Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series myAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 20, 2015 Photo – Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, crosses the finish-line to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series myAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 20, 2015 Photo – Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series myAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 20, 2015 Photo – Josh Hedge/Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series myAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 20, 2015 Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series myAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 20, 2015 Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, adds his name to the contender list after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series myAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 20, 2015 Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images
In the theater, using the expression ‘Break a leg’ is a way to wish an actor good luck on opening night.
Twelve days before Sunday’s opening Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway, Denny Hamlin tore the ACL in his right leg playing basketball.
Late in the myAFibRisk.com 400 at the 1.5-mile track, Hamlin found his good fortune in the form of a serendipitous pit call on the part of crew chief Dave Rogers.
Staying out on old tires, Hamlin grabbed the lead moments after a restart with five laps left and streaked away to a .963-second victory over Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Carl Edwards, who surged from sixth to second during that restart on lap 263 of 267.
Hamlin saw an opening as the cars roared toward turn one on the restart. Continue reading →
Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John’s / Budweiser Chevrolet, sits in the grass after an incident on the track during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series myAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 20, 2015 Photo – Josh Hedges/Getty Images
Going into Chicagoland Speedway, Kevin Harvick was one of the favorites to win the first race of the Chase. His swagger of confidence coming into Chicago was clear when Harvick told the media last Thursday, that he intended to pound the Joe Gibbs Racing drivers throughout the Chase. The JGR drivers have won eight of the last ten races leading up to the Chicagoland race – the first in the ten-race playoff. So, obviously, Harvick sees them as his biggest rivals in defending his title this season.
On Sunday, Joe Gibbs Racing responded with a Denny Hamlin victory in the myAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. The rest of their drivers finished in second with Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth finished fifth and Kyle Busch finished ninth – all four drivers with top-ten finishes. In contrast Harvick finished a rough day in 42nd-place and is now last of the 16 drivers contending for the championship.
An on track incident between Jimmie Johnson and Harvick resulted in a cut tire on the No. 4 car. Harvick blames Johnson for the incident, and confronted Johnson after the race with a shove, before an ally, and his wife Delana intervened and separated the two drivers. Johnson pointed his finger, but that was the extend of the exchange.
The skirmish between Harvick and Johnson certainly contributed to the problem, but Harvick didn’t help his situation by staying on the track until the tire blew.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but Harvick could have changed the tire and would have most likely lost fewer positions and certainly would have lost fewer laps, giving his team a chance to regain their track position and perhaps even contend for the win in the end. By staying out and letting the tire blow out, Harvick wrecked his car, causing his crew to feverishly work to get it fixed enough that he could return to the track. Harvick then finished the race 58 laps down, sending him from first to last in the Chase point standings, not only deflating to his team, but bursting his Joe Gibbs Racing threat bubble.
Perhaps a tire changed in time could have saved Harvick and his No. 4 team, 58 laps in this case.
Harvick is now 43 points behind the Chase points leader, Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Matt Kenseth. Apparently, Hamlin, Kenseth and the other Joe Gibbs drivers were not rattled by Harvick’s threat to pound them in the Chase. Harvick instead pounded himself right into 16th place after the first race of the Chase – seems his threat ended with a back-fire at Chicagoland Speedway.
‘Chasing’ Earnhardt And Petty: Johnson Sets Sites on Seventh Series Title
Ten races separate Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup No. 1 seed Jimmie Johnson from potential immortality. If Johnson wins NASCAR’s 16-driver, four-knockout round playoff, he will capture his seventh series title, tying Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the all-time lead.
Johnson begins his quest in Sunday’s MyAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. He has never won at the Windy City track, but boasts seven top-fives, and seven top-tens to go along with the series-best average running position (7.129) and driver rating (115.5) there. Chicago remains one of four active tracks at which Johnson has not won – Homestead, Kentucky and Watkins Glen.
The No. 48 Chevrolet driver has won four races this season, but has made 13 starts since his last victory. He tends to elevate his élite skill to an even higher level during NASCAR’s playoffs though, as he leads all drivers with 25 total Chase wins.
Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 CLOROX Chevrolet, practices for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series MyAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 19, 2015 Photo – Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
It’s a NASCAR triple-header this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway with the Camping World Trucks and the XFINITY Series races in the books. On Sunday, September 20th, the Sprint Cup teams will take to the track for their first race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. While most are looking for a Chase driver victory, the possibility for a non-Chase winner could make it interesting. Kyle Larson wants to be that guy, at some point during the Chase. Continue reading →
