RacingNation.com
Home / Columns / Mash The Gas / Mash The Gas – Chicagoland Preview

Mash The Gas – Chicagoland Preview

It all starts now. The ten race Chase for the Sprint Cup kicks off at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL. The drama of who will or won’t make the Chase is now replaced by the battle for the Sprint Cup as the championship contenders are well aware of the importance of getting out of the gate strong in the run for the title.

Starting this weekend, twelve drivers will compete in the next ten races to see who comes out on top and takes home the Sprint Cup as the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion. The top ten drivers received three bonus points for wins in the regular season seeding Denny Hamlin in the number one spot starting the Chase due to his four wins.

If any of the other season’s Chase races are any indication, expect to see the top ten in any race filled with Chase competitors. Chicagoland should be no different as the 1.5 mile “D” shaped oval is the most popular configuration on the Sprint Cup Series schedule. Last season’s race came down to gas mileage strategy and after quietly slipping into the Chase, Tony Stewart parlayed his Chicagoland victory into an incredible Chase run that ultimately led to the Sprint Cup title.

The green flag for the GIECO 400 is scheduled to fly at 2:16pm EDT on Sunday, September 16th with 267 laps making up the 400 mile distance.

Favorites:
Jimmie Johnson
John Wiedemann: Jimmie Johnson has 20 wins in 80 Chase races, almost double the amount of the next closest driver, Tony Stewart who has 11 (5 last year). But, Johnson has yet to win at Chicagoland. Even though he has the best average finish at the track, Johnson can’t find the way to victory lane. I think he finds his way there on Sunday and sends tremors through the Chase field as he heads to Championship number six.

Dan Margetta: While Chicago is one of the few tracks Johnson has yet to win at in the Sprint Cup Series, he boasts the best driver rating at the facility with five top five finishes and eight top ten results. His first NASCAR victory was accomplished here in what is now the Nationwide Series back in 2001 and the primary chassis the team is racing this weekend already has wins at Dover and Indianapolis. That’s two starts and two victories for this car and after seeing it destroy the field at Indy, I’ll tag Jimmie Johnson as my favorite to win this weekend.

Jeff Gordon
DM: Of all the Chase contenders this season, Jeff Gordon enters the first playoff weekend the most battle tested of anyone. After clawing his way into the Chase, the #24 team can now begin their title run and Gordon and crew chief Alan Gustafson have been around long enough to know how to get it done. Gordon’s lone Chicago win came in 2006 after he dumped Matt Kenseth late in the race. If this team wants to show everyone they are for real in this Chase, an opening weekend victory at Chicago would surely get their attention.

JW: At one point in his career, Jeff Gordon was predicted to challenge and surpass the seven championships of Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty. Stuck at four championships, that prediction seems highly unlikely for Gordon. However, looking at the last few races as he battled back into the Chase field, Gordon has proved that he still has what it takes to compete for the title. In eleven races at Chicagoland Gordon has one win (2006) included in six top five finishes.

Denny Hamlin
JW: The current points leader has raced six times at Chicagoland with a best finish of fifth in 2009. Hamlin’s four wins this season have him at the top of the standings and back in the Chase for the seventh time, he has never missed a Chase yet. Even though his stats at Chicagoland are not spectacular, Hamlin is hot right now with two wins in the last three races.

DM: The Chase leader entering Chicago has been on a bit of a roll lately and Hamlin’s the only driver with multiple victories on 1.5 mile tracks this season. His record at Chicago hasn’t been all that great with just a single top five and two top ten finishes in six starts and a best finish of fifth back in 2009. However, crew chief Darien Grubb guided Tony Stewart to victory here last season and will look to do the same with Hamlin on Sunday.

Kevin Harvick
DM: The Chicagoland Speedway is one of Harvick’s more successful tracks as he has won twice here and has seven top ten finishes in eleven starts. His driver rating here ranks as fifth best and he comes to Chicago this season with Gil Martin back calling the shots. This team hasn’t found victory lane yet this season, but if they’re going to do it, kicking off the Chase with a win at Chicago would be a great shot in the arm needed for the title stretch.

JW: Kevin Harvick has had a consistant season that kept in the top ten of the standings. Two top ten finishes in the final two regular season races kept him in the Chase and showed signs of breaking out of his winless season. Harvick has two wins and a total of six top-five finishes in his eleven races at Chicagoland. Harvick has quietly moved to contender status in a couple Chase seasons and may be on that path again.

Tony Stewart
DM: Stewart has three wins at Chicago and nine top ten finishes in eleven starts which gives him the second best driver rating among the Sprint Cup competitors. Stewart began the year strong with a convincing win at the Las Vegas track but hasn’t done anything on the 1.5 mile tracks since then. For the second consecutive year, this team has limped into the Chase and Stewart will once again be looking for a spark at Chicago to ignite a championship run. Can lightening strike twice?

Clint Bowyer
JW: With his win at Richmond last weekend, Clint Bowyer made a point showing that Michael Waltrip Racing is for real and are legitimate challengers for the championship. Both full time drivers, Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. are in the Chase and the #55 team was in contention in many races while being piloted by several drivers. Bowyer has five top ten finishes in six races at Chicagoland and is clearly having one of his best seasons to date.

Brad Keselowski
DM: Keselowski has a 1.5 mile track victory this season at Kentucky and has raced well on the other similar circuits. In three starts at Chicago, Keselowski’s numbers are horrible with only a fifth place finish last year reflecting any success. This season Keselowski and crew chief Paul Wolfe have worked together well and recent rules changes curbing the rear-end housing modifications used by other teams could benefit them this week as Keselowski was the most vocal in speaking out against the practice.

Kasey Kahne
JW: One of the things Kasey Kahne, along with crew chief Kenny Francis, brought to Hendrick Motorsports was an improvement in performance on the intermediate 1.5 mile tracks. Chicagoland will be the biggest test for the team and I expect them all to be upfront. Without some bad luck beginning the season , Kahne could have been solidly in the top ten and able to get six bonus points for his two wins. Look for Kahne to run up front at Chicagoland and move up quickly in the standings.

Matt Kenseth
DM: If there is any circuit on the schedule that owes Matt Kenseth a win, it is the Chicagoland Speedway. Kenseth owns the third best driver rating at Chicago without a victory to show for it and only two top five finishes and four top ten results. He has dominated races here only to see victory slip away at the end via pit strategy in 2004 and a tap from Jeff Gordon in 2006. If this team can score a victory this weekend and reverse the trend of strong runs without finding victory lane, it would bode extremely well for their Chase run. With all the changes to the team set for next season, I believe a strong start is crucial for them if they intend on being Sprint Cup Champions for 2012.

Martin Truex Jr.
DM: Martin Truex Jr. and the #56 team is the most dangerous team in the Chase. Overlooked by many, his team has consistently put up strong results despite not finding victory lane. They ran extremely well at Kansas earlier in the season and have been in contention at all the 1.5 mile tracks. They enter the Chase as the underdogs which could provide the motivation to surprise everyone during this title run.

Chase Standings heading into Chicagoland:
Denny Hamlin 2012
Tony Stewart 2009
Brad Keselowski 2009
Jimmie Johnson 2009
Greg Biffle 2006
Clint Bowyer 2006
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2003
Matt Kenseth 2003
Kasey Kahne 2000
Kevin Harvick 2000
Martin Truex Jr. 2000
Jeff Gordon 2000

Share Button