Michael Moats – Inside Circle Track

Articles posted by Michael Moats

Chad Finchum looking for fresh start

Chad Finchum is no different than hundreds of other race car drivers across the country – looking to make it in NASCAR. The Knoxville, Tennessee native hopes his new opportunity will lead to bigger and better things in NASCAR. Finchum announced earlier this week he will be driving in three races for SS Greenlight Racing in the Xfinity series. Finchum will compete next weekend at Darlington plus races at Bristol Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway. Finchum’s career started out promising. After winning the K&N East race at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2016, then car owner Eric McClure helped him get…

Pump the brakes on the NextGen car

NASCAR unveiled the much-anticipated NextGen car Wednesday afternoon. The new generation of Cup car is set to replace the current generation in 2022. Most of the comments have been positive following the unveiling of the new car. But before fans and media members shower tons of praise on the new car, the bottom line is whether the NextGen car is a good race car. Meaning, will the car produce competitive racing once it takes the track? In the looks department, the Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang, and Toyota Camry editions of the NextGen cars are the closest thing a Cup car…

Oh so close, Hamlin spoils upset bid for Bristol win

The unthinkable nearly happened at Bristol Motor Speedway Saturday night. A driver, who was informed he was losing his ride, almost picked up his first career win in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. Instead, Denny Hamlin spoiled the party to pick up the win. Matt DiBenedetto was informed earlier in the week he would no longer be the driver of the #95 Levine Family Racing Toyota for the 2020 season. Since the team has an affiliation with Joe Gibbs Racing, rumors persisted for weeks that DiBenedetto was in danger of losing his ride to either Christopher Bell or…

Looking at the 2019 Cup season at the All-Star break

The NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series has reach its traditional All-Star break in the schedule. The break is a time for the teams evaluate where they are at this point of the season. There have been some interesting story lines and surprises as the Coca-Cola 600 approaches this weekend. The main story of the 2018 season was the “Big 3”, how Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr. were winning nearly all of the races. As the playoffs approached, the “Big 3” weren’t winning as much and it was Joey Logano that knocked off all three in the finale…

Kyle Busch rallies from early accident to win Food City 500

Kyle Busch is typically the favorite to win at Bristol. Heading into Sunday’s Food City 500, Busch had won 7 times at the half-mile in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. An eighth victory looked to be in doubt when Busch was tagged from behind on a lap 2 incident. Chase Elliott dominated the early stages of the race. The pole sitter was comfortably in charge until a lapped car made contact with Elliott that resulted in a flat tire and a spin. Elliott was so far ahead he was in 5th place when the caution waved. But Elliott would…

Welcome to Inside Circle Track

Welcome to the new Inside Circle Track site. This site is dedicated to NASCAR racing in the Cup, Xfinity, and Truck series’. Started by Richard Allen and Michael Moats of Inside Dirt Racing, the site will bring news, features, blogs, and more from the world of NASCAR and select short track events. Thank you for checking us out and check back often as we get started adding new content.