Matt McLaughlin

Welcome loyal readers to the last regularly scheduled 2020 function for Club 61; to whit, my last weekly column for 2020. In honor of the momentousness of the occasion, I have decided not to submit this week’s effort in crayon. Club 61 isn’t a place. It’s a statistical anomaly that …

To quote Charles Dickens; “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season …

I’ve been alive 61 years now and writing about stock car racing for the last 25 of them. I don’t know why I still get surprised late every autumn when the same changes occur. The days get shorter and the nights get colder. The passing of days and weeks and …

Dear Mr. Michael Jordan, Firstly, welcome to the sport of NASCAR racing as a team owner. I am genuinely thrilled to have a person of your stature and instant name recognition decide to throw your lot in with us. I understand you’ve been a fan of stock car racing since …

Last week, in a rare two-part column, we looked at the changes to the Cup schedule that lie ahead in 2021. Arguably the most notable “readjustments” to that schedule were the tracks at Kentucky and Chicagoland losing their sole Cup dates.  While snagging a Cup date (which was notoriously difficult …

Yesterday (March 5), I hit on the major changes that were made to the schedule for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule and detailed the first part of the season. Today, we complete that journey and break down the rest of the changes being made. All told, there are six …

Last Wednesday (Sept. 30) NASCAR finally released the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. There had been rumors all summer that the new schedule would bring about some major change to the slate of races next year, and boy it did all of that and then some.  Not unexpectedly, the Daytona …

Something remarkable happened a couple weeks ago during the Bristol Cup race. As such, I feel compelled to remark upon it since I am able.  Tyler Reddick finished fourth that evening. Chris Buescher finished eighth. Ryan Preece finished ninth, his best Cup finish to date this year. Michael McDowell left …

It’s that time of year again. Overnight, four NASCAR Cup Series drivers were eliminated from the Round of 16 championship-eligible drivers down to the Round of 12. Somehow the indifferent old sun did what it always does and went ahead and rose Sunday morning. My guess is that it will …

Typically this time of year, things are quiet on the NASCAR news front as the sport and the country slowly begin emerging from the summer doldrums. As the long hot August summer afternoons give way to the earlier sunsets of September, leaves changing color and occasional morning chills punctuated by …