener, the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit along the waterfront in St. Petersburg, Florida, including the runway of the Albert Whitted Airport has provided an exciting venue to kick off the season and the 2024 edition should be another action-packed chapter. The on-track activity begins with practice on Friday afternoon atRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After a drenching weekend in Daytona, the NASCAR Cup Series sticks around on the East Coast as it heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the second superspeedway race of the season – Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400. Atlanta’s aging racing surface, which had been in place since 1997, held together as long as possible, but the 260 laps around the 1.5-mile track in July 2021 were the last on that particular surface as the track underwent a repave and reconfiguration for the 2022 season. The 24-degree bankingRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. –The start of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series is officially here and with it comes the biggest race of the season – the Daytona 500. For 66 years, drivers have been making the pilgrimage to the Daytona high banks to win the sport’s most prestigious race and write themselves into the record book as Daytona 500 champion. Many have attempted it, but only a select few have been able to hoist the Harley J. Earl trophy in victory lane at the end ofRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The wait is over. The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off this weekend with the annual Busch Light Clash exhibition race. After being held at Daytona International Speedway as the opening salvo to Speedweeks throughout its existence, the race moved away from the birthplace of NASCAR out to the West Coast in 2022, into the confines of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. For the third year in a row, the purpose-built quarter-mile track plays host to NASCAR’s premier division and will give all of theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Ore. – Over the next two weekends, two Chip Ganassi Racing drivers will duking it out for the Astor Cup. But only one will hoist the trophy as Alex Palou and Scott Dixon are separated by 74 points heading into Portland International Raceway. Both men are poised in bringing CGR its 15th American Open Wheel Racing championship. However, should Palou exit Portland with a 55-point lead, he’ll win his second INDYCAR title in three years. To put it into perspective, no driver has locked upRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR Cup Series regular season comes to an end right where it all began back in February as Daytona International Speedway is set to host Saturday night’s running of the Coke Zero Sugar 400. While there is the battle for the race trophy, a much bigger prize is on the line for those that have yet to lock themselves into the Playoffs. Just one spot remains up for grabs, with Bubba Wallace currently holding onto the 16th and final Playoff berthRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The final oval race of the season could also be championship Sunday as Gateway has a slew of storylines, ranging from silly season to potential history being made. Championship leader Alex Palou, who is currently dealing with drama behind the scenes with his contract, has a 101-point lead over Scott Dixon and an additional four points over Josef Newgarden. With three rounds remaining, Scott McLaughlin, Pato O’Ward and Marcus Ericsson are also in the hunt for the championship. Thus, six drivers mathematically have a chance ofRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – It’s that time of the year again, when NASCAR invades open wheel territory for a weekend at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. For the third year in a row, the Cup Series will be joining their counterparts from the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NTT IndyCar Series in running on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile infield road course in what will be an action-filled tripleheader weekend, culminating in Sunday’s Verizon 200. In the two races on the road course, carnage has ensued, but NASCAR is hoping toRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The city of Nashville is a whole different vibe and it’ll be that way for the foreseeable future. Due to the planned renovations at Nissan Stadium, this weekend will be the last Music City Grand Prix within stadium grounds. The race will soldier on a different street location with the rumor mill suggesting that beginning in 2024, INDYCAR’s finale will be near Lower Broadway in Nashville. For now, all eyes are on surviving the hellacious madness the street course provides as both previous races were marredRead More