NASCAR Cup Series

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.

Martin Truex Jr. knows all about winning and losing in the closing laps of a race. He’s been on both sides, including on the winning side in last year’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.

Danica Patrick, the only female driver to win the Daytona 500 pole and one of the most popular figures in NASCAR, will not return to compete for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2018.

Roush Fenway Racing heads to the land of deep dish pizza, Al Capone’s tax evasion, every John Hughes movie and “Da Bears!” this weekend as the Monster Energy Cup Series (MENCS) returns to Chicagoland Speedway, excellent!

"Losing a sponsor of this magnitude in September is a significant set-back to Richard Petty Motorsports, but Andy (Murstein) and I are committed to moving forward with the No. 43 team. We have a lot of great partners who have expressed their continued support, and our fans will rally around the No. 43. We've been around since 1949, and we'll be around a lot longer."

Trevor Bayne will make his fifth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) start at Chicago this weekend. In four previous starts at the Illinois track, Bayne has earned a best finish of 20th in 2012.

Stenhouse has four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) starts at Chicagoland Speedway with an average starting position of 14.8 and average finishing position of 17.0.

This Week's Dow Univar Chevrolet at Chicagoland Speedway ... Dillon has three previous Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Chicagoland Speedway, earning his best finish of 14th in 2016 and best starting position of fifth in 2015.