The 16 NASCAR drivers that have a shot at the championship will start The Chase for the Monster Energy Cup this Sunday (9/17) at Chicagoland Speedway.
The Tales of the Turtles 400 is the first race of NASCAR’s playoffs. The addition of stage racing and playoff points will make this year’s Chase a little different from the previous years.
The Chicagoland Speedway is still a 1.5-mile track that demands drivers remain focused to avoid making a mistake that could end their day early. The pit crews (especially those on the championship contending teams) will also need to keep their focus and deliver the best performances of the season to get their driver on and off pit road as quickly as possible. Remember, a win this weekend (or in any of the three races in the first round) gives that driver and team an automatic advance to the next round of The Chase and removes the chance of being one of the four teams eliminated before the start of round two.
Playoff points could come into play when it comes time for elimination from the Chase Grid. Contending drivers can sore Playoff points be winning one of the first two stages of the Chicagoland Speedway race that are 80 laps each. Of course the most playoff points and that automatic advance comes by winning the third and final stage of the race that will be 107 laps.
The 16 Chase Grid drivers will also be racing 24 other drivers that simply want to win after the 267 laps (400.5 miles) of racing. Which drivers have past performance on their sides to get the win this weekend? Let’s take a look.
Top 10 Driver Ratings at Chicago
- Chase Elliott – 129.1
- Jimmie Johnson – 114.7
- Kyle Busch – 106.0
- Matt Kenseth – 102.3
- Brad Keselowski – 99.7
- Kevin Harvick – 96.9
- Kyle Larson – 94.9
- Ryan Blaney – 91.9
- Martin Truex Jr. – 91.3
- Joey Logano – 90.0
Driver names in red are current Chase Contenders.
NOTE: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2016 races (12 total) among active drivers at Chicagoland Speedway.
There are eight active drivers that have won a race at Chicagoland Speedway during their Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series careers. Seven of those drivers with wins are currently in contention for the 2017 championship.
Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski are drivers on the Chase Grid to start the NASCAR playoffs and are the only two drivers that have multiple wins with two Chicagoland Speedway victories each.
Martin Truex Jr. has been the hottest driver in the series all year so far. He heads to Chicagoland Speedway as the regular season champion, top seed on the Chase Grid and defending winner of this race from the 2016 NASCAR season, his only win so far at the track.
Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman are the other Chase Grid drivers that have scored a single win at Chicagoland during their careers.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the one active driver that has a win at the track, but he is not in contention for the championship. This is Dale Jr.’s final full-time season as a driver and he has yet to win a race this season. You can bet that he will be trying to play spoiler to the contenders to get at least one more win before he retires.
There are a lot of factors that could make this Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race one of the most exciting ever at Chicagoland Speedway. What will happen will begin to unfold at 2:00 PM central time (3:00 PM eastern time) in the Tales of the Turtles 400.
By: Buck Stevens
Here’s a detailed look at the new Monster Energy NASCAR Cup…
