Fantasy Update: Last-minute Chicagoland lineup, props advice

Posted on June 29, 2019June 30, 2019 by RJ Kraft

Austin Dillon has earned the pole for the Camping World 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Does he merit a spot in your Fantasy Live lineup? We’ve dissected the numbers to offer a suggested lineup worthy of your Fantasy Live consideration.

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RJ Kraft’s Fantasy Live lineup for race day at Chicagoland:
1. Kevin Harvick
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Alex Bowman
4. Kyle Larson
5. Brad Keselowski
Garage: Jimmie Johnson

Analysis: Harvick has looked like the driver to beat this weekend and he has a solid Chicagoland history. I’m in on him regardless of uses — this is one of his best tracks left and I don’t want to miss out. Hamlin has been the best in the Toyota camp so far and I’m in a good spot on uses here — five left — so he’s in. Bowman has been pretty impressive this weekend with the best 15-lap average in final practice (h/t @SteveLetarte) and the best 10-lap average in opening practice. Larson has the long-run speed, loves the top at this track and has a strong history here. To me, Keselowski is lurking. The averages aren’t great, but I’m trusting the comfort he has here and his 1.5-mile wins in 2019 — that Kansas win seemed to come on a relatively pedestrian weekend for him. Johnson gets the garage spot, because his lap averages stood out to me and usage-wise, he’s worth the flier. If he can nab some decent stage points, the play will have been worth it.

For the bonus picks, I like Harvick to win Stage 1 and Stage 2, but Elliott to score the win.

Each week in this space, we’ll also highlight two Props Challenge items for players.

MORE: Need Props help? The Action Network has you covered | Play the Props Challenge today

1. Which driver scores more points in this race: Ryan Blaney or Erik Jones? Both drivers have been very up-and-down. Blaney has the better starting spot and seems to be emerging from a mid-spring funk with a solid showing last weekend at Sonoma. That makes me lean toward YRB for this prop.

2. O/U 33.5 stage points for Joe Gibbs Racing. I figured going into this weekend that either Kyle Busch or Martin Truex Jr. was a lock to score a stage win. But with just one of the four cars to line up inside the top 10, I like the under here. I’d still expect Busch and Truex to get stage points, but not the volume I anticipated going into the weekend. Hamlin could be a team leader at the green-checkered flag, and Jones will have his work cut out to earn some stage points.

Posted on June 29, 2019June 29, 2019 by Chase Wilhelm

JOLIET, Ill. – Kyle Larson hasn’t forgotten about last year’s finish with Kyle Busch at Chicagoland Speedway, but not because he’s frustrated or bitter.

“It was just such an exciting finish,” Larson told NASCAR.com. “I got into him in (Turn) 2 and he got into me in (Turn) 3, so I thought it was fair game. Just good, hard racing for a win. These Cup wins are hard to come by, so we each did everything we could to win — but he just had the last punch.”

As much fun as it was for fans to witness that show of skill and determination between Busch and Larson, it might have been the most fun the No. 42 driver has ever had being a bridesmaid.

“I’m a racer, but I’m also a fan of racing and the sport and I knew that was an exciting finish,” Larson said. “I didn’t think that he did anything wrong getting into me because I got into him first. I didn’t have anything to get over; I just got beat.”

If Larson is put into the same situation in Sunday’s Camping World 400 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), he might reconsider his strategy from last year and hold back to stay even with Busch down the backstretch.

“It’s hard to tell yourself to lift when you’re going down a straightaway, but if I could have side-by-side with him into (Turns) 3 and 4, I think I would have won,” Larson said. “But I also didn’t know if I ran side-by-side with him if he would have just hooked me in the fence for running into him out of (Turn) 2.”

“You really don’t know what’s going on in each other’s minds either when you’re out there racing,” he added. “It’s easy to look back after things. You don’t know if the next person will react differently in that situation.”

This season, Larson feels the speed in the No. 42 car has been there because both he and Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Kurt Busch have had fast Chevrolets. It’s just the execution that needs work, as he has collected one top five and five top 10s in 16 events.

“I feel like I’ve been very similar on speed with him (Kurt Busch) all year long. Their team’s just done a really, really good job of executing toward the end of the races,” Larson said. “Even the midpoint of the race just to position themselves. He’s really high in the points (eighth) and I’m barely in the cutoff (15th).

“I know we can go out and compete like he has, so it’s been a frustrating year. But I’ve been positive about it all because I can see the potential we have in our cars.”

Fresh off a pole position and a 10th-place finish at Sonoma, Larson is hopeful it can translate into another strong run this weekend.

“We had a solid week is what I can take away from that,” he said. “I feel like we maximized our day with gaining points, sacrificing a higher finish for more points in stages and things like that.”

With 10 races to go in the regular season, Larson is just 17 points ahead of Ryan Newman on the cutline, meaning any rhythm he and the No. 42 team hope to build on needs to begin now.

“We need to put a few weekends together in a row where we’ve executed the right way,” Larson said. “Hopefully we can just get some momentum, keep it and stretch out that gap to the cutoff a little bit.”

Posted on June 29, 2019July 1, 2019 by Staff Report

NASCAR officials disqualified the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota on Saturday afternoon, throwing out Christopher Bell’s third-place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series after his car failed post-race inspection.

RELATED: Custer holds on at Chicagoland

According to Wayne Auton, managing director for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the No. 20 failed the height station of post-race inspection, which is standard procedure for the top-five finishing vehicles and a sixth selected at random. Bell was demoted to a last-place result in the 38-car field.

“When we put the sticks on, the car failed both front heights and the right rear,” Auton said. “The front was extremely low. The right rear was a little high, which is normally what you’ll see whenever a car on the front sort of tilts toward the front. The rear’s going to come up; it’s got to go somewhere.”

The No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing operation had until Monday at noon ET to initiate the appeal process, and NASCAR did not receive a request for an appeal during that time. No additional penalties will be handed down after the disqualification.

Additionally, NASCAR officials announced that the race-winning Stewart-Haas Racing No. 00 Ford of Cole Custer was found with one lug nut not safely secured after a post-race check. NASCAR Rule Book guidelines call for a fine issued to the crew chief for such an infraction, but the results for the No. 00 will stand.

Auton mentioned that the No. 20 JGR team was “one of our biggest assets” in the recent process of fine-tuning the inspection process in regards to ride heights. Auton said that inspectors now unhook the shocks before and after the race to provide a clearer baseline. Auton said officials checked the car for damage and found only a rub on a quarter panel, “not enough to look at anything,” he added.

Saturday, Auton said he conferred with No. 20 crew chief Jason Ratcliff before and after the inspection. “Things happen and we feel 100% confident that we did our job the way we do every car,” Auton said. “We checked every car the same way. We had five other cars that went right through the same process at the end of the race … and they all cleared the heights just fine. Since we started this in Daytona back in February, this is the first one that we’ve even seen close. I think Jason was a little surprised, and I’m sure they’ll go back and do their due diligence to see exactly what may have happened.”

Posted on June 29, 2019June 30, 2019 by Holly Cain

JOLIET, Ill. – Austin Dillon earned his third Busch Pole Award of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season Saturday evening at Chicagoland Speedway, his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet posting a speed of 176.263 mph around the 1.5-mile track.

Kevin Harvick will start second, his fifth front row start of the season in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate, Dillon’s RCR teammate Daniel Hemric was third fastest, seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was fourth and Kurt Busch will roll out fifth on the grid.

The qualifying order was provisional until pre-race inspection Sunday morning, which Dillon’s car passed. In all, 36 of the other 37 cars passed inspection, with Matt Tifft’s No. 36 Ford being the lone failure. The pole win was a possible sign of promise for Dillon, the 2018 Daytona 500 winner who hasn’t had a top-20 finish in the last four races and has only a pair of top-10 finishes in total this year. The pole position, Dillon conceded, was a bit of a pleasant surprise compared to where he had run in practice earlier Saturday.

“You don’t usually see a guy that was 21st and 25th in both practice sessions jump up to the pole but I actually felt really confident in our car in the second practice,’’ Dillon said. “When we put on our stickers (tires) we had our car too low. We were hitting the track. So our speed wasn’t there because of that. … I felt confident that our car was good and driving good. We just needed to get off [hitting] the track and we did and we went really fast. It was a good lap.’’

MORE: Chicagoland weekend schedule

His teammate Hemric was equally as enthusiastic. Third place is a career best start for the 28-year-old first-year Cup driver.

“We all enjoy coming to these places where you can try to find little advantages throughout the weekend, practices and qualifying to try and dial in your car to have some versatility to it,’’ Hemric said. “If you can do that and maintain grip, it gives you more opportunities to move.

“I’m a big fan of this place and a big fan of all of the tracks like this. I’m excited about our speed there in our Camaro ZL1 and hopefully it’s a sign of what’s to come in the race.’’

Johnson will be making his best start since winning the pole position at Texas two months ago and Busch will similarly be making his best start since winning the outside pole at Bristol in April.

Michael McDowell, who will roll off from the seventh position, earned the best start in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford this season.

Defending race winner Kyle Busch was 17th fastest in qualifying, one position ahead of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and fellow four-time 2019 race winner Martin Truex Jr.

Posted on June 29, 2019June 29, 2019 by Holly Cain

JOLIET, Ill. – For the vast majority of Saturday’s Camping World 300 at Chicagoland Speedway it looked like another non-too-subtle reminder of how good the NASCAR Xfinity Series triumphant trio has been – championship leaders Cole Custer, Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick showed the way.

Ultimately it was Custer’s time to celebrate this weekend, leading a dominant 151 of the race’s 200 laps to take his fourth Xfinity win of the season in the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford and the sixth Xfinity victory of his career.

RELATED: Race results | Chicagoland schedule

He earned a solid 2.917-second triumph over reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano, who was making his first Xfinity start of the season. Bell was third but was disqualified after the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota failed post-race inspection. The DQ dropped Bell to 38th-place in the final results.

Michael Annett, who led 25 laps late in the race playing a pit stop strategy, finished third. Brandon Jones was fourth, while Austin Cindric rounded out the top five. Reddick ended up ninth, losing positions only in the waning laps.

“I think we’re going to hit it this summer, we have some awesome cars,’’ Custer excitedly told the front grandstands. “I don’t know how to get the car any better, I’m just lucky to drive it.’’

Custer, Bell and Reddick have now combined to win 11 of the season’s 15 races, including the last nine consecutively. Custer and Bell have a series best four wins apiece.

At times – especially following a restart – the affectionately well-worn Chicagoland Speedway surface helped sustain four and five-wide racing in a free-for-all that set the tone of the race behind Custer.

The SHR driver never seemed to have a problem retaking the lead – he passed polesitter Logano only three laps into the race, en route to the Stage 1 victory. Logano, who started from the pole position, retook the lead late in Stage 2 and held on to claim that stage victory.

But Custer’s No. 00 Ford was just too much for the field, losing the lead only briefly at times but then forcefully and easily retaking it at every opportunity. He passed Michael Annett on a restart with 22 laps to go and never looked back. It’s Custer’s second win in the last four weeks (also including Pocono) and he was runner-up to Bell in the last race at Iowa.

The effort in the oppressive 90-degree heat was impressive even to Custer’s competitors.

When asked where he was getting beat by Custer on track, Logano grinned and deadpanned, “At Chicagoland.’’

“They did a good job. They had the fastest car in practice and Cole did an amazing job.’’

The Xfinity Series’ next race is the Circle K Firecracker 250, scheduled Friday night (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM) at Daytona International Speedway.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on June 29, 2019 by Holly Cain

JOLIET, Ill. – Both Joe Gibbs Racing team drivers Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch eased into grins Saturday morning when asked if their Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series excellence this year has caused any sort of divisive inner-team rivalry.

Judging by the demeanor of these two former Cup champions, the competition is good between them and the respect aplenty.

And the results prove the positive vibes. Busch has four wins and series bests 10 top fives and 15 top 10s in the No. 18 JGR Toyota. He trails championship leader Joey Logano by a single point entering Sunday’s Camping World 400 at Chicagoland Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Truex, who drives the No. 19 JGR Toyota, is ranked fifth in the standings, but his four wins ties Busch for most in the series. He has seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.

“I would say that it’s a friendly rivalry,’’ Busch said. “The way we go about it, we put everything out on the table. We have crashed each other a few times and we have been pissed at each other a few times, but a couple weeks later we are back to business and we are joking around in meetings and we are working with one another and stuff like that.

“You are going to have those situations that happen just because of how close we are running. We try to give each other the space you need and the respect that each of us deserve. Sometimes we run into one another, but that happens. But it has been good overall.”

Truex agreed. The mutual respect is there and even a certain acceptance and fondness of their newly-strengthened friendship since Truex joined JGR this season.

“I think it’s definitely more of a friendly rivalry now that we are the same shop,’’ Truex said of their relationship. “I think there were some challenges throughout the years with two different teams. It wasn’t always on-track stuff. Definitely now, it’s more a friendly rivalry. It has been really good.”

The two have won the last three race races at Chicago – Busch winning last year and Truex winning the previous two races. Twice this year they’ve finished first and second. Busch won at Phoenix and Truex was runner-up. Truex won last week at Sonoma and Busch was runner-up.

“We were joking all weekend last weekend,’’ Truex said of the Sonoma race. “It was cool to put it in Victory Lane and get the back-and-forth on pit lane. It was really cool that he stuck his head in there and to see all those guys after the race was really good. I’m sure they weren’t over the moon happy with me winning, but they were very respectful and great teammates about it.’’

Posted on June 29, 2019 by Staff Report

See the order that cars will go off for single-car qualifying on Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway (6:35 p.m. ET on NBCSN, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Click the print icon to see the complete qualifying order.

Posted on June 29, 2019June 21, 2021 by Staff Report

Joey Logano soared atop the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series speed chart Saturday afternoon at Chicagoland Speedway, leading final practice ahead of Sunday’s Camping World 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Logano posted a best lap of 174.452 mph in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford on the 1.5-mile track. His time was just one-thousandth of a second faster than Clint Bowyer, who posted a 174.447 mph speed in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Ford.

Kevin Harvick, a two-time Chicagoland winner, rang up the third-fastest lap at 174.379 mph in Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 4 entry, completing a top-three sweep by Fords. Bubba Wallace was fourth in the No. 43 Chevrolet with Ryan Newman finishing out the top five in the No. 6 Ford.

Defending race winner Kyle Busch posted the 14th-fastest lap in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota. Teammate Martin Truex Jr., winner of four of the last eight Monster Energy Series races, was 19th fastest in the JGR No. 19 Toyota.

Busch Pole Qualifying to set the unofficial starting lineup is scheduled for Saturday at 6:35 p.m. ET (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). | Stream live

Bowman leads first practice

Alex Bowman topped the leaderboard in Saturday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Chicagoland Speedway at 175.942 mph in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Right behind him was Kurt Busch in the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet at 175.873 mph in what was a competitive session where drivers seemed to simulate race conditions.

MORE: Practice 1 results | 10-lap averages | Best photos from Chicago

Rounding out the top five were Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford at 175.850 mph, William Byron in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 175.793 mph and Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 175.690 mph.

Ryan Blaney led for most of the session in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford at 175.547 mph but was surpassed by several cars making qualifying runs in the closing minutes. He placed sixth.

Before laying down the fast lap, Bowman’s No. 88 needed a replacement driveshaft. The team made the adjustment with about 15 minutes remaining in the session and he came out and ran the fastest lap for the session.

Defending winner Kyle Busch was 16th on the board at 174.160 mph.

Posted on June 29, 2019 by Chase Wilhelm

JOLIET, Ill. — Harrison Burton made strong inroads to kickstart a vital playoff push with a fourth-place finish in Friday night’s Camping World 225 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Burton and Ben Rhodes hold the final two points positions in the eight-driver playoff, but Ross Chastain’s victory last week at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway throws in a wrench. But in order for Chastain’s win to count for playoff eligibility, he needs to eclipse the top 20 in points by the end of the regular-season finale at Michigan. Following a seventh-place result on Friday night, Chastain is 10 points out from 20th in the standings.

RELATED: Series standings | Race results

As Burton entered the race 53 points behind Ben Rhodes in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series points standings, Rhodes’ evening was over right after it began. The No. 99 ThorSport Racing Ford blew a puff of smoke at the start, forcing Rhodes out of the event with engines issues.

Rhodes’ misfortune allowed Burton to gain 40 points, sitting 13 points behind in what is evolving into a tight battle for the final playoff spot with four races remaining in the regular season. Burton’s been making a major push to earn a playoff spot with three top fives in his last four races.

“Just gotta keep gaining, keep chipping away,” Burton said after the race. “We got a break tonight and he’s (Rhodes) a tough car to beat, so we just have to go out and have finishes like this, if not better.”

Facing scrutiny from team owner Kyle Busch earlier in the year, Burton acknowledged he has to be “perfect” to have any shot at earning a postseason ticket.

“It’s really, really hard to make these playoffs because there’s only eight positions and there’s a lot of competitive trucks,” Burton said. “Everyone is battling for a spot, just clawing and digging. We just have to keep doing that, keep being aggressive, keep showing up to bring our friends with us and take the spot from him.”

Posted on June 28, 2019June 29, 2019 by Holly Cain

JOLIET, Ill. – Brett Moffitt has long insisted he wanted to earn a checkered flag this season with his performance on track and Friday night at Chicagoland Speedway he did just that – winning the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Camping World 225 by a no-doubt 3.950 seconds over Brandon Jones.

The reigning series champion Moffitt has been vocal in his desire to hoist a trophy this weekend at Chicago – for the second consecutive year. And he earned it in convincing style – smiling widely as the confetti flew in Victory Lane while the crowd cheered approvingly. It was a welcome and different scene from the win he was awarded two weeks ago at Iowa Speedway after Ross Chastain was disqualified.

Moffitt did not lead a lap in the race and only got to celebrate with his team in victory circle after the stands had emptied.

RELATED: Series standings | Official race results

Not this time.

“It’s like the first win,’’ his crew chief Jerry Baxter said with a wide smile after the race. “This feels real good.’’

“We’ll go home and celebrate,’’ Moffitt said. “I felt confident, it was just a matter of a caution coming out or not. I’m sure he (Baxter) was nervous, I was nervous, we were just praying for no caution to come out.’’

And celebrating in Victory Lane this time?

“It was a heck of a lot more fun, and it’s fun for not only me but for the whole pit crew,’’ Moffitt said.

Moffitt’s No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet certainly kept the field honest all race. Stewart Friesen finished third with rookie Harrison Burton and pole-winner Austin Hill rounding out the top-five. Six of the top-10-finishing drivers have never won a race before.

Three Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers earned top-10 finishes – 22-year-old Jones (runner-up), 18-year-old Burton (fourth) and 18-year old Todd Gilliland (sixth).

“We have just been working really really hard, all the guys at KBM busting their butts,’’ said Burton, who remains in playoff contention.

“I’m lucky to be in this position, we’re fighting our way into the playoffs and it’s a lot of fun. If we get in, they better watch out.”

Jones, who has only two previous truck starts this season, was equally as pleased with his runner-up finish.

“We put ourselves in position to learn a bit and that’s the most fun I’ve ever had in a truck race,’’ Jones said. “We’ve got two more with these guys.”

With playoff positions at stake and four races left to set the playoff field and plenty of pride on the line, a handful of the top-ranked drivers showed up at Chicagoland Speedway determined to settle for nothing less than a trophy. And it showed in a thrilling race featuring 12 lead changes and slowed by only five cautions (two for stage breaks).

The intensity was especially evident in the third and final stage. The trucks ran four-wide in the opening laps ultimately leading to the downfall of early race leader Grant Enfinger. The lapped car of Spencer Davis was running alongside Enfinger just after the final stage restart. Contact between the two forced Enfinger’s No. 98 Ford hard into the outside wall and sent Davis’ Chevrolet into the infield.

It was especially tough luck for Enfinger, who had led race-best 49 of the opening 73 laps up to that point and had scored the Stage 2 victory only minutes earlier. He ended up 16th and two laps down but maintained his championship points lead by 52 points over Friesen.

Enfinger’s fate was part of a rough night for his ThorSport Racing team. Two of his teammates – Ben Rhodes and Johnny Sauter had engine issues. Two-time series champion Matt Crafton scored a top 10 (eighth).

Chastain, who started 16th and had to pit early in the opening stage rallied back to a seventh-place finish. The hard work is especially important for Chastain, who won the race at Gateway last week but needs to break into the top 20 in the rankings to be playoff eligible. He is now 10 points behind Jennifer Jo Cobb at the 20th-place cutoff.