NASCAR heads to Chicagoland Speedway as the playoffs, formerly known as the Chase, begin in the Monster Energy Cup Series. Sunday will mark the beginning of a 10-race stretch where 16 drivers will compete for the championship.
Front-runner Martin Truex Jr. will be going for his second straight win at Chicagoland and fifth of the season. In 2016, Truex led 32 laps en route to the win. Before last year, he never finished higher than ninth at the track.
One contender looking to make waves Sunday will be 2012 Cup champion Brad Keselowski. In eight career starts at the track, the No. 2 driver owns two wins, four top fives, six top 10s and a 9.6 average finish. The only other active driver with two victories there is 2014 title winner Kevin Harvick, who is also competing for another one this season.
"Every season you kinda think that the competition can't get any tougher, it seems to get, you know, tougher and we seem to be closer to the same speed every single year, so certainly it's very competitive," playoff contender and 2003 Cup champ Matt Kenseth said in an interview with CBS Sports. "A lot of cars are very close to the same speed and there's a lot of great race teams, everybody's pit stops are really fast on pit road, a lot of great drivers, so the competition is definitely tough."
Sure there are familiar faces like Kenseth, 2004 title winner Kurt Busch and seven-time champ Jimmie Johnson but there are plenty of young guns making a push for the Cup this year as well. Kyle Larson (25 years old), Ryan Blaney (23), Chase Elliott (21), Austin Dillon (27) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (29) are among the influx of youth heading into the playoffs. Larson, Dillon and Elliott are making their second playoff appearances, while Blaney and Stenhouse are competing in their first playoffs.
How to watch the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tale of the Turtles 400
Location: Chicagoland Speedway
Date: Sunday, Sept. 17
Time: 3 p.m. ET
Length: 267 laps/400.5 miles
Stage 1: Ends on lap 80
Stage 2: Ends on lap 160
Final stage: Scheduled for lap 267
TV: NBCSN
Live stream: NBC Sports App
How to watch the NASCAR Xfinity Series TheHouse.com 300
Location: Chicagoland Speedway
Date: Saturday, Sept. 16
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Length: 200 laps/300 miles
Stage 1: Ends on lap 45
Stage 2: Ends on lap 90
Final stage: Scheduled for lap 200
TV: NBCSN
Live stream: NBC Sports App, Twitter (Martin Truex Jr. dashboard camera)
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tale of the Turtles 400 starting lineup
- Kyle Busch
- Denny Hamlin
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Kevin Harvick
- Brad Keselowski
- Kyle Larson
- Joey Logano
- Chase Elliott
- Austin Dillon
- Matt Kenseth
- Clint Bowyer
- Ryan Blaney
- Daniel Suarez
- Jimmie Johnson
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Ryan Newman
- Kurt Busch
- Chris Buescher
- Jamie McMurray
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Aric Almirola
- Danica Patrick
- Ty Dillon
- Erik Jones
- Kasey Kahne
- Trevor Bayne
- Landon Cassill
- Paul Menard
- AJ Allmendinger
- Michael McDowell
- David Ragan
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Corey LaJoie
- Reed Sorenson
- Cole Whitt
- Gray Gaulding
- Jeffrey Earnhardt
- Timmy Hill
- Ray Black Jr.
- Brett Moffitt
Bold - indicates previous winners at Chicagoland
Italics - indicates NASCAR playoff drivers
2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings
POSITION | DRIVER | CAR # | POINTS | BEHIND | WINS |
1. | Martin Truex Jr. | 78 | 2053 | LEADER | 4 |
2. | Kyle Larson | 42 | 2033 | -20 | 4 |
3. | Kyle Busch | 18 | 2029 | -24 | 2 |
4. | Brad Keselowski | 2 | 2019 | -34 | 2 |
5. | Jimmie Johnson | 48 | 2017 | -36 | 3 |
6. | Kevin Harvick | 4 | 2015 | -38 | 1 |
7. | Denny Hamlin | 11 | 2013 | -40 | 2 |
8. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 17 | 2010 | -43 | 2 |
9. | Ryan Blaney | 21 | 2008 | -45 | 1 |
10. | Chase Elliott | 24 | 2006 | -47 | 0 |
11. | Ryan Newman | 31 | 2005 | -48 | 1 |
12. | Kurt Busch | 41 | 2005 | -48 | 1 |
13. | Kasey Kahne | 5 | 2005 | -48 | 1 |
14. | Austin Dillon | 3 | 2005 | -48 | 1 |
15. | Matt Kenseth | 20 | 2005 | -48 | 0 |
16. | Jamie McMurray | 1 | 2003 | -50 | 0 |
