Mark Armijo, Senior Correspondent
Mark Armijo is a veteran, award-winning sports journalist who worked for The Arizona Republic from 1980-2007 and covered motorsports for more than 20 years. Mark and his wife, Kellie, live in Gilbert, Arizona.
Articles by Mark Armijo
By Mark Armijo | Senior Correspondent
RacinToday.com
Trevor Bayne, say hello to Derrike Cope.
Bayne, 20, motored to an improbable win Sunday in the Daytona 500 in only his second NACAR Sprint Cup Series start, a stunning performance that Cope likely can relate to.
Remember 1990? Remember when Dale Earnhardt suffered a cut tire in Turn 3 while in [...]
Phoenix, Ariz. – Like so much of the country left shivering from yet another cold snap thanks to Old Man Winter, Joey Logano also was greeted by Ice Station Zebra temperatures Wednesday in the desert Southwest.
“Brrrr, I thought I was going to be able to wear just a T-shirt when I got here,” said Logano, [...]
By Mark Armijo | Senior Correspondent
RacinToday.com
Phoenix, Ariz. – Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Jimmie Johnson.
Who?
Johnson.
Swell.
Johnson emerged from the shadows of the off-season last weekend at Daytona International Speedway, looking as determined as ever when taking part in a three-day test session in preparation for the upcoming Grand-Am Rolex 24.
The Johnson sighting, which continued Wednesday in a Phoenix International [...]
Yes, we know. Jimmie Johnson continues to perform in crunch time just as smoothly as an ex-NBA superstar with the initials MJ used to do for umpteen years for the Chicago Bulls.
All of sport’s greats are like that. Somehow, some way, they always seem to know how to come through when it counts most. Remember [...]
Phoenix, Ariz. – Mirror, mirror on the wall, who will win this NASCAR Chase free-for-all?
Denny Hamlin, who has overcome early season knee surgery to collar a series-high eight wins and the lead in the standings entering the final two stops on the schedule beginning with Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500k at Phoenix International Raceway?
Jimmie Johnson, the [...]
By Mark Armijo | Senior Correspondent
RacinToday.com
Avondale, Ariz. – Oh, that Brad Keselowski. For a NASCAR Sprint Cup newbie, he sure knows how to attract a headline.
Only 23 races into his Cup career, which continues Saturday in the Subway Fresh Fit 600 (375 laps) at Phoenix International Raceway, Keselowski already seems to have made more than [...]
By Mark Armijo | Senior Correspondent
RacinToday.com
Avondale, Ariz. – Greetings from Phoenix International Raceway, where drivers and fans likely will need a scorecard to keep up with all the changes surrounding Saturday’s Subway Fresh Fit 600.
First, the race distance has increased since last year’s race, up 63 laps from 312 (502.1 kilometers) to 375 (603.5 kilometers).
Secondly, [...]
Phoenix, Ariz. – That was no mirage Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. That really was Jeff Gordon riding around the slick, 1.5-mile oval as if he owned the place.
You remember Gordon, don’t you? Four NASCAR Sprint Cup championships. No. 6 on the all-time list with 82 wins.
So where’s he been?
Well, where he was Sunday [...]
By Mark Armijo | Senior Correspondent
RacinToday.com
Chandler, Ariz. – Death again showed its ugly head Sunday when a woman attending the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway was killed by debris from a horrible crash involving NHRA Top Fuel driver Antron Brown.
The woman was struck by a tire and transported to Good Samaritan Medical Center, [...]
By Mark Armijo | Senior Correspondent
RacinToday.com
Chandler, Ariz. – When Cory McClenathan looks in the mirror, he doesn’t see Mark Martin. But maybe he should.
Aside from the machinery they drive, McClenathan and Martin share strikingly similar careers, and woes.
Like Martin, a fan favorite and one of the most respected drivers in the NASCAR garage, McClenathan is [...]