Race: GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway
Date: Sunday, September 18, 2011
Time: 2:16 PM ET (scheduled green flag)
TV: 2:00 PM ET on ESPN
Preview: At long last, the ten-race NASCAR Chase is here, starting with this Sunday’s “GEICO 400” at Chicagoland Speedway. This is the first time since the inception of the Chase in 2004 that it has started at the Chicago track, and only the 11th race at the speedway in Sprint Cup history. All seven previous Chase sessions started at Loudon, New Hampshire, and all ten previous Chicago races took place in July. In addition, the once-a-year Chicago race has been a Saturday night event since 2008. Seven of the ten races here have been won by Chevy teams, while Ford has never been to Victory Lane at Chicago in a Cup race. Six of the 12 Chase drivers are previous winners here.
Safe Bet: (odds of less than 10/1)
• Jeff Gordon (7/1): Gordon has the best average finish at Chicago (8.6) with a win here in 2006. He finished 2nd in 2009 and 3rd in 2010. Gordon was 6th-fastest in Happy Hour and also looked strong on longer runs. He won at Atlanta two weeks ago and finished 3rd last week at Richmond. Gordon is 3rd in points to start the Chase.
Mid Range: (odds between 10/1 – 20/1)
• Kevin Harvick (10/1): Harvick and Tony Stewart are the only drivers with more than one win at Chicagoland with two wins a piece. Harvick’s wins here came back in 2001-2002, but he’s finished 4th or better three of the last five Chicagoland outings. Kevin was in the top 3 in Happy Hour and will be riding the momentum of last weekend’s win at Richmond, where he led 202 laps. He starts the Chase tied with Kyle Busch for the points lead.
Long Shot: (odds of greater than 20/1)
• Kasey Kahne (22/1): Though he’s never won at Chicago, Kahne has finished as high as 3rd (2009) and ran 6th here last year. In Happy Hour practice on Friday, he was second-fastest on the speed chart, which could lead to a strong qualifying run and good pit stall selection Saturday.
Summary: There are lots of unknowns heading into Sunday’s race, since the Cup Series has never run here in September and hasn’t had a daytime race at Chicago since 2007. But, with half the current Chase field previous winners at Chicagoland, it won’t be surprising to see a Chase contender in Victory Lane again on Sunday.
