Official Release

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Playoff Media Day. Full Transcript: WHO IS THE FAVORITE GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS? “It's kind of hard to have a favorite really. It's only one race. Martin will be really good there. If both Kyle Busch and I make it there, I think we're both really good at that style of racetrack. Harvick obviously is really good. Jimmie. I mean, there's so many people that are good at Homestead, it's hard to pick a favorite. But I think if you had to pick a favorite to make it all the way there, it would be Martin.”

Chicagoland Speedway is not the home track for Michigan native Erik Jones but his confidence leading into Sunday’s Tales of the Turtles 400 is as if it were.

With the regular season of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) set to take the checkered flag Friday night at Chicagoland Speedway, veteran Tyler Young looks to make the most his sixth start of the season in the Chicagoland 225.

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Playoff Media Day. Full Transcript: THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Talking to your crew chief tonight. What do you think about your crew chief Alan Gustafson, how you two are progressing and moving into the Playoffs?

KEVIN HARVICK – No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion – WHAT’S THE IMPACT ON YOU FOR THE PLAYOFFS WITH ALL THE NEWS GOING ON AT SHR? IS IT A DISTRACTION? “I don’t think so. I think those are pretty much standard procedure things that are gonna happen. There’s going to be changes and it’s not just our organization that has changes. Things change and you have to be a part of those and work through those things because that’s really a part of business and it’s a part of sports. I think there’s obviously been a lot going on behind the scenes and you can just see the end result of it yesterday.”

"I am really excited about going to Chicagoland this weekend with the GMS Racing crew. The guys have been working really hard to get this Allegiant Chevrolet Camaro ready for this weekend's race. I hope that we can fire off fast, have a great balance from the start and finish strong."

News and notes:  In a season where visiting tracks for first-time was the goal, Spencer returns to Chicagoland Speedway for his second race at the 1.5 mile tri-oval.  Boyd on the weekend, “I’m really looking forward to Chicago.  Coming off Richmond where I kept making gains, I feel like I have some momentum.  It is also the home track for my sponsor, Grunt Style, and our team owner, Bobby Dotter.  I want to make them both proud in front of their families.  I’m also humbled by the sacrifice of my co-pilot, so there will be a lot of emotion this weekend.”

The Playoff field is set. Seven Chevrolet SS drivers, Kyle Larson, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Austin Dillon, Kasey Kahne, Chase Elliott and Jamie McMurray will all be in contention for this season’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship title. The contest begins this weekend as all seven of these drivers will vie for the first win out of the gate and ensure themselves a position in the Round of 12, the next segment of the championship Playoffs. Newman is the only driver on that list to have a previous win at Chicagoland Speedway, but the other six hope to change that this weekend and take Chevy back to Victory Lane at the 1.5-mile track for the first time since 2011.

“I’m glad I’m in the playoffs this year and have an opportunity to see how far we can go. We just need to get the best results every week and make no mistakes and see where we end up. I think with everybody all-in, hopefully we can come out of nowhere and really make some noise throughout the next 10 races. We just need to do the best we possibly can, give a lot of effort and put a lot of time into it. If we do all of that I think we’ll get our best result and I’ll be happy with it.” Kasey Kahne on making the playoffs

Petty also confirmed that driver Aric Almirola would not return to the organization in 2018, but the team intends to continue racing, as it has since 1949.