So it begins. Chicago, where the Chase began. Chicago, where winning was a big thing, but not the only thing. Win and you advance. Drop out or too near the rear of the pack and all you have is New Hampshire and Charlotte to get it right, to fix the problem, to save your season. Three races, 16 drivers, and just a dozen spots available in order to continue the quest.
1. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex started third at Chicagoland as Toyota's took the top three qualifying spot. Despite an early pit road speeding penalty, Truex recovered and took the win, securing his spot in the second round of the Chase For The Cup.
JOLIET, Ill. – Fresh from a Twitter war with Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch proved a point with his pole run at Chicagoland Speedway—and may just have proved Keselowski’s.
Kyle Busch topped the chart in first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Chicagoland Speedway. The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 29.325 and a speed of 184.143 mph.
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.
Change can be a good thing. Sometimes it is, but other times it is a simple reminder that we are getting older and, like disco, what was popular yesterday might not be tomorrow.
Who won? -- That was the one and only question the 60th annual summer event at Richmond had to answer. Who would win it? Three drivers entered had won it twice before, one already had the hat trick. All 13 with multiple wins there during their career are in or will be in conversations regarding the Hall of Fame.
1. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex won Stage 2 at Richmond was on his way to his fifth win of the year before a late caution flipped his fate. Kyle Larson beat Truex out of the pits and pulled away on the restart, while Truex tangled with Denny Hamlin and crashed. Truex finished 20th.
