Up to Speed Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer After 16 grueling and intense months of competition, the championship trail ends in Monterey. Out of the 25 full-time drivers that accepted the season-long challenge at St. Petersburg in March, only five remain that have a shot of hoisting the Astor Cup this Sunday. Of those five racers, they come from two race teams in Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing. Between championship leader Will Power to fifth-place Scott McLaughlin, the gap is 41 points. It rivals the 2003 championship battle where it also had fiveRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After a wild weekend in Daytona to wrap up the regular season and set the 16-driver field for the Playoffs, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to one of the crown jewels on the circuit, Darlington Raceway, for Sunday’s running of the Cook Out Southern 500. A staple of the Cup Series since 1950, there are many elements to Darlington that make it a special track. From the egg-shape of the track that features one end narrower than the other as a result of building the trackRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series regular season is winding down, with just two races remaining to set the field for the Playoffs heading into the annual trip to upstate New York for the Go Bowling at The Glen. The Cup Series raced at Watkins Glen in 1957, 1964, and 1965 before returning to the track full-time in 1986, utilizing the “short course” layout initially, but after a series of violent crashes at the end of the long back straightaway, the track underwent changes with the additionRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer After a grueling, love-hate drama string of races, the NTT IndyCar Series had a much needed week off from the madness. Now they’re getting ready for the final three rounds of the championship trail, beginning with the final oval of 2022 at Gateway. A popular circuit amongst fans, the main headline involves the two protagonist from the crash fest at Nashville. In the closing laps, last year’s Gateway winner Josef Newgarden and the race’s media darling Romain Grosjean, tangled and it ended the latter’s afternoon. ThereRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor For the second time this season, the NASCAR Cup Series heads off to Richmond Raceway, but this time with Playoff implication on the line when the green flag flies for Sunday’s running of the Federated Auto Parts 400. After serving as a race in the first round of the Playoffs the last four years, Richmond Raceway was moved up nearly a month for the second race at the track in 2022, making it a crucial step in determining the 16-driver Playoff field. Often described as theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The end of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season is in sight with just four races remaining before the Playoff field is set. After a visit to the hallowed grounds of Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend, the series heads north to Michigan International Speedway for Sunday’s running of the Firekeepers Casino 400. With this race taking place near the home of two of the three manufacturers (Chevrolet and Ford), teams put extra emphasis on winning here for bragging rights. Especially this year with the track debutRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The NTT IndyCar Series heads back to the vibrant streets of Nashville for the second annual Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. Entering this weekend, weather is a huge concern with threatening skies all weekend. Already, the tension is there at a circuit that’ll be different from last year. Among those changes being the restart zone not being a start/finish, but driving on the Korean Veterans Memorial Bridge. The same spot where the green flag waved for the start of the 80-lap contest. The circuit willRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The final race of a busy July heads home to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for its second visit at the road course. Last time around, weather plagued the race but it certainly created excitement all across the board. Weather will be much ideal as there’s no sign of rain, but mostly sunny conditions is expected. Track conditions aside, the news going into the Gallagher Grand Prix once again focuses on the drama involving Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing. This Wednesday, the team sued their driver whoRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After hosting two races annually since the early 1980’s, Pocono Raceway downsized to just one race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule this season – Sunday’s M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400. 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 its nine-degree banking modeled afterRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The NTT IndyCar Series heads back to Iowa Speedway after being off the calendar last year. It’s back in a bigger way, all thanks to Hy-Vee’s full commitment in bringing not just fans to watch incredible action, but stout entertainment. Between musical acts, there will be two races at the 7/8-mile oval that’ll once again prove to be a crucial point in the championship trail. This weekend will mark the first set of oval races since the 106th Indianapolis 500, a race Marcus Ericsson won andRead More