Up to Speed Tag

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
By David Morgan, Associate Editor Six to go. The countdown to the end of the regular season for the NASCAR Cup Series continues as the Tricky Triangle comes calling for Sunday’s running of the HighPoint.com 400 at Pocono Raceway. 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 banking modeled after the now-defunct Trenton Speedway, Turn 2 and itsRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor New England here we come. A week removed from a thrilling rain-shortened event in Atlanta, the NASCAR Cup Series heads back to a flat oval this weekend for Sunday’s running of the Crayon 301, as the march to the end of the regular season continues on. First joining the Cup Series circuit in 1993, the 1.058-mile oval that has progressively banked turns from two to seven degrees is one of the more difficult tracks on the schedule as the flat nature of the track makes trackRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Three races in two weeks are coming up with one experiencing an INDYCAR weekend for the first time. IMSA standout Tom Blomqvist will make his series debut as he’ll deputize for Simon Pagenaud in Meyer Shank Racing’s No. 60 Honda. Pagenaud, who had a violent tumble during practice at Mid-Ohio, isn’t medically cleared to run at Exhibition Place. Perhaps this weekend could be telling if the two-time Rolex 24 winner will soon make the jump to INDYCAR on a full-time basis in 2024 as MSR hasRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Four races at three different venues in July symbolizes INDYCAR’s unique portion of the championship trail. Each venue has its characteristics as the 27-car field will tackle a road course, a street course and finally an oval doubleheader to cap off the month. It kicks off with another INDYCAR classic venue in Mid-Ohio, where Alex Palou hopes to continue his superb campaign. Following a win at Road America, he leads his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Marcus Ericsson by 74 points. All signs could possibly lead toRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor The NASCAR Cup Series is back in Music City for the third straight year to take on Nashville Superspeedway and Sunday’s running of the Ally 400. Prior to its Cup debut in 2021, the track located on the outskirts of Nashville in Lebanon, Tennessee, was no stranger to hosting NASCAR events with both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series running there from 2001 to 2011 before the track was shuttered. The Nashville track serves as an oddity on the Cup Series schedule, aRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer A brand new era for Road America will commence this weekend as the popular, picturesque road course will have a different look compared to last year. It’ll mark the first time INDYCAR will run in Elkhart under the freshly repaved surface, similar to what they’ll encounter in the finale at Laguna Seca in September. Therefore, some unknowns heading into the eighth round of the championship trail. One driver that won’t make the trip to Wisconsin is Conor Daly, who after two-plus seasons at Ed Carpenter Racing,Read More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor The second half of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season rolls on as the West Coast comes calling this weekend, with Sonoma Raceway playing host to Sunday’s running of the Toyota/Save Mart 350. A 12-turn technical road course situated about 30 miles north of San Francisco, Sonoma is one of six road courses on the 2022 schedule, with Sonoma first joining the circuit back in 1989. Over the years, the course at Sonoma Raceway has gone through a few configuration changes. When the track was firstRead More