When Morgan Wiebe walked into the Country 88 studio wearing a full NASCAR championship jacket, it briefly felt like a seven time Cup Series champion had wandered into Winkler by mistake.
“Whenever you come into the Country 88 studio, you always have to come ready,” Wiebe laughed, fully aware that his Jimmy Johnson style jacket was about to steal the show.
It turns out the jacket has a story too. “This is what they sold for championship gear,” Wiebe explained. “After he won all his titles, they kept releasing these jackets, and I was lucky enough to get one for Christmas from a family friend way back in like 2010.”
For Wiebe, NASCAR is not a casual interest. It is a full blown passion that shows up in his wardrobe, his conversations and his YouTube channel, Morgan Wiebe Racing, where he breaks down races, drivers and the beautiful chaos of stock car racing.
A childhood fueled by the blue car
Born in 1998, Wiebe was still a kid when Jimmie Johnson was stacking championships in the mid to late 2000s.
“It was a great childhood, but yes, very young still,” he said. “I think I was like eight.”
Asked how he got hooked, Wiebe traced it back to one unmistakable detail. “That guy, basically,” he said, referring to Johnson. “Just happened to find it one day. Not really sure how. But it was the blue car as a kid. Colors mean a lot. A lot.”
It was not a deeply rooted family tradition either. “My dad to an extent, but not nearly to the extent that I do,” Wiebe said. The obsession grew naturally, one race at a time.
Why NASCAR Is not just cars turning left
For people who dismiss NASCAR as repetitive or simple, Wiebe has a ready made pitch.
“It’s probably the fact that it is the best way to describe it is forty sided chess, but no one takes turns, and if you touch pieces, it’s going to be chaos,” he said.
He compares the intensity to a feeling most drivers know all too well. “You drive down the highway when everyone’s out there and everyone wants to go home. You tell me that doesn’t. That’s about the closest feeling as most of us are going to get.”
As Wiebe puts it plainly, “It is chaos, but it is beautiful chaos.”
Some of the cars at trucks at the Kansas Speedway
Watching every lap, every week
Calling Wiebe a casual fan would be wildly inaccurate.
“Basically, yeah,” he said when asked if he watches every NASCAR race.
That means nearly the entire schedule. “Including non points races, you’re looking at about 38,” he said. “Points races are 36.”
That level of commitment has turned him into the go to NASCAR voice among friends and coworkers, especially when longtime stars like Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson stepped away.
The new era of NASCAR simplified
Wiebe is quick to point out that NASCAR today looks very different than it did even a decade ago.
“They’ve got a brand new race car over the last couple of years,” he explained. “It’s got a lot of new bells and whistles. It’s no longer like an H pattern shifter. It’s a sequential shifter, so it makes it easier to shift.”
The biggest change might be how equal the cars have become. “Every car pretty much is built to the same spec,” Wiebe said. “They really try to put an emphasis on driver skill.”
That shift has caused some friction. “It’s been met with some controversy because racers really want to have control over their race cars,” he added. “They kind of want to tweak and push the limit just a tad on what’s legal.”
Morgan even got to sign the wall at The Kansas Speedway
New stars and familiar last names
While legends have retired, the sport has not run out of personality or talent.
“It’s a lot of second generation, some third generation guys,” Wiebe said. “You’ve got Bill Elliott’s son, Chase Elliott. Dave Blaney’s son, Ryan Blaney.”
There are also breakout names making waves. “Kyle Larson is out there,” he said. “Ryan Preece, last night’s winner, he’s a third generation guy. When you look at their family history, it’s a who’s who of local short tracks.”
Selling NASCAR to the skeptics
For anyone still on the fence, Wiebe believes watching with an open mind is the key.
“You might think you can do it because you can do 110 or 130 down the highway,” he said. “But trust me, when you start going 250 kilometers, there is no grip. You have very little time to actually react to anything.”
He added, “They are doing it all in a confined space and there isn’t a whole lot of time.”
That skill requirement is what keeps him glued to every race weekend.
What makes a great NASCAR driver
According to Wiebe, speed alone is not enough.
“I think having a good head on your shoulders,” he said. “You are constantly taking in information.”
Modern NASCAR is relentless. “You’re always trying to make sure you’re staying on the right side of fuel, making sure you’re not burning your tires up in about ten seconds,” he said. “You’ve got to be willing to push the limit, but also not overstep your boundaries.”
And if he ever got the chance himself. “Probably not lap one,” Wiebe admitted. “But if you probably got me around lap 15, we’d probably be close to full speed.”
Morgan with another racing legend Chase Elliot
From local studio to online NASCAR community
Through his YouTube channel, Morgan Wiebe Racing, Wiebe channels that enthusiasm into race recaps and analysis, bringing NASCAR conversations into a local perspective that feels accessible, knowledgeable and fun.
The season always begins with the biggest stage. “They’re going to have their Super Bowl, the Daytona 500,” Wiebe said. “That’s always race one of the year.”
For Wiebe, NASCAR is not just a sport on television. It is strategy, adrenaline, storytelling and community, all wrapped up in one very loud package. And judging by the jacket, the YouTube channel and the encyclopedic knowledge, he is just getting started.