Win and automatically advance to the next round. There are four rounds, each consisting of three races. Four drivers will be eliminated at the end of each round leaving four contenders to battle for the championship crown at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.
NASCAR heads to Chicagoland Speedway this weekend as the Monster Energy Cup Series Playoffs begin with the Round of 16. For the XFINITY Series and the Camping World Truck Series, it’s the last race of the regular season.
The season is now almost a third over and so much has happened. Attendance is up at some tracks and way down at others. The new stages concept has given us better racing, but many are just staying away. Some of the gimmicks NASCAR has tried in order to generate interest have worked and some have not.
Jimmie Johnson showed the world that he was ready to fight for his seventh championship this season with a dominant drive in the Windy City, and then it turned sour.
Kyle Busch opened the door, and that was all the invitation Erik Jones needed. When Busch, the polesitter for Saturday’s The Drive for Safety 300 at Chicagoland Speedway, spun with a tire down while leading on Lap 182 of 200, Jones took full advantage of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate’s misfortune.
Jimmie Johnson posted the fastest time in the first Sprint Cup Series practice at Chicagoland Speedway. The driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 29.383 and a speed of 183.780 mph.
