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RELATED: Printable Playoffs grid | Up to Speed: 16 drivers, 16 hopes

NASCAR.com staffers go out on a limb to make their daring predictions for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs:

KENNY BRUCE (@kennybruce)

First four out
Kasey Kahne – Outside of win at Indy, team has been non-existent for most of 2017.
Ryan Blaney – The speed is there but the consistency is not.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Unfortunately, playoffs’ lone plate race is in second round.
Austin Dillon – Another driver/team that struggles from time to time with consistency.

Round of 8
Martin Truex Jr. – If bonus points were frequent flyer miles, Truex would be Quadruple Executive Plutonium on any airline.
Kyle Larson – Super fast when it counts most.
Matt Kenseth – Can knock off top-10s with the best of them.
Kyle Busch – Focus on Cup only will be a good thing, right?
Chase Elliott – Team and driver are steady enough to advance this far.
Jimmie Johnson – He gets here, but eight will have to wait.
Denny Hamlin – Don’t look now but FedEx team has been delivering the goods.
Kurt Busch – Wasn’t best SHR team for much of the year, but has been numero uno recently.

Championship 4
Matt Kenseth – Setting up an awkward postseason Christmas party at JGR.
Kyle Busch – Has made finals two of three years under elimination format — make that three of four.
Martin Truex Jr. – Has the speed and the consistency to dominate but those bonus points evaporate after this round.
Kyle Larson – His two top-five finishes in first go-around at this group of tracks bodes well for the Elk Grove speedster.

Champion
Matt Kenseth – Because karma is a beautiful thing.

HOLLY CAIN (@_HollyCain)

First four out
Kurt Busch – Could surprise, but streaky this season and been a while since his lone season-opening win.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Restrictor-plate race reassurance comes one round too late for Ricky.
Austin Dillon – Happy to be here. Would need to come up with drastic improvement.
Matt Kenseth – Veteran and champion, but too little, too late.

Round of 8
Martin Truex Jr. – Bonus points, momentum and heart make this inevitable.
Kyle Larson – Will show everyone that “the kid” is ready to play with the big boys.
Kyle Busch – Of course the 2015 champ is here.
Kevin Harvick – The SHR team leader has the drive and focus to “remind” everyone he’s a contender.
Chase Elliott – Steadiness gets him this far; he’s on the verge of hoisting a trophy before season’s done.
Jimmie Johnson – Don’t ever — ever — count “Seven-Time” out. This is when he shines most.
Denny Hamlin – Serious about winning this championship.
Brad Keselowski – Former Cup champion performs best when it’s all on the line.

Championship 4
Jimmie Johnson – Cannot ever underestimate this team or this driver.
Kevin Harvick – Former champion simply knows how to raise his game.
Martin Truex Jr. – An absolute year to remember but must find a way to shine in Homestead.
Kyle Larson – Loves Homestead track and has won there before. This will be biggest stage yet.

Champion
Jimmie Johnson – Yep, No. 8! No matter what’s thrown at them, this team succeeds

ZACK ALBERT (@zack_albert)

First four out
Kasey Kahne – A shaky entrance into the Playoffs with no top-10 finishes since his Indy win.
Ryan Blaney – Consistency has been tough to find for the No. 21 bunch, with no top-five runs since winning Pocono in June.
Austin Dillon – Since Coca-Cola 600 win in May, Dillon has led just two laps in the last 14 races.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Unfortunately for the No. 17 team’s sweet spot, no restrictor-plate tracks in the Round of 16.

Round of 8
Martin Truex Jr. – Playoff points hoarder keeps pouring it on past the first two eliminations.
Kyle Larson – The No. 42 stays in lockstep with the No. 78, moves on.
Kyle Busch – Late-season gains keep the No. 18 bunch going to the postseason’s midpoint.
Jimmie Johnson – The bid for title No. 8 makes it this far, but no further.
Kevin Harvick – The fastest Ford in the garage finds a way through to the Round of 8.
Denny Hamlin – Toyota’s late-season uptick buoys the No. 11 camp.
Chase Elliott – Second-year Cup talent sustains the speed.
Brad Keselowski – Penske driver will lean on his Talladega expertise and knack for clutch performances.

Championship 4
Martin Truex Jr. – It may not be a walk-over, but the playoff-point edge carries the regular-season champ.
Kyle Larson – Ganassi driver has tried to match Truex punch for punch all season; he’ll get a chance to do it on Homestead’s grand stage.
Kyle Busch – Speed and some late-season swagger should be plenty to push the No. 18 to the final.
Denny Hamlin – He’s won at all three Round of 8 tracks (Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix), giving Hamlin a favorable lie.

Champion
Kyle Larson – First-time coronation for Larson, who edges out Truex with his flair for Homestead’s well-worn surface.

JONATHAN MERRYMAN (@J_Merryman)

First four out
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Chicagoland should be fine for the No. 17 team, but NHMS and Dover are too big of a question mark.
Austin Dillon – 19.6 average finish so far in 2017.
Kasey Kahne – Made no splash before or after the Indy win.
Jamie McMurray – Three playoff points won’t be a big of enough cushion to advance.

Round of 8
Martin Truex Jr. – Playoff points and Cole Pearn. Enough said.
Kyle Larson – The master of 2-mile race tracks has finally won at a short track. Watch out.
Kyle Busch – Too stubborn not to advance. Peaking at the right time.
Brad Keselowski – Penske is fast enough to make it to the Round of 8, but not out of it.
Jimmie Johnson – When the leaves turn, he’s pretty Gr8. (Great +8=Gr8 … Get it?)
Kevin Harvick – Done well with the transition to Ford. Playoff run ends in this round.
Denny Hamlin – Needs Martinsville in the next round to advance.
Matt Kenseth – A salty race car driver is a fast race car driver.

Championship 4
Martin Truex Jr. – Fast. Patient. Poised. PEARN.
Kyle Larson – Breakout year. Team eliminates small mistakes and they cruise to Homestead.
Kyle Busch – Motivation is a powerful thing. Knows he should have more wins this year.
Jimmie Johnson – He’s the seven-time champ for a reason. Making it here isn’t easy but he makes it.

Champion
Martin Truex Jr. – Homestead starts during the day and ends at night, 78 team’s bread and butter. Predicted radio chatter “Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champ… MTJ.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Race results | Full schedule for Chicagoland

MORE: Detailed race breakdown | Meet the field of 12

JOLIET, Ill. – Justin Allgaier had the drive of his life. Brendan Gaughan was hanging on for dear life.

But both drivers were winners at Chicagoland Speedway.

Grabbing the lead with a bold move to the inside after a restart on Lap 186 of 200, Allgaier, an Illinois native, captured the big prize at his home track — a victory in Saturday’s TheHouse.com 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series regular-season finale.

Gaughan rallied from an equalized tire that put him three laps down to finish 13th on the lead lap and nail down the final spot in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Playoffs.

With a push from regular-season champion and JR Motorsports teammate Elliott Sadler, Allgaier powered his No. 7 Chevrolet to the bottom entering Turn 1 on Lap 186, passing both pole-sitter Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney.

But Allgaier was far from home free. A caution for Ryan Reed’s spin in Turn 2 — under hard racing against Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. — slowed the field for the fifth and final time and set up a restart with seven laps left.

Once again, Allgaier surged into the lead, with Jones chasing. But Jones had changed lanes and moved to the outside of Sadler before he reached the start-finish line and was slapped with a pass-through penalty that ended his winning chances.

Allgaier took the checkered flag 1.772 seconds ahead of charging Kyle Larson, who fought back from a late pit-road speeding penalty to finish second. Sadler came home third, followed by Daniel Hemric and Austin Dillon.

“Justin had a great restart there,” said team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has four cars in the Playoffs. “He found an opportunity and seized it.”

“This is incredible, man,” said Allgaier, who won for the second time this year, the second time at Chicagoland Speedway and the fifth time in his career. “I’ve been fortunate enough to go to Victory Lane here before, but on fuel mileage.

“Today, my team, the 7 team, did a great job … Coming down to the end, I didn’t think we had a shot. I thought we were going to be top five, maybe. But those late restarts — we got great restarts … We’ve got a lot of good momentum, and, man, we want to go to Homestead and pull home this championship.”

As Allgaier made the most of his opportunity, his most formidable competitors suffered from self-inflicted wounds. Jones, who led 94 laps, and Blaney, who led 28, both drew pit-road speeding penalties under caution during the break between the second and third stages and had to fight to regain track position.

Larson’s speeding penalty on Lap 182 came too late for the driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet to claw his way back to the front.

“I had a shot to win there, and I sped on pit road and had to restart in the back, behind everybody,” Larson said. “I definitely wasn’t expecting to finish second, so I’m happy about that, but a little disappointed that I sped on pit road.”

Battling to preserve a 25-point edge over Dakoda Armstrong for the last of 12 playoff berths, Gaughan slowed dramatically during the second stage as he fought to keep his No. 62 Chevrolet off the wall. But Gaughan finished the stage, eventually got his three laps back — thanks to three cautions in the last 50 laps — and qualified for the Playoffs.

“I think the last time I had an equalized tire was in Winston West racing,” Gaughan said. “Man, we held on for dear life for that session. Three more laps, and I’ve got a top-10 out of it!

“We don’t quit. We never quit. No matter what the circumstances, we do not stop, and today was just another example of that.”

Rookie Cole Custer led a career-best 41 laps and took seventh place.

The XFINITY postseason opens with the series’ next race, scheduled next Saturday at Kentucky Speedway (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN).

Rookie William Byron, a three-time winner this year, was hampered by transmission trouble, necessitating a pair of stays in the garage for repairs. He finished 34 laps down in 33rd place, but enters the final seven races as the Playoffs’ top seed.

Note: The No. 98 Ford driven by Darrell Wallace Jr. was found with one non-secure lug nut in post-race inspection.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Playoff standings | Chicago results

The 12-car field is set for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Playoffs, the seven-race stretch that will begin next Saturday at Kentucky Speedway (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and finish on Nov. 18 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Here’s the field of drivers:
1. William Byron, 2025 points
2. Justin Allgaier, 2023 points
3. Elliott Sadler, 2020 points
4. Daniel Hemric, 2009 points
5. Brennan Poole, 2006 points
6. Ryan Reed, 2005 points
7. Jeremy Clements, 2005 points
8. Cole Custer, 2005 points
9. Blake Koch, 2005 points
10. Matt Tifft, 2004 points
11. Brendan Gaughan, 2003 points
12. Michael Annett, 2001 points

Posted on by Staff Report

Whether you’re a NASCAR fan visiting Chicago for the first round of the Playoffs, or planning a trip there in the future, Kim Coon has a few spots you won’t want to miss in the Windy City.

Join Kim in the latest episode of NASCARnivore, our popular video series that checks out the hottest eats in and around the cities where NASCAR’s biggest races take place.

This time, Kim hits up a popular hot dog spot (can’t go here without eating a Chicago-style dog), a deep-dish pizza joint with crazy caramelized crusts — and yes, an eatery with some Southern comfort food. NASCAR fans making the trip north won’t be disappointed in the biscuits and pies there. What are you waiting for?

Posted on by Steve Luvender

We didn’t forget, @nascarcasm.

Back at Richmond in May, when Joey Logano’s race-winning car failed post-race inspection, resulting in an encumbered win, you were awfully confident Logano would find Victory Lane again before the start of the playoffs.

You were so confident, in fact, that you promised to do the unthinkable — tattoo Darrell Waltrip’s face on your inner thigh (of all places).

Well, here we are — the Playoffs begin this weekend. The 16-driver lineup is all set to battle for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup, and there’s one particularly notable driver missing: Joey Logano. Feeling nervous yet, @nascarcasm?

That’s right — Logano never ended up winning another race before the start of the playoffs. This, of course, means it’s time to square up.

On behalf of the Internet and NASCAR Nation as a whole, @nascarcasm, we’re giving you until the start of the Playoffs — this weekend’s Tales of the Turtles 400 at Chicagoland. Before the green flag drops Sunday, you’re hereby required to provide some sort of proof of your new DW tattoo.

And no funny stuff, either, pal. We know you’re quite skilled in Photoshop. We demand the real thing.

Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: Chicago starting lineup | Playoff standings

JOLIET, Ill. — The addition of Stewart-Haas Racing to Ford’s NASCAR program for 2017 was made to increase the automaker’s championship chances.

Now, on the eve of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ Playoffs, two SHR drivers are among the five total that will carry the blue oval banner into the 10-race postseason.

First up is Sunday’s Tales of the Turtles 400 here at Chicagoland Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR).

“I think that’s a big reason why Ford is part of Stewart-Haas Racing and (it) shows their commitment to wanting to win a championship,” Kevin Harvick, the 2014 series champion and driver of the No. 4 Ford for SHR, said earlier this week.

“I think for us it’s been a lot to take on, but I think we’re more settled now than we were two months ago.”

Former series champion Kurt Busch also competes for SHR and also earned one of the 16 available spots in this year’s playoffs. Busch won the season-opening Daytona 500 while Harvick scored a victory at Sonoma Raceway. Teammates Danica Patrick and Clint Bowyer failed to make the playoff field.

Other Ford drivers and teams in the Playoffs are 2012 champ Brad Keselowski (Team Penske), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Roush Fenway Racing) and Ryan Blaney (Wood Brothers Racing).

It is only the third time since 2004 when NASCAR went to a 10-race playoff format that Ford has placed five teams in the title battle. It has never placed more than five.

In 2005, all five Ford teams were from the Roush Racing (now Roush Fenway) stable.

In 2014, Ford representation came from Team Penske (two teams), Roush Fenway (two teams) and Richard Petty Motorsports (one team).

A Ford team hasn’t won NASCAR’s top title, however, since Busch managed the feat in ’04, a winless streak of 12 years.

SHR fielded Chevrolet entries from ’09-16, winning 36 races.

Whether SHR can end Ford’s title drought remains to be seen. Harvick earned two of his four wins last year once the playoffs began. This year there’s just the lone victory by the 41-year-old through the 26-race regular season and the speed and consistency haven’t been as evident.

Busch has come on of late, finishing sixth or better in four of his last five starts, due in part he said to rolling out playoff pieces ahead of the postseason.

“I think as you go into the Playoffs, you know that we still have stuff that’s going to come and going to be built,” Harvick explained. “. .. Most of the things that are in the pipeline haven’t been on the race track yet, so you have to just go out and scrimp and scrap and scrape every week to get every point that you can.

Kevin Harvick and Rodney Childers
Kevin Harvick and crew chief Rodney Childers will try to win a title with a Ford this year after Stewart-Haas Racing switched from Chevrolet. Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images

“I think we did that all year — there are some weeks that could have been better and some weeks that could have been a lot worse and it all kind of has a way of evening itself out as you go through the whole season.

“The first goal was to perform well and get yourself into the Playoffs and now the second goal is to try to put yourself in position to race for a championship when you get to Homestead.”

To get there, of course, a team will have to advance through three, three-race rounds that begin here this weekend. Since the debut of the elimination-style format in ’14, Ford has put a team in the Championship Round twice — Team Penske and the No. 22 team with driver Joey Logano in ’14 and again in ’16.

Keselowski, though, said he doesn’t feel Ford teams currently have the speed to win the championship. Other matters will need to come into play.

“At this moment, there’s really no reason for Toyota not to have all four spots going to Homestead,” he said, “but all of that’s dynamic. …

“You never know what people are going to show up with at Chicagoland in the first round and Charlotte and so forth in the second round.

“And then of course getting to the third round, which is a tough one in itself with Martinsville and so forth, it’s tough, too. At this point, no; but we’ll see. It’s a dynamic sport.”

After Sunday’s Chicago stop, the series moves to Loudon, New Hampshire, and Dover, Delaware, for the remaining races that make up the opening Round of 16. Twelve title-eligible drivers will advance to the Round of 12, any race winners and the remainder based on points.

Posted on by Staff Report

Final practice results

Pos Car Driver From Lap To Lap Avg Speed
1 4 Kevin Harvick (P) 1 10 175.784
2 18 Kyle Busch (P) 1 10 175.667
3 24 Chase Elliott (P) 1 10 175.363
4 78 Martin Truex Jr. (P) 1 10 175.119
5 11 Denny Hamlin (P) 1 10 174.739
6 3 Austin Dillon (P) 1 10 174.717
7 22 Joey Logano 1 10 174.548
8 2 Brad Keselowski (P) 1 10 174.534
9 14 Clint Bowyer 1 10 174.517
10 42 Kyle Larson (P) 1 10 174.397
11 19 Daniel Suarez # 1 10 173.903
12 77 Erik Jones # 1 10 173.620
13 1 Jamie McMurray (P) 1 10 173.572
14 41 Kurt Busch (P) 1 10 173.293
15 43 Aric Almirola 1 10 172.617
16 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (P) 22 31 172.289
17 31 Ryan Newman (P) 16 25 172.255
18 13 Ty Dillon # 1 10 172.175
19 48 Jimmie Johnson (P) 9 18 171.998
20 10 Danica Patrick 25 34 171.493
21 95 Michael McDowell 1 10 171.415
22 47 AJ Allmendinger 15 24 171.188
23 27 Paul Menard 21 30 170.531
24 32 Matt DiBenedetto 11 20 170.245
25 34 Landon Cassill 19 28 169.357
26 33 Jeffrey Earnhardt 1 10 168.000

Practice 2 results

Pos Car Driver From Lap To Lap Avg Speed
1 24 Chase Elliott (P) 1 10 176.416
2 2 Brad Keselowski (P) 1 10 176.303
3 20 Matt Kenseth (P) 1 10 175.846
4 31 Ryan Newman (P) 1 10 175.640
5 1 Jamie McMurray (P) 1 10 175.359
6 18 Kyle Busch (P) 11 20 175.215
7 3 Austin Dillon (P) 1 10 174.829
8 4 Kevin Harvick (P) 20 29 174.798
9 27 Paul Menard 1 10 174.131
10 43 Aric Almirola 1 10 174.035
11 41 Kurt Busch (P) 21 30 173.956
12 11 Denny Hamlin (P) 20 29 173.943
13 19 Daniel Suarez # 23 32 173.840
14 10 Danica Patrick 1 10 173.612
15 14 Clint Bowyer 9 18 173.221
16 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (P) 19 28 172.149
17 13 Ty Dillon # 20 29 172.052
18 95 Michael McDowell 15 24 171.917

Practice 1 results

Pos Car Driver From Lap To Lap Avg Speed
1 24 Chase Elliott (P) 6 15 175.347
2 32 Matt DiBenedetto 8 17 170.560

P — indicates Playoff eligible; # — indicates Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate

Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: Full schedule for Chicago | Print your Playoffs Grid now!

JOLIET, Ill. – Fast facts and figures ahead of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs opener at Chicagoland Speedway.

At a Glance 

What: Tales of the Turtles 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race No. 27

Where: Chicagoland Speedway, 1.5-mile tri-oval in Joliet, Ill.

Green flag: 3:06 p.m. ET

TV/Radio: NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR

Forecast: A 40 percent chance of showers/thunderstorms mainly after 1 p.m.; Mostly cloudy, high near 83; south wind around 5 mph. (NOAA.gov)

National anthem: Jim Cornelison

Grand Marshal: Greg Cipes, voice of Michelangelo character from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Honorary Starter: Mark Epstein, Senior VP Partner Marketing Nickelodeon

Race distance: 267 laps, 400 miles

Pit road speed: 45 mph

Caution car speed: 55 mph

Stage lengths: Stage 1 ends at lap 80; Stage 2 ends at lap 160; Final stage scheduled to end at lap 267.

 

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Final practice results | 10-lap averages | Full schedule at Chicagoland

Coors Light Pole winner Kyle Busch backed up his show of speed in Friday qualifying by leading Saturday’s final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice at Chicagoland Speedway.

Busch propelled the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota to a best lap of 180.252 mph in the 50-minute final session. He’ll lead the field to the green flag in Sunday’s Tales of the Turtles 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM), the first event in the 10-race Playoffs for NASCAR’s top division.

Austin Dillon posted the second-fastest lap at 179.438 mph in the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet. Brad Keselowski, who provoked a social-media war of words with Busch this weekend, was third-fastest (179.289) in the Team Penske No. 2 Ford.

Chase Elliott completed a sweep of the top four positions by Playoff-eligible drivers. Clint Bowyer rounded out the top five as the fastest driver ineligible for the championship. Playoff-qualified drivers took 11 of the top 13 spots.

A sizable number of time deductions impacted Monster Energy Series final practice (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, NBC Sports App) as a result of multiple failed technical inspections from last week’s event at Richmond and Friday’s preliminaries at Chicagoland.

Five teams were forced to sit out 30 of the 50 minutes, including the playoff-eligible Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet of seven-time series champ Jimmie Johnson and the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota of Matt Kenseth. The other 30-minute holds were the No. 19 Toyota of rookie Daniel Suarez, the No. 77 Toyota of rookie Erik Jones and the No. 43 Ford of Aric Almirola.

Ten other teams have incurred 15-minute holds for final practice, including regular-season champion Truex Jr. The full list:

  • Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford of Kevin Harvick
  • Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet of Kasey Kahne
  • Germain Racing No. 13 Chevrolet of Ty Dillon
  • Team Penske No. 22 Ford of Joey Logano
  • GoFas Racing No. 32 Ford of Matt DiBenedetto
  • Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Ford of Kurt Busch
  • JTG-Daugherty Racing No. 47 Chevrolet of AJ Allmendinger
  • Furniture Row No. 78 Toyota of Martin Truex Jr.
  • Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
  • Leavine Family Racing No. 95 Chevrolet of Michael McDowell

Truex tops in Saturday’s early practice

RELATED: Practice 2 results

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Champion Martin Truex Jr. led Saturday’s opening practice at Chicagoland Speedway, guiding his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota around the 1.5-mile track at 180.650 mph.

Truex Jr. led a group of NASCAR Playoffs drivers who dominated all but one spot in the top 10 on the speed chart.

Ryan Blaney was second in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford at 179.802 mph.

Chase Elliott was third in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 179.689 mph. Brad Keselowski in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford and Ryan Newman in the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet rounded out the top five.

Aric Almirola, the only driver not in the Playoffs in the top 10, was sixth-fastest in the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford.

Pole-sitter Kyle Busch, who topped Friday’s first practice, was 10th at 178.312 mph.