The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moves to Chicagoland Speedway for the 27th race of the season, the MyAFibRisk.com 400. NASCAR Fantasy Cheat Sheet’s Brian Brown took a look at past performances, season trends, and spoke to team contacts to predict how the field should finish on Sunday.
When: Sunday, September 20, 2:30 p.m./et.
Weather: Sunny with a high around 71; wind out of the NE at 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is zero.
The Track: Chicagoland Speedway
Chicagoland is a 1.5-mile tri-oval. It has 18 degree banking on the corners with 11 degree banking on the front straightaway and five degree banking on the back straightaway. This is the first race of the Chase For The Championship and seventh 1.5 mile speedway NASCAR has run this season. Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., and Jimmie Johnson were great early in the year on 1.5 mile tracks, but Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing have dominated lately.
Key to Race: QUICK OUT OF THE PITS
As is the key with most 1.5 mile tracks tire-wear and pit stops will be a key to Sunday’s race. Look for the drivers with the best location of their pit stall to have a big advantage in the race. Harvick will be very fast this weekend, but it might be tough to beat Brad Keselowski, who has nine consecutive top 10 finishes and Joey Logano who has finished in the top five in 10 of the last 13 races.
Qualifying Procedures:
46 cars will attempt to qualify for 43 spots.
Fantasy Cheat Sheet:
Top 5
No.2 Brad Keselowski: Keselowski won at Chicagoland in 2014 and 2012. He is an awesome choice this weekend.
No. 4 Kevin Harvick: Chicagoland is one of Harvick’s top tracks. He has two career wins and could easily make it three this weekend.
No. 22 Joey Logano: Logano has been hit-or-miss at Chicagoland, but he is driving great lately. He is a candidate to win this trip to the track.
No. 20 Matt Kenseth: Kenseth has won three of the last six races this season. He is a great pick.
No. 48 Jimmie Johnson: Johnson has never won at Chicagoland, but he been very fast at the track. He is a strong candidate to find victory lane on Sunday.
6 to 10
No. 18 Kyle Busch: Busch has finished worse than 17th just twice in 10 career starts (including a 2008 win) at Chicagoland. He will have no problem finishing inside the top 10 this weekend.
No. 41 Kurt Busch: Busch has seven top 10 finishes in 14 career starts at Chicagoland. He should have the No. 41 back inside the top 10 on Sunday.
No. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Junior has notched top eight finishes in two of the last four races at Joliet. He will be competitive once again.
No. 78 Martin Truex Jr.: Truex has been fast in seven of his eight career starts at Chicagoland. He is a good pick.
No. 19 Carl Edwards: Edwards has averaged an 11th place finish the past five races at Chicago. He will finish right around his average.
11 to 20
No. 11 Denny Hamlin: Hamlin is usually a good shoe on intermediate tracks and he was fast in Joliet last year.
No. 24 Jeff Gordon: Gordon has seven top five finishes in 14 career starts at Chicagoland. He is a good option.
No. 15 Clint Bowyer: Bowyer has cracked the top 10 in seven of his nine career starts at Chicagoland. He will be fast again.
No. 5 Kasey Kahne: Kahne has cracked the top six in three of the past six races at Chicagoland. He will be just a tad slower this weekend.
No. 31 Ryan Newman: Newman has four top six finishes, including a win, in 13 career starts in Joliet. He will have a strong car again.
No. 42 Kyle Larson: Larson was awesome in his first Cup start at Chicagoland. He will be a great pick again.
No. 14 Tony Stewart: Stewart has been terrific at Chicagoland during his career. This is a decent weekend to use Mr. Smoke.
No. 16 Greg Biffle: Biffle has averaged just a 23rd place finish at Chicago the past five races. There are better picks this weekend.
No. 27 Paul Menard: Menard has the longest odds to win the 2015 Sprint Cup Championship according to Las Vegas. He isn’t anything but a third driver in fantasy leagues.
No. 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Stenhouse has averaged a top 13 finish at Joliet in his career. He is a fine choice.
21 to 30
No. 6 Trevor Bayne: Bayne’s best finish at Chicagoland is 20th. He will finish right around his best finish this trip.
No. 10 Danica Patrick: Patrick finished 19th at Chicagoland last year. She should finish around the same spot this weekend.
No. 43 Aric Almirola: Almirola has a bad run at Chicagoland last year but he was fast at the track the previous two races. He will finish just outside the top 20.
No. 3 Austin Dillon: Dillon should just miss the top 20 in his second Cup start at Chicagoland.
No. 47 A.J. Allmendinger: “Dinger” has been very fast at Chicago during his career. He is worth using as a fourth driver.
No. 1 Jamie McMurray: McMurray has struggled in six of the last eight trips to Joliet. He is a “use-at-your-own-risk” driver.
No. 51 Justin Allgaier: Allgaier had a decent run at Chicagoland last year. We like him as a fifth driver.
No. 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Hornish isn’t much of an option this weekend.
No. 13 Casey Mears: Mears will finish right around his 26th place career average at Chicagoland.
No. 55 David Ragan: Ragan has averaged a 20th place finish at Chicagoland. He should finish about 10 spots below his average on Sunday.
Field Fillers:
No. 21 Ryan Blaney
No. 38 David Gilliland
No. 7 Alex Bowman
No. 40 Landon Cassill
No. 83 Matt DiBendetto
No. 34 Brett Moffitt
No. 35 Cole Whitt
No. 95 Michael McDowell
No. 33 Brian Scott
No. 46 Michael Annett
No. 23 Jeb Burton
No. 26 J.J. Yeley
No. 30 Travis Kvapil
No. 32 Josh Wise
No. 62 Timmy Hill
No. 98 Reed Sorenson
My Yahoo! Fantasy NASCAR Team for this Week:
B. Carl Edwards
B. Kyle Larson
C. David Ragan
