NASCAR at Chicago 2014: Start Time, Lineup, TV Schedule and More
After 26 races, the Chase for the Sprint Cup field has finally been decided, and NASCAR's version of the playoffs will begin Sunday afternoon.
Of the 43 drivers qualified for Sunday's MyAFibStory.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, 16 of them are in the running to win the Sprint Cup title. The bottom four drivers will be cut from the Chase after just three races, so getting off to a great start this weekend is paramount.
One poor finish could mean curtains for a driver's championship hopes, while a victory would guarantee a berth in the next Chase round.
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Here is a full rundown of everything you need to know about the Sprint Cup season's biggest race to this point as well as a closer look at the top Chicagoland contenders.
Where: Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois
When: Sunday, Sept. 14, at 2 p.m. ET
Watch: ESPN
Live Steam: WatchESPN
Radio: Motor Racing Network
Qualifying Order
| 1 | Kyle Busch | 18 |
| 2 | Ryan Newman | 31 |
| 3 | Carl Edwards | 99 |
| 4 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 17 |
| 5 | Matt Kenseth | 20 |
| 6 | Clint Bowyer | 15 |
| 7 | Jimmie Johnson | 48 |
| 8 | Jeff Gordon | 24 |
| 9 | Paul Menard | 27 |
| 10 | Kyle Larson | 42 |
| 11 | Jamie McMurray | 1 |
| 12 | Kevin Harvick | 4 |
| 13 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 88 |
| 14 | Kurt Busch | 41 |
| 15 | Austin Dillon | 3 |
| 16 | Brian Vickers | 55 |
| 17 | A.J. Allmendinger | 47 |
| 18 | Danica Patrick | 10 |
| 19 | Kasey Kahne | 5 |
| 20 | Greg Biffle | 16 |
| 21 | Marcos Ambrose | 9 |
| 22 | Tony Stewart | 14 |
| 23 | Aric Almirola | 43 |
| 24 | Denny Hamlin | 11 |
| 25 | Brad Keselowski | 2 |
| 26 | Justin Allgaier | 51 |
| 27 | Martin Truex Jr. | 78 |
| 28 | Joey Logano | 22 |
| 29 | Casey Mears | 13 |
| 30 | David Gilliland | 38 |
| 31 | Ryan Truex | 83 |
| 32 | Michael McDowell | 95 |
| 33 | Cole Whitt | 26 |
| 34 | Josh Wise | 98 |
| 35 | Michael Annett | 7 |
| 36 | Reed Sorenson | 36 |
| 37 | Alex Bowman | 23 |
| 38 | Landon Cassill | 40 |
| 39 | David Ragan | 34 |
| 40 | Mike Bliss | 37 |
| 41 | Joe Nemechek | 66 |
| 42 | Travis Kvapil | 33 |
| 43 | Joey Gase | 32 |
*Highlighted drivers in Chase
Drivers to Watch
Kevin Harvick
With two victories during the regular season, Kevin Harvick will begin the Chase in sixth place. His results have been somewhat sporadic over the course of the year, but Chicagoland happens to be one of his best tracks. With two wins and eight top-10 finishes in 13 tries, he is almost always near the front.
Perhaps the biggest thing that has plagued Harvick and the No. 4 team in 2014 is inconsistency on pit road. A great driver is certainly of the utmost importance, but even the best drivers can't win a championship without their pit crew banging on all cylinders.
After last week's race at Richmond, it was clear that Harvick was frustrated with the performance of his crew, according to NASCAR on ESPN:
"Harvick: "We still have some hiccups on pit road that aren't very good that we have to address. I don't know what our plans our on that."
— NASCAR on ESPN (@ESPNNASCAR) September 7, 2014"
Stewart-Haas Racing made a huge move in an effort to improve Harvick's championship prospects by swapping his pit crew with that of Tony Stewart. Per Jared Turner of FoxSports.com, Harvick believes it will be beneficial for both the No. 4 and No. 14 teams.
"My guys will have the opportunity over the last 10 weeks to work on that consistency, and the team that they are today won't be the team that they are going in (to 2015), because they will have had more reps and gone through the winter, and they're just going to get better and better. It's great that we have the opportunity to do that. Those guys have a chance to keep building, and the (No. 14) guys have been there, done that, so it should be good.
"
The main concern is that there isn't any time for his new crew to transition slowly. It has to be on top of its game right away, or else Harvick could be in big trouble. This crew has championship-winning experience, though, which makes Harvick an even bigger threat at Chicagoland and beyond.
Jimmie Johnson
This season hasn't been a dominant one by any means for Jimmie Johnson, but the six-time Sprint Cup champion is in fourth place with three victories nonetheless. It can be argued that the No. 48 team is less threatening than ever, but the fact that Johnson hasn't been anywhere near his best yet is certainly a scary thought for the rest of the Chase field.
Chicagoland is one of the few tracks at which Johnson has never won, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been proficient there. In fact, he has finished in the top 10 in 10 of his 12 career starts in Joliet. It is somewhat fluky that he doesn't have a Chicagoland win yet, so perhaps he is due.
One thing that JJ has on his side over everyone else is Chase experience. Not only does he have six championships, but he has also never missed the Chase, according to Team Lowe's Racing:
The pressure of being in the Chase may get to some of the drivers, but it won't impact Johnson at all. He has seen and done it all in NASCAR, and there is reason to believe that the start of the Chase will result in Johnson truly hitting his stride.
It has been 13 years since Jeff Gordon last won a championship at NASCAR's highest level, but the 43-year-old future Hall of Famer is performing better now than perhaps ever before. His three wins have him nestled comfortably in second place, while his 17 top-10 finishes lead the Sprint Cup Series and prove just how consistent he has been.
The No. 24 team is truly banging on all cylinders right now, and it can be argued that he is the championship favorite ahead of Hendrick Motorsports teammates Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. as well as Brad Keselowski. No driver has been better than Gordon on a week-to-week basis this year, which is key in the Chase.
Gordon has long been an elite driver in NASCAR, but his confidence level is much higher now than it has been in an extremely long time, per Jack McCarthy of The Baltimore Sun.
"We haven't had a team like this since 2001," Gordon said. "In 2007 we were close, in 2004 we were close, but I don't really think we ever really had this kind of momentum, this kind of chemistry since we won the last (2001) championship. I'm real excited about our chances."
Gordon has one career win and has finished in the top five in nearly half of his starts at Chicagoland. Past performance doesn't mean much when it comes to the current version of Gordon since he is transcending everything he has done over the past decade.
If he carries his regular-season form over into the Chase, a fifth career Sprint Cup title may be in the cards.
Prediction
Chicagoland doesn't have a particularly long history as a Sprint Cup track, but several drivers have established themselves as true contenders there. Along with Harvick, Johnson and Gordon, there are a few others who bear watching Sunday.
In terms of Chase cars, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Earnhardt and Keselowski have all won at Chicagoland in the past.
Kenseth has yet to win a race this season, but he has come close on multiple occasions. It wouldn't be much of a surprise if his drought ends at Chicagoland.
Busch has had a roller-coaster season, to say the least. He will start from the pole this weekend, though, and he is capable of breaking out of slumps in a big way at any time.
There are certainly some non-Chase drivers capable of spoiling the party as well, including Tony Stewart. He has had more success than anyone else at Chicagoland, with three career wins, and he can afford to take some chances.
Clint Bowyer has never won at Chicagoland, but he has top-10 finishes in seven of his eight starts. He narrowly missed out on the Chase; however, a win Sunday would be a great consolation prize.
This race promises to be a wild and unpredictable one, but Johnson's Chase experience and track record of success will rule the day, as he will take the checkered flag and seize control of the championship race.
Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter
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