The 10 race NASCAR playoffs know as The Chase starts this week at Chicagoland Speedway with the MyAfibRisk.com 400. Which Chase Grid drivers have the best chance at advancing with a win?
The 16 Chase Grid drivers will be charging hard to get the win Sunday, September 20th in order to get the automatic advance to the next round of the Chase. If you need a refresher on how the Chase works you can get the basics by clicking here.
The drivers will be looking for speed and handling as they race around the 1.5-mile track for 267 laps. A mistake on the track or in the pits could not only remove the driver from the chance to win, but it could also put them at the bottom of the Chase Grid in danger of elimination form championship contention.
Here is how the 16 Chase Grid drivers stack up at Chicagoland Speedway.
Jimmie Johnson
Driver rating 115.5 (series best)
0 wins, 7 top fives, 10 top tens
Kyle Busch
Driver rating 03.6 (5th best)
1 win, 4 top fives, 5 top tens
Matt Kenseth
Driver rating 104.8 (4th best)
1 win, 3 top fives, 6 top tens
Joey Logano
Driver rating 83.0 (18th best)
0 wins, 1 top five, 2 top tens
Kevin Harvick
Driver rating 99.5 (7th best)
2 wins, 8 top fives, 9 top tens
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Driver rating 89.2 (11th best)
1 win, 3 top fives, 5 top tens
Kurt Busch
Driver rating 86.5 (13th best)
0 wins, 1 top five, 8 top tens
Carl Edwards
Driver rating 88.6 (12th best)
0 wins, 3 top fives, 3 top tens
Brad Keselowski
Driver rating 98.5 (8th best)
2 wins, 3 top fives, 4 top tens
Martin Truex Jr.
Driver rating 85.3 (15th best)
0 wins, 0 top fives, 2 top tens
Denny Hamlin
Driver rating 82.6 (19th best)
0 wins, 1 top five, 3 top tens
Jamie McMurray
Driver rating 73.6 (23rd best)
0 wins, 1 top five, 3 top tens
Jeff Gordon
Driver rating 100.1 (6th best)
1 win, 7 top fives, 9 top tens
Ryan Newman
Driver rating 84.1 (17th best)
1 win, 3 top fives, 8 top tens
Paul Menard
Driver rating 67.9 (25th best)
0 wins, 0 top fives, 1 top ten
Clint Bowyer
Driver rating 89.4 (10th best)
0 wins, 1 top five, 7 top tens
You can see that the track performance for the Chase Grid drivers is a bit all over the place. While Jimmie Johnson has the best driver rating among active Sprint Cup drivers, he has yet to win a race at Chicagoland Speedway.
Toward the other end of the spectrum are Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Newman who are both outside the top ten in driver rating, but have won a race at the track.
Based on the Chicagoland statistics I would have to make Jimmie a favorite to finally get his first win at the track. I would also have to pick Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick as favorites for the win. Perhaps Jeff Gordon will finally get his first win of 2015 and take a huge leap forward toward a chance at winning another championship in his final full-time season.
Outside of the Chase Grid drivers I am going to name Kyle Larson and Tony Stewart as possible spoilers to the Chase contenders. Kyle has a 110.1 driver rating at Chicagoland, the second best among active drivers. Kyle has yet to win a Sprint Cup race although he has come very close multiple times. Kyle could make a statement by winning his first race in the first race of the 2015 Chase even though he did not make the grid.
Tony Stewart has been having another very disappointing year. However, his Chicagoland driver rating is the third best among active drivers at 105.0. Tony also leads all drivers with the most wins at the track with three Sprint Cup victories at Chicagoland Speedway. Tony really needs to start building toward a better 2016 season and winning this week could get him on that track.
Another interesting statistic for Chicagoland Speedway is the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has the most wins at the track of all race teams with four. JGR has been getting hot at the right time it seems with the four-car racing team winning eight of the last ten races of the regular season. Since all of their drivers Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin are part of the Chase Grid, any of them could continue the JGR recent domination by scoring the first win in the Chase.
Which story will unfold will be seen live starting at 2pm central time in the MyAfibRisk.com 400 from Chicagoland Speedway when the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins.
On a personal note, I will be at Chicagoland to watch it all in person!
By: Buck Stevens
