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Tim Cronin, DailySouthtown: If conditions are favorable and the 43 drivers are racy, then Sunday’s 7th USG Sheetrock 400 will, once and for all, erase the concept of Chicagoland Speedway as a bad track for stock cars.
It should also allow for the continuation, if not the enhancement, of several arguments in the Nextel Cup garage.
Jarrod Breeze, NASCAR.COM: Matt Kenseth has run into bad luck at Chicagoland Speedway. Carl Edwards hasn’t had any luck at all there. Yet the two Roush Fenway Racing teammates have reason for optimism heading into this week’s USG Sheetrock 400.
And if their respective Fusions perform as they have in the past, one could bring Ford its first victory in the short history of the Joliet-based track.
David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM: His team has won two of the past four Nextel Cup races, and might have stolen a third had Jamie McMurray not run out of fuel. All five drivers finished in the top 12 last Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway. After slugging through the first half of the season, Roush Fenway Racing seems to have found its footing in NASCAR’s premier series.
Well, maybe until Friday, when four Roush drivers finished well down the speed chart in qualifying for Sunday’s event at Chicagoland Speedway. One of them, Greg Biffle, was in no mood to talk about a turnaround.
Larry McReynolds, FoxSports.com: Heading to Chicagoland Speedway, the teams that ran well a few weeks ago at Michigan International Speedway should be strong again because it’s a similar track, even though it’s a half-mile shorter.
Fuel mileage played a role in the outcome at Michigan so you can’t necessarily look at the finishing order. You’ve got to look at how the teams ran.Tim Cronin, dailysouthtown.com: “Cookie-cutter.”
That’s been the description of Chicagoland Speedway since it opened in the summer of 2001.
For NASCAR drivers and crews, it was just another 1.5-mile track, the same distance as Charlotte and Atlanta and Kansas, which also joined the circuit in 2001.
That suggested sameness. It was tight, with barely more than a one-lane groove for stock cars in the turns, which is not conducive to good racing.
Herb Gould, SunTimes.com: It has pretty much been a case of feast or famine for the five drivers who have taken the checkered flag since Nextel Cup began racing in Joliet in 2001. A look at their finishes shows why it wouldn’t be surprising if someone who has already won here did it again Sunday.
Here’s a look at the career finishes of the winners at Chicagoland Speedway. Kevin Harvick (2001, 2002), Ryan Newman (2003), Tony Stewart (2004), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2005) and Jeff Gordon (2006) are ranked by their average finish in Joliet:
Jeff Gordon’s Quotes
ON HAVING NICORETTE AS A SPONSOR THIS WEEKEND: “You know what? Times are changing man, times are changing around the world and times are changing here in NASCAR as well and I think by seeing Nextel be the title sponsor, it was one of the beginnings of change and having Nicorette on board our DuPont/Nicorette Chevrolet, I think that it just shows how things are changing in the garage area here as well as the fans. People are wanting to live healthier lives.”
Jimmie Johnson’s Quotes:
“We’ve been doing a good job. I’d certainly give us probably an A or A-minus. The real benchmark is where the points leader is. There is a big gap between Jeff (Gordon) and us. All in all, we’ve won some races and we’re in a good position for the seeding if we transfer into the Chase and it looks like we’re doing what we need to make the Chase. So all-in-all, it’s really been a good season. “
Kevin Harvick’s Quotes:
ON RETURNING TO CHICAGO: “Obviously Chicago has been very good to us and we’ve always performed very well here so we always look forward to coming back. Everything’s kind of just going along and going pretty good. “
Jeff Gordon’s Quotes
I think anything’s possible, you know. I mean, this guy has so much potential, especially in the marketing world. And I think, you know, really the only thing that he hasn’t accomplished, so far is a championship.
Jeff Gordon’s Quotes
Hey, I never count those guys out. I feel like Carl Edwards has been strong sporadically throughout the year. But when he’s strong, he’s real strong.
Jeff Gordon’s Quotes
I’m not so sure if I called Tiger that he would answer my calls. But, you know, we’ve touched base through our foundations and I played some golf with him years ago.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Quotes
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won at Chicagoland in 2005, and he had even a better set-up last season when he started 25th, worked his way through the field, led for 27 laps, and wound up fifth. Besides his win two years ago, Junior has two top-fives and three top-10s in six Cup starts at this venue.
Tom Jensen, SpeedTV.com: Here are the favorites this weekend:
MATT KENSETH Why pick Kenseth, who has never won here, over the guys who have? Lots of reasons. This race will be run with the spoiler car on a 1.5-mile track, which for years has been the bread and butter of Jack Roush and his squad. No one is better at this kind of track. After an uncharacteristically slow start in 2007, the Roushkateers have finally hit their stride. At Saturday’s Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Raceway, historically one of Roush’s worst tracks, not only did the team win, all five Roush drivers finished in the top 12.
Who’s HOT at Chicagoland
Jeff Wackerlin, RacingOne.com: Jeff Gordon is the defending race winner and is tied with three other drivers with four top 10s.
Jimmie Johnson, who has made five starts, leads all drivers with an average finish of 3.6.
Kevin Harvick is the only multiple winner.
Matt Kenseth, who finished second in 2005, has led a combined 288 laps in the last two events.
Tony Stewart has one win and is second in most laps led with 276.
Johnny Benson from MSNBC: The battle to get to Victory Lane on Sunday in the Nextel Cup 400-miler at Chicagoland Speedway figures to come down to a veteran, who’s won four championships, and a sensational sophomore, who was last year’s Rookie of the Year.
Jeff Gordon vs. Denny Hamlin—and race fans have to be licking their chops at the prospect of this kind of duel to the finish line.
Michael Harmon from Fox Sports: “It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses.”
The line is, of course, from the classic movie “The Blue Brothers,” as delivered by Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd).
The situation won’t be nearly as dire as the Nextel Cup Series makes its way to Joliet, Illinois, but you just might see as many car wrecks as you did in the 1980 film. A quick review of the race logs for drivers in this event demonstrates how perilous the second and fourth turns might be to your race for fantasy supremacy.
Rupen Fofaria from ESPN.com:The six previous Busch Series races at Chicagoland Speedway have resulted in four drivers securing their first career Busch Series win.
Casey Mears (2006), Justin Labonte (2004), Johnny Sauter (2002) and Jimmie Johnson (2001) were all first-time Busch Series victors when they scored their wins at Chicagoland Speedway.
“You always love returning to a place you won,” Mears said. “The team’s been great this year and we’ve got a lot of momentum behind us.”
Jeff Hammond from Fox Sports: Carl Edwards: On a roll right now with a win at Michigan and running up front at Daytona, his recent performances should give him the right kind of push through this stretch of the season as he works on attitude and tries to finish strong in the Race to the Chase.
