The Chase field is now officially set with Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth sitting at the top of the board. As of right now I have three drivers who I think can win the Chase based on the way they have been running recently. Those drivers are defending champion, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, and Kyle Busch. Of these three drivers I am going to say Kyle Busch will win his first ever Sprint Cup championship. By no means does this mean that none of the other thirteen drivers can win the championship this season. Just look at last year where Ryan Newman, without a win, came within on spot of winning that championship so, don’t count anyone out.
MYAFIBRISK.COM 400
The Chase begins at Chicagoland Speedway this coming Sunday with the running of the MyAFibRisk.com 400. Chicagoland is the first of many Chase races on a mile-and-a-half track. The only type of track not run during the Chase is a road-course. Otherwise we have a restrictor-plate race that will be the one wild card in the Chase once again. There are also some short tracks, but five of the races including the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway will be run on these mile-and-a-half tracks.
Kevin Harvick: I am picking Kevin to finally win another race and secure his spot in the second round of the Chase. Kevin won the first two races run at Chicagoland and has finished in the top five here in eight of his fourteen starts. The defending champion will start off on the right foot this weekend where he will qualify well and make the right adjustments throughout the race to take his car to victory lane and take the pressure off of himself and his team for the next two races.
Kyle Busch: Kyle has one win here and has finished in the top five in four of his ten career starts at Chicagoland Speedway. The Joe Gibbs teams have won eight of the last eleven races heading into the Chase and I think Kyle will win more than one race during the Chase. He will be there at the end of this race to battle with Kevin for the win and the right to move on to the second round.
Matt Kenseth: Matt won this race two years ago and he is on a roll right now winning three of the last six races run. This is considered Matt’s home track as he hails from Cambridge, WI and everyone wants to win at the track where they have the most fans in attendance. Matt has always run well on these tracks and the Joe Gibbs teams have shown that they have the speed to get the job done every week.
Brad Keselowski: Brad has won two of the six races he has run here during his short career. This team has struggled a little bit lately running a completely clean race and that is what it takes to win. I think Brad and Paul Wolfe work very well together and they just need to eliminate mistakes on pit road and they will be in the thick of things as the Chase progresses.
Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie is still looking for his first win at Chacagoland but, he has finished in the top ten in ten of his thirteen starts with seven of those finishes being in the top five. This team really needs to figure some things out if Jimmie wants to be a serious contender to win another championship this season. Despite having four wins, this team has really struggled for the past few months and is those struggles continue, Jimmie will won’t keep moving on as the Chase progresses.
Jeff Gordon: Jeff has one win at this track and seven top five finishes in fourteen career starts. In his last full-time season with Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff would like to win a final championship and go out in style. So far Jeff is still looking for his first win of the season and right now would be a great time to get it. They just need to find a little more speed as they always seem to have a good handling car but, some other drivers are just a little better.
Joey Logano: Although Joey doesn’t always seem to get the results he would like at Chicagoland, he always seems to have a fast car here. He holds the qualifying record in the Sprint Cup series and the race record in the Xfinity series. Two years ago Joey sat on the pole and led quite a few laps until he lost an engine about halfway through the race. He has run much better here the last three years and knows how to get around this track.
Clint Bowyer: Clint has finished in the top ten here in seven of his nine starts. This year the Michael Waltrip drivers haven’t had the speed or the handling their drivers were hoping for. Now with them not going to run next year, Clint really needs to show something during the Chase if he wants to get an offer from one of the elite teams to drive for them next year. Does this put more pressure on him or does he take that challenge and show everyone that he deserves a ride in one of their cars next season?
Kurt Busch: Kurt has finished in the top ten in eight of his fourteen starts at this track and he has a car just about as good as his teammate, Kevin Harvick, every week. Kurt is always good on the short tracks and if he can run consistently on the mile-and-a-half tracks during the Chase he could find himself racing for a championship at Homestead this November.
Tony Stewart: Even though Tony didn’t make the Chase and he hasn’t run well for the majority of the season we still need to talk about his at Chicagoland. He leads the series in wins here with three, he has eight top five finishes in thirteen starts and he has the same equipment as Kevin and Kurt do. As a part owner of Stewart-Haas Racing he has an obligation to run better or consider retiring from the sport.
YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY
Yahoo Driver Group A
- Kevin Harvick
- Kyle Busch
Yahoo Driver Group B
- Kurt Busch
- Clint Bowyer
- Austin Dillon
- Tony Stewart
Yahoo Driver Group C
- Danica Patrick
- Ryan Blaney
MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY
- Kevin Harvick
- Kyle Busch
- Matt Kenseth
- Joey Logano
- Jeff Gordon
Dark Horse: Tony Stewart
Stay Away From: Paul Menard