Chicagoland Speedway - LifeLock.com 400
Danni
RESULTS
1. Kyle Busch
6. Brian
9. Martin
14. David
16. Dale Jr.
28. Kurt
33. Casey (1LD)
36. Michael (2LD)
Uncertainty was the main emotion going through the drivers' and crews' heads as the cars went around on their paces laps Saturday evening. It was the first time Chicagoland had ever held a night race and the teams had not gotten a chance to practice during the twilight hours. To make things worse, rain had washed much of the rubber laid down by the Nationwide series the night before. But despite everything, I'd call Chicagoland's inaugural race under the lights a success - a breathtaking sunset, side-by-side racing and an exciting finish!
The race went green until the competition caution on Lap 35 with Kyle Busch leading every lap (big surprise!). In another ten laps the yellow would fly again for Denny Hamlin's stopped car, but a long green run would dominate for over 50 laps following. Brian, Martin, Kurt and David were coming on strong approaching pit stops, while Dale Jr., Casey and Michael struggled. Things got bad for Kurt when he entered pit lane too fast because Travis Kvapil had knocked the cone down, making it difficult for Kurt to see where to slow down. He had to make a pass-through under green, dropping him a lap behind the leaders.
The next caution was unfortunately for Michael spinning into the frontstretch grass. While running behind Pat Carpentier and above Jeff Burton, Michael reacted to Carpentier scraping the wall by cutting down in front of Burton and getting turned. It didn't look too bad but apparently the wet grass damaged the splitter and made for a long night for the #55 team.
In the meantime, David was running some of the best laps on the track despite being unhappy with the way the car handled on exit. Some strategy played out, with some teams taking two tires. In this fashion, Kurt got his lap back when he was able to stay in front of the leader as a debris caution flew. But in a stroke of bad luck that seems to have plagued the #2 team all year, he had just gotten back into the top-15 when the engine dropped a cylinder.
From then on it was just survival. It was also during this yellow that Martin got nailed for speeding after mistakenly following leader Carl Edwards down pit road when he was supposed to stay out. Considering his finish, he raced his butt off the remainder of the night!
There were enough debris cautions to keep anyone from completely running away with the race (and to prevent fuel mileage strategy!). In the closing laps, it was clear things would get interesting. Kyle Busch had been leading much of the race, but got passed by Edwards. Then Edwards came down pit road unexpectedly for what he thought was a flat tire (it turned out to be a broken splitter). With just under 20 to go, it was clear that Kyle's handling was waning and Jimmie Johnson was coming fast. He eventually passed the #18 and drove away. It looked like a certain win for the #48 crew when David Gilliland blew an engine with only 6 lap remaining, setting up a 2-lap shootout. Johnson led the field to the green slow - too slow! Kyle stayed on his bumper and literally pushed him to go, then had enough momentum to pass Johnson on the high side. It was amazing to watch, although I did feel pretty badly for Jimmie. In his excitement for his 7th Cup win of the season, Kyle got stuck in the soaked frontstretch grass and had to be pushed out by his crew!
It was an excellent night for Brian and David. David was having a lot of problems passing lapped traffic on restarts and probably deserved a better finish, but 14th isn't something to be ashamed of by a long shot! Even Junior was able to crawl his way forward to a decent result. On the other hand, it looked to be another dismal race for Casey. It's hard to tell why...and easy enough to speculate. I think everyone had heard of Hendrick's "lame duck" drivers being barred from meetings and such. But does that translate to sub-par equipment? Casey did hit the wall in practice so that may have had something to do with it and the spread out cautions kept him a lap down. It's just depressing to see him run so poorly.
The Cup guys get a well-deserved weekend off and they certainly need it. Indianapolis is a tough track to decipher, especially with them introducing it to the new car. Then on to the Chase!
#44 Quotes of the Race
During a late caution, discussing the four tire stop.
Ryan: "I should've been a little more aggressive there, but I don't know what it's going to be like with 45 laps on the left sides, you know. We have to run another 35 [laps]."
David: "You're telling me you're scared, right?"
Ryan: "Yeah, 10-4. I'm scared. All right, coming to the green. You're doing great. I know I've said that 100 times... but you're really doing a good job."
David: "I never get tired of hearing it."
POINT STANDINGS
1. Kyle Busch
2. Dale Jr. -262
14. Brian -693 (-95 from Chase)
17. Martin -831
18. Kurt -843
24. Casey -1099
27. David -1164
30. Michael -1318
1. Kyle Busch
6. Brian
9. Martin
14. David
16. Dale Jr.
28. Kurt
33. Casey (1LD)
36. Michael (2LD)
Uncertainty was the main emotion going through the drivers' and crews' heads as the cars went around on their paces laps Saturday evening. It was the first time Chicagoland had ever held a night race and the teams had not gotten a chance to practice during the twilight hours. To make things worse, rain had washed much of the rubber laid down by the Nationwide series the night before. But despite everything, I'd call Chicagoland's inaugural race under the lights a success - a breathtaking sunset, side-by-side racing and an exciting finish!
The race went green until the competition caution on Lap 35 with Kyle Busch leading every lap (big surprise!). In another ten laps the yellow would fly again for Denny Hamlin's stopped car, but a long green run would dominate for over 50 laps following. Brian, Martin, Kurt and David were coming on strong approaching pit stops, while Dale Jr., Casey and Michael struggled. Things got bad for Kurt when he entered pit lane too fast because Travis Kvapil had knocked the cone down, making it difficult for Kurt to see where to slow down. He had to make a pass-through under green, dropping him a lap behind the leaders.
The next caution was unfortunately for Michael spinning into the frontstretch grass. While running behind Pat Carpentier and above Jeff Burton, Michael reacted to Carpentier scraping the wall by cutting down in front of Burton and getting turned. It didn't look too bad but apparently the wet grass damaged the splitter and made for a long night for the #55 team.
In the meantime, David was running some of the best laps on the track despite being unhappy with the way the car handled on exit. Some strategy played out, with some teams taking two tires. In this fashion, Kurt got his lap back when he was able to stay in front of the leader as a debris caution flew. But in a stroke of bad luck that seems to have plagued the #2 team all year, he had just gotten back into the top-15 when the engine dropped a cylinder.
From then on it was just survival. It was also during this yellow that Martin got nailed for speeding after mistakenly following leader Carl Edwards down pit road when he was supposed to stay out. Considering his finish, he raced his butt off the remainder of the night!There were enough debris cautions to keep anyone from completely running away with the race (and to prevent fuel mileage strategy!). In the closing laps, it was clear things would get interesting. Kyle Busch had been leading much of the race, but got passed by Edwards. Then Edwards came down pit road unexpectedly for what he thought was a flat tire (it turned out to be a broken splitter). With just under 20 to go, it was clear that Kyle's handling was waning and Jimmie Johnson was coming fast. He eventually passed the #18 and drove away. It looked like a certain win for the #48 crew when David Gilliland blew an engine with only 6 lap remaining, setting up a 2-lap shootout. Johnson led the field to the green slow - too slow! Kyle stayed on his bumper and literally pushed him to go, then had enough momentum to pass Johnson on the high side. It was amazing to watch, although I did feel pretty badly for Jimmie. In his excitement for his 7th Cup win of the season, Kyle got stuck in the soaked frontstretch grass and had to be pushed out by his crew!
It was an excellent night for Brian and David. David was having a lot of problems passing lapped traffic on restarts and probably deserved a better finish, but 14th isn't something to be ashamed of by a long shot! Even Junior was able to crawl his way forward to a decent result. On the other hand, it looked to be another dismal race for Casey. It's hard to tell why...and easy enough to speculate. I think everyone had heard of Hendrick's "lame duck" drivers being barred from meetings and such. But does that translate to sub-par equipment? Casey did hit the wall in practice so that may have had something to do with it and the spread out cautions kept him a lap down. It's just depressing to see him run so poorly.
The Cup guys get a well-deserved weekend off and they certainly need it. Indianapolis is a tough track to decipher, especially with them introducing it to the new car. Then on to the Chase!
#44 Quotes of the Race
During a late caution, discussing the four tire stop.
Ryan: "I should've been a little more aggressive there, but I don't know what it's going to be like with 45 laps on the left sides, you know. We have to run another 35 [laps]."
David: "You're telling me you're scared, right?"
Ryan: "Yeah, 10-4. I'm scared. All right, coming to the green. You're doing great. I know I've said that 100 times... but you're really doing a good job."
David: "I never get tired of hearing it."
POINT STANDINGS
1. Kyle Busch
2. Dale Jr. -262
14. Brian -693 (-95 from Chase)
17. Martin -831
18. Kurt -843
24. Casey -1099
27. David -1164
30. Michael -1318
