Snapshot: Chicagoland

On the front row | Full race lineup (set by practice times due to weather)
1. Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 18 Toyota (191.442 mph).
2. Ryan Newman, Richard Childress Racing, No. 31 Chevrolet (191.042 mph).

Fastest in practice | Full practice results
First practice: Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 18 Toyota (191.442 mph).
Second practice: Paul Menard, Richard Childress Racing, No. 27 Chevrolet (188.772 mph).
Final practice: Carl Edwards, Roush Fenway Racing, No. 99 Ford (186.413 mph).

Best 10 consecutive lap average in practice
Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 24 Chevrolet (184.500 mph-came in second practice)

Defending race champion: Matt Kenseth, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 20 Toyota.

Rain factor: Because Coors Light Pole qualifying was rained out on Friday, the lineup was set by practice times. Some of the Chase drivers affected by that outcome included Joey Logano, who will be the one furthest back in the field at 28th. Brad Keselowski (25th), Denny Hamlin (24th), Aric Almirola (23rd) and Greg Biffle (20th) are other Chase drivers starting 20th or worse.

TRD’s pre-Chase tweaks: “Practice for us went pretty well. It started out slow, but the guys did a real nice job on the M&M’s Camry today to get us to where we needed to be. Everybody back at the shop is building some great stuff and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) making some improvements for the Chase here this weekend and whatnot. Having a good time there in practice means a lot, but there’s obviously a lot of things that need to happen in the race this weekend for us and getting off to a good start and being able to carry that into the next 10 weeks.” — Kyle Busch, after Friday’s first Sprint Cup practice.

Top driver ratings
(Based on past nine races at Chicagoland Speedway)
1. Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 48 Chevrolet (117.1).
2. Tony Stewart, Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 14 Chevrolet (109.8).
3. Matt Kenseth, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 20 Toyota (105.4).

Who to watch: Besides Driver Rating, Johnson is first in several other Loop Data categories at Chicagoland Speedway, including number of fast laps, percentage of laps run in the top 15 and percentage of laps led. Johnson enters Sunday’s race with four straight top-10 finishes after a 28th-place finish at Watkins Glen International.

Two-team race? “I guess the only twist to that is the Stewart-Haas thing, but obviously they are Hendrick cars. Yes, I would kind of feel that way when I go through my favorites and pick out my top four or five cars, they are Hendrick vehicles and Penske vehicles.” — Jimmie Johnson, on whether this Chase is Hendrick vs. Penske.

Playing catch-up: “You take anyone out of their work for six weeks and have them come to work, there’s a few things you have to have them do when they get there Monday morning. We’re definitely behind. I feel like we’re working really hard on trying to make a lot of things better, so I was able to put a little more effort into some of those things maybe. But, not being at the race track and working with the race team and especially working with Denny (Hamlin) is something I feel like I lost a lot of ground on. — No. 11 crew chief Darian Grubb, on being away during a six-week suspension.

Ambrose’s Chicago swan song: “I never thought I would achieve what I have at the Sprint Cup level. I have survived here for years and I have had some wins but not enough, and I feel like I was up against it early on from my background. I came from a country (Australia) that doesn’t have any asphalt oval racing at all and so I feel like I have achieved a lot and am really satisfied.” — Marcos Ambrose, who announced he is leaving NASCAR in 2015

Former Chicagoland Speedway winners in the field: Tony Stewart (3), Kevin Harvick (2), Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon (1).

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