NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers will race 300 miles in 200 laps in the Drive for Safety 300 at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday, September 17th. This is their final race before the inaugural Chase for the XFINITY Series title begins. Television coverage begins at 2:30 pm ET on NBC, with a green flag around 3 pm ET. Radio coverage is on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
Two Spots Left in The Chase with One Last Chance to Make it
Saturday’s Drive for Safety 300 at Chicagoland Speedway will serve as the final call for the NASCAR XFINITY Series regular season as several drivers will compete for the last two spots in the inaugural Chase.
Below is a breakdown of what each driver that hasn’t locked up a spot will need to have happen on Saturday.
Possible to Clinch at Chicagoland (sorted by Wins, then Points):
- Blake Koch (0 Wins, 570 Points, +449 Points Ahead of 31st) – Would clinch on Points with 39 Points (2nd and no laps led, 3rd and led at least one lap, 4th and led most laps) and a new winner. Would clinch on Points with a repeat winner and 19 Points (22nd and no laps led, 23rd and led at least one lap, 24th and led most laps). With a win, would clinch a Chase spot on wins.
- Ryan Sieg (0 Wins, 567 Points, +446 Points Ahead of 31st) – Would clinch on Points with a repeat winner (or Blake Koch win) and 22 Points (19th and no laps led, 20th and led at least one lap, 21st and led most laps). With a win, would clinch a Chase spot on wins. Could clinch on Points with a new winner and help (needs to out point all three of Blake Koch by 3 points and give up 19 or 20 (depending on tie-breakers) or less to Dakoda Armstrong points and 28 or 29 points or less to Jeremy Clements).
- Dakoda Armstrong (0 Wins, 547 Points, +426 Points Ahead of 31st) – With a win, he would clinch a Chase spot on wins. Could clinch on Points with help (needs to out point all three of the following if a new winner or two out of three if there is a repeat winner: Ryan Sieg by 20 points (if he finishes 3rd or higher) or 21 points with a worse finish, Blake Koch by 23 points and give up 8 or less points to Jeremy Clements).
- Jeremy Clements (0 Wins, 538 Points, +417 Points Ahead of 31st) – With a win, would clinch a Chase spot on wins. Could clinch on Points with help (needs to out point all three if a new winner or two out of three if there is a repeat winner: Dakoda Armstrong by 9 points, Ryan Sieg by 29 or 30 points and Blake Koch by 32 points).
The following five drivers need a win to clinch:
- Ross Chastain (0 Wins, 509 Points, +388 Points Ahead of 31st)
- Ryan Preece (0 Wins, 453 Points, +332 Points Ahead of 31st)
- Ray Black Jr (0 Wins, 395 Points, +274 Points Ahead of 31st)
- BJ McLeod (0 Wins, 345 Points, +224 Points Ahead of 31st)
- Joey Gase (0 Wins, 340 Points, +219 Points Ahead of 31st)
Locked in: Chicagoland Provides Potential for Chase Bonus Points
Roush Fenway Racing’s Ryan Reed added his name to the list of ten drivers who are locked into the inaugural XFINITY Series Chase this past weekend at Richmond. Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway marks the perfect chance for those same ten locked-in drivers to win and pad their points total to start the Chase.
Heading into this weekend with a spot in the Chase locked up means the pressure has to be much less than the drivers still vying to get in. But momentum is still key when competing in an elimination-style playoff. Currently, three series championship contenders have won this season, led by Erik Jones with three wins (+9 Chase bonus points), followed by Elliott Sadler with two (+6 Chase bonus points) and Daniel Suárez with one (+3 Chase bonus points).
While winning to advance in each round of the XFINITY Series Chase is ideal, small advantages like bonus points could be the difference between advancing and being eliminated.
Of the ten drivers locked into the Chase, only Erik Jones (2015) and Elliott Sadler (2012) are former winners at Chicagoland Speedway.
Erik Jones with his three wins and five second-place finishes will be seeded first in the XFINITY Series Chase. But if Sadler were to win this weekend at Chicagoland, though his seeding would not change, he would be tied in Chase points with Jones at nine each. On the other hand, if any of the other eight drivers locked into the Chase win, their seeding will change. If Suárez wins he would move into the second seed and if any of the winless drivers locked in on points were to win they could possibly move as high as the third or fourth seeds.
Listed are the average finishes at Chicagoland Speedway of the ten drivers who are locked into the Chase: Erik Jones (4.0), Darrell Wallace Jr. (6.5), Ty Dillon (6.5), Justin Allgaier (8.6), Daniel Suárez (9.3), Elliott Sadler (13.5), Brendan Gaughan (13.6), Ryan Reed (15.5), Brennan Poole (17.0), Ryan Sieg (18.0) and Blake Koch (31.3). This will be Sunoco Rookie of the year candidate Brandon Jones’ series debut at Chicagoland Speedway.
Former Series Champ Clint Bowyer
Returns to Drive for JR Motorsports at Chicagoland
Not since the 2012 season has former NASCAR XFINITY Series champion (2008) Clint Bowyer wheeled a car in the series. That changes this weekend, as he will be piloting the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro for car owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the Drive for Safety 300 at Chicagoland Speedway.
The Emporia, Kansas native made his last series start at Daytona in 2012 for Joe Gibbs Racing with crew chief Adam Stevens. Bowyer’s last series start at Chicagoland was in 2008 when he drove for Richard Childress Racing, his last full-time season.
This weekend at Chicagoland, Bowyer will be working with crew chief David Elenz who has served atop the pit box for eight drivers this season – Josh Berry, Cole Custer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chase Elliott, Kenny Habul, Kevin Harvick, Alex Bowman and Regan Smith.
Bowyer has made five series starts at Chicagoland, posting one top five, four top-tens and an average finish of 13.2.
Bowyer is not the only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver making the extra rounds at Chicagoland in the Drive for Safety 300. He will also be joined by Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Paul Menard, Joey Logano, Matt DiBenedetto and Kyle Larson.
Joe Gibbs Racing is Poised for a Record Fifth Owner Title
While a lot of attention has been focused on the driver’s XFINITY Series Chase, let’s not forget the owners will also be battling it out in a Chase format to see who takes home the owner championship. Current owner points leader Joe Gibbs, with his No. 18 Toyota team, looks poised to take home a record fifth series owner title, breaking the tie for the series lead with Richard Childress (four titles each).
The Chase kicks off at Kentucky next week and when it does the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota Camry team will be seeded first due to its ten-race wins this season. Those ten wins translate to +30 Chase bonus points, which gives the No. 18 team a 21-point advantage on its nearest competitors – the largest to start any NASCAR national series Chase in history.
The No. 18 JGR Toyota team has been led by crew chief Chris Gayle in 2016. Gayle has worked with eight drivers this season: Kyle Busch (14 starts), Matt Tifft (three), Denny Hamlin (two), Owen Kelly (two), Bobby Labonte (one), Dakoda Armstrong (one), David Ragan (one) and Sam Hornish Jr. (one). Of the eight, Kyle Busch (eight wins), Denny Hamlin (one win) and Sam Hornish Jr. (one win) are the only drivers to visit Victory Lane.
Kyle Busch will be in the No. 18 Toyota this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. Busch won this event last season from the pole. He also is the series leader in wins at Chicagoland with four.
NASCAR in Illinois – A total of 77 NASCAR national series races (NSCS 17, NXS 35 and NCWTS 25) have been held in the state of Illinois among five tracks – Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet (42 races), Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison (31 races), Chicago Motor Speedway in Cicero (two races), Santa Fe Speedway in Willow Springs (one race) and Soldier Field in Chicago (one race). The very first NASCAR national series race held in Illinois was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held at Santa Fe Speedway in 1954 – the event was won by Dick Rathmann (72.216 mph, 1:23:05, 07-10-1954). The NASCAR XFINITY Series held its first race in the state of Illinois at Gateway Motorsports Park in 1997 – the race was won by Elliott Sadler driving for Gary Bechtel (Chevrolet). Chicagoland Speedway held its first NASCAR XFINITY Series race in 2001 – the event was won by six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson – his lone career NASCAR XFINITY Series win.
XFINITY Milestones – Justin Allgaier (199) will attempt to become the 60th different NASCAR XFINITY Series driver to make 200 or more career starts this weekend at Chicagoland. … Joey Logano will attempt to tie Jeff Burton for eighth on the all-time NASCAR XFINITY Series wins list with a victory this weekend at Chicago.