Up to Speed Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Two races in two days. Double the fun. Pocono Raceway will host a doubleheader weekend for the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend, with the running of the Pocono Organics 325 on Saturday afternoon, followed by the Pocono 350 a day later on Sunday afternoon. With only three turns, instead of the four turns at all other ovals on the circuit, Pocono is definitely one of the most unique tracks on the schedule. The three turns all have differing banking with Turn 1 and its 14-degree bankingRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor When the NASCAR Cup Series rolls into Talladega this weekend for the GEICO 500, it will be a bit of a throwback to the days when the 2.66-mile superspeedway was a mainstay on the summer schedule. Originally scheduled for late April, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the race to June and the heat of the Alabama summer. Since opening its doors in 1969, Talladega has been a wild card on the schedule with the unpredictable nature of superspeedway racing on full display over the past half-century,Read More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor For nearly two decades, Homestead-Miami Speedway has been intertwined with championship weekend, but for the first time since 2002, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to South Florida without a title on the line as it prepares for Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400. In addition to the different environment that the drivers will face on the variable banked 1.5-mile oval without the pomp and circumstance of championship weekend, they will also have to deal with a complete 180 when it comes to the weather and how the trackRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor Mid-week racing is back on the docket tonight as the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Martinsville for a short track showdown under the lights in the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500. A mainstay on the schedule since 1949, the historic half-mile, which is also the smallest on the circuit, will test both man and machine over 500 grueling laps. This go around will be an even bigger test than normal. No practice, no qualifying, just line up and turn ‘em loose. Since being announced last year,Read More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor Back in mid-March, NASCAR found itself heading into Atlanta for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 when the COVID-19 pandemic started to take hold across the sports world and the race weekend was postponed. Fast forward to this weekend and the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the epicenter of where it all began for another shot at the 1.5-mile quad-oval. With a track surface that is old and worn, having not been repaved since its reconfiguration in 1997, Atlanta always gets rave reviews from drivers whoRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Let’s try this again shall we! The now eighth-month wait for NTT IndyCar Series action will finally come to an end this weekend as 24 daring drivers are ready to hit the demanding oval of Texas Motor Speedway June 6 after COVID-19 delayed the start of the season. Not only the race will be on big boy NBC but will finally kick-off the Penske Era for INDYCAR and the much anticipated Aeroscreen kit at full song. Despite not having fans at the 1.5-mile oval, there’ll beRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor NASCAR’s comeback tour rolls on this weekend as the Cup Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for Sunday’s running of the Supermarket Heroes 500. The track, which carries the “Last Great Colosseum” moniker, always brings out the excitement from fans and competitors alike as packing 40 cars into the half-mile high banked bullring can only be explained by the phrase “flying fighter jets in a gymnasium”, which is more accurate than it would seem. Drivers race two and sometimes three-wide throughout the event and when troubleRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor After a successful week to reopen the 2020 season at Darlington, the NASCAR Cup Series heads back to home base at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 61st running of the Coca-Cola 600. Sunday should have been a day full of racing with the Formula 1 race at Monaco and the Indianapolis 500 preceding Sunday night’s race, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, only NASCAR will be in the spotlight, with both qualifying (2:00 pm ET) and the race (6:00 pm ET) taking place in oneRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The nearly six-month wait for NTT IndyCar Series action will finally come to an end this weekend as 26 daring drivers are ready to hit the revered streets of St. Petersburg for the 17th renewal of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg March 15. It’s the first season of Roger Penske’s empire taking control of INDYCAR and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but Sunday will also mark the end of an era for one nation. Brazil, a country that’s won five Indy car championships with Gil deRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor The NASCAR Cup Series has been setting up shop on the West Coast for the past two weeks and this Sunday, the series will finish up its tour of the Southwestern United States with a trip to Phoenix Raceway and the FanShield 500. In a preview of November’s championship race, Sunday’s race on the one-mile oval in the Arizona desert, which made its debut on the Cup Series schedule in 1988, will be the first big test of the new short track/road course aero package thatRead More