NASCAR Sprint Cup Series MyAFibStory.com 400
Chicagoland Speedway Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps)
Sunday, Sept.14 Time: 2 p.m. (ET) TV: ESPN, 1 p.m. (ET)
Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90
NASCAR Nationwide Series Jimmy John’s Freaky Fast 300 Powered By Coca-Cola
Chicagoland Speedway Distance: 300 miles (200 laps)
Saturday, Sept. 13 Time: 3:30 p.m. (ET) TV: ESPN2, 3:30 p.m. (ET)
Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 225
Chicagoland Speedway Distance: 225 miles (150 laps)
Friday, Sept. 12 8:30 p.m. (ET) TV: FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. (ET)
Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90
NASCAR Sprint Cup. Chase Grid Outlook: 1st Place Car 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford 830 (4 wins), 2nd Place Car 24 Jeff Gordon Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet 914 (3), 3rd Place Car 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nationwide Insurance Chevrolet 883 (3), 4th Place Car 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 829 (3), 5th Place Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet (3), 6th Place Car 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet 788 (2), 7th Place Car 99 Carl Edwards Kellogg’s/Frosted Flakes Ford 777 (2), 8th Place Car 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet 735 (1), 9th Place Car 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 687 (1), 10th Place Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 659 (1), 11th Place Car 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 651 (1), 12th Place Car 43 Aric Almirola Gwaltney Ford 628 (1), 13th Place Car 47 AJ Allmendinger Bush’s Beans Chevrolet 611 (1), 14th Place Car 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 797 (0), 15th Place Car 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet 782 (0), 16th Place Car 16 Greg Biffle 3M Call Before You Dig Ford 753 (0).
Team Penske could be history in the making. Car 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford 830 (4 wins) 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion. With 4 wins Keselowski gave Team Penske their 400th win across all racing series & is the top seeded going in to the Chase. Team Penske has also been great in qualifying this year & has 2 cars with 7 wins in total they are a force to wreck in with. Roger Penske has already won the Verizon IndyCar Championship and now has a chance to win both primary American racing series in the same year. Car 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 829 (3 wins) is the other contender for Team Penske with 3 wins.
Hendrick Motorsports 4 drivers and teams – 10 wins.
Car 24 Jeff Gordon Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet 914 (3 wins) 4 time Champion. Gordon has had a new energy this season with a team & car to win. Car 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nationwide Insurance Chevrolet 883 (3 wins). Earnhardt Jr is also having a great year with starting out with the Daytona 500. Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet (3 wins) 6 Time Champion. Johnson has shown he can win when he needs to. Car 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet 735 (1 wins). Kahne worked hard to get in the chase & could have the momentum to keep wining.
Joe Gibbs Racing: 3 drivers and teams – 2 wins
Car 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 687 (1win), Busch the winningest active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver without a championship. Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 659 (1 win). Hamlin has posted 6 Top 10 finishes in his last 9 starts. Car 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 797. Kenseth highest in points without a win, but had 7 wins last season. Joe Gibbs Racing if they can get the realibilty of the Chevs or Fords then could be contenders.
Stewart-Haas Racing 2 drivers and teams – 3 wins
Car 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet 788 (2): Placing 2nd place in a lot of races the one thing he needed was to do better in the pits. Stewart-Haas Racing announced that the Car 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet & the Car 14 Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet teams were swapping pit crews. Harvick now has Stewart’s 2011 championship pit crew on his side for the remaining 10 races. Car 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 651 (1). Kurt Busch the former champion has 1 win but like his team mate they both have a Hendrick Motorsports engine which are proven fast this year.
Roush Fenway Racing 2 drivers and teams – 2 wins
Car 99 Carl Edwards Kellogg’s/Frosted Flakes Ford 777 (2 wins) He will be leaving Roush Fenway Racing for Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the season and hasn’t found himself near the front of the pack recently. Car 16 Greg Biffle 3M Call Before You Dig Ford 753. Biffle was the last one to get into the Chase on points.
The Long Shots 3 drivers and teams – 2 wins
Car 43 Aric Almirola Gwaltney Ford 628 (1), Car 47 AJ Allmendinger Bush’s Beans Chevrolet 611 (1) & Car 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet 782 (0)
With the Chase this year it is more like a new season with 16 teams being able to win the championship.
Here are my picks in order to win the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Top 10
1. Car 24 Jeff Gordon Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet
2. Car 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nationwide Insurance Chevrolet
3. Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet
4. Car 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet
5. Car 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford
6. Car 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford
7. Car 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet
8. Car 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet
9. Car 99 Carl Edwards Kellogg’s/Frosted Flakes Ford
10. Car 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota
NASCAR Nationwide Series
JR Motorsports Conundrum is 1st & 2nd Chase Elliott 19 points over team mate Regan Smith. Elliott’s rookie season has seen three wins (Texas, Darlington and Chicago), 12 top fives and 19 top 10s in 25 starts. His average finish this season is 8.2 and his season-to-date driver rating is 109.4 – second only to Kyle Busch (127.4) in the series.