NASCAR myAFibRisk.com400 preview in 3 minutes
Everything you need to know about Sunday’s myAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, in three minutes:
Three things to watch
1. This is the first race of the Chase, with 2014 champion Kevin Harvick on the pole. That seems fitting.
2. Joe Gibbs Racing drivers – Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin – have been dominant. Will they continue when it really counts?
3. Jeff Gordon will tie Ricky Rudd’s NASCAR record of 788 consecutive starts when Gordon takes the green flag.
Observations
▪ Chase strategy will unfold over the next few weeks. Two tactics seem to make the most sense early on: Try to win or avoid a bad finish. Just stay in contention, out of the bottom four (of Chase drivers).
▪ Get used to the 1.5-mile “cookie-cutter” layout at Chicagoland. Five more Chase races – Charlotte, Kansas, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead-Miami – are similar configurations.
▪ If you were driving along a neighboring road near Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday morning – a road that goes through a cornfield then a neighborhood – you would have seen a lone jogger. That would have been driver Jimmie Johnson, who likes to get away and get a run in whenever he can. Johnson got back to the track in time for two practice sessions. He had the fastest 10-lap average (180.680 mph) in the afternoon session.
Best bets
Three picks for your fantasy team:
Kevin Harvick: Is on the pole after fast practice lap (qualifying was rained out) and seems poised to get off to a quick start in defense of his title.
Matt Kenseth: He’s been hot (three wins in six races), but there’s risk-reward with him, as well, struggling at Bristol (42nd) and Darlington (21st).
Martin Truex Jr.: He was fastest in both practice sessions Saturday, with a fast lap of 184.849 mph in the afternoon.
He said it
“We (Joe Gibbs Racing) have got the best chance with four drivers to be able to carry on (and win) this championship.” – Kyle Busch
Getting there
Race facts
myAFibRisk.com 400
Where: Chicagoland Raceway, Joliet, Ill.
Track type: 1.5-mile paved tri-oval.
Race distance: 400 miles, or 267 laps.
Green flag: 3:16 p.m.
Weather: Sunny, high of 79, zero percent chance of rain.
TV: NBC Sports Network.
Radio: Motor Racing Network.
This story was originally published September 19, 2015 at 6:45 PM with the headline "NASCAR myAFibRisk.com400 preview in 3 minutes."