Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Find NBCSN in your area | Find CNBC | Watch live online at NBCSports.com

The NASCAR Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series will gather for a doubleheader showing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend. The XFINITY Series will race at Kentucky Speedway. Check out the full schedule below.


Note: All times are ET


SUNDAY, SEPT. 25:

ON TRACK: New Hampshire

–1:25 p.m.: NCSC Driver Introductions with NASCAR Special Awards

–1:58 p.m.: Canadian National Anthem by Kirk Young

–2:00 p.m.: Presentation of Colors by New Hampshire State Police Honor Guard and Combined Services Military Color Guard

–2:00:20 p.m.: Invocation by Dustin Pari, actor on the show “Ghost Hunters”

–2:01 p.m.: National Anthem by Daniel M. Clark, U.S. Marine Corps veteran and retired Massachusetts state trooper

–2:02:30 p.m.: Fly-by, two F-15s from Massachusetts ANG 104

–2:07:30 p.m.: “Drivers, Start Your Engines” by Kevin Holleran, president of Textron Specialized Vehicles 

— 2:15 p.m.: Start of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bad Boy Off Road 300 (300 laps, 317.4 miles), NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Results)


PRESS CONFERENCE (Watch live)
— 5 p.m. (approximately): NASCAR Sprint Cup Series post race press conference


DAILY ROUNDUP

— At-track photos: Sunday, New Hampshire

— Full schedule for Dover and Las Vegas

— Harvick charges to New Hampshire with late-race surge

— Kenseth: ‘The last restart is my fault’

— Chase bubble watch: Harvick, Stewart head in opposite directions 

— Stewart’s Fathead makes appearance during Harvick’s post-race presser

— Edwards rallies to sixth-place finish after Loudon penalty

— All 16 Chase cars pass post-race inspection


FRIDAY, SEPT. 23:

ON TRACK: New Hampshire

— 11:30 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series first practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Results)

— 1:45-2:40 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series first practice, FS1 (Results)

— 3:30-4:25 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FS1 (Results)

— 4:45 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Results)

GARAGECAM: New Hampshire

— 11 a.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (Watch live)

— 1 p.m. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (Watch live)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)

—10:15 a.m.: Joey Logano

—10:30 a.m.: Matt Kenseth

—11 a.m.: John Hunter Nemechek

—11:15 a.m.: William Byron

—1:05 p.m.: Carl Edwards

—3 p.m.: Austin Dillon

—5:30 p.m.(approximately): NASCAR Sprint Cup Series post qualifying press conference


ON TRACK: Kentucky

— 3:30-4:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series first practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Results)

— 6-7:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Results)


DAILY ROUNDUP

— Five to Watch: XFINITY Chase 

— Dillon wrecks in Larson-led practice 

— At-track photos: Friday, New Hampshire and Kentucky

— Second-best thrills Logano as he readies for Chase long haul

— Nemechek, Byron ready for anything in Truck Chase

— Truex, Harvick discuss on-track Chicago contact

— Rhodes, Crafton sweep Friday’s practices

— Drivers rally from pre-qualifying hang-ups

— Drivers react to social unrest in Charlotte

— Edwards earns Coors Light Pole Award at New Hampshire

— See the full lineup for Sunday

— Full XFINITY practice results

— Snapshot: Sunday’s event

SATURDAY, SEPT. 24:

ON TRACK: New Hampshire

— 9-9:55 a.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series second practice, CNBC/NBC Sports App (Results)

— 10:10 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FS1 (Results)

— 11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, CNBC/NBC Sports App (Results)

— 1 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series UNOH 175 (175 laps, 185.15 miles), FS1 (Results)


PRESS CONFERENCE (Watch live)
— 3 p.m. (approximately): NASCAR Camping World Truck Series post race press conference

ON TRACK: Kentucky

— 4:45 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Results)

— 8 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series VisitMyrtleBeach.com (200 laps, 300 miles), NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Results)

DAILY ROUNDUP

— Larson sweeps Cup practices at New Hampshire
— Phone call changes Johnson’s Chase outlook
— Byron wins Trucks Chase opener at New Hampshire
— Top 10 consecutive lap averages at New Hampshire
— Nemechek fails post-race inspection

— Runner-up Bell: ‘Just got to keep digging’

— Jones earns 21 Means 21 Pole Award at Kentucky

— Sadler wins first XFINITY Chase race in caution-filled night

— Jones, Dillon’s Chase positions in trouble post-Kentucky

Posted on by Staff Report

While most of NASCAR was either watching or participating in the opening Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday, No. 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing driver Regan Smith was busy welcoming his daughter, Eliza Grace Smith, to the world.


Smith tweeted a photo of the couple’s new bundle of joy pictured with wife, Megan, saying, “The two most beautiful girls I’ve ever laid my eyes on. We welcomed Eliza Grace Smith to the world this afternoon.”



Smith had shared an early photo from the couple’s hospital room during Sunday’s race, noting that the two still were cheering on the No. 7 — being piloted by Ty Dillon — while his wife was in labor.

RELATED: T. Dillon subs for Regan Smith at Chicagoland



This is the couple’s second child together. The pair welcomed their son, Rheet Lee Smith, on Feb. 25, 2015.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Full race results | O’Donnell discusses post-race process

 

The No. 78 Toyota of race winner Martin Truex Jr. and the No. 48 Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson failed post-race inspection Sunday following the opening race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

 

Both cars failed during both trips through the Laser Inspection System (LIS). Any penalties will be announced later in the week, according to NASCAR.

 

“It is what it is,” No. 78 crew chief Cole Pearn said post-race in the Sprint Cup garage. “Kind of a bummer on the day, but whatever, you know. We’ll move on. … It’s just really tricky. It’s just the repeatability. Things relax. It’s not the stiffest suspension back there, by any means. You try to account for that and prevent it and we missed it. We missed it two weeks in a row, which is kind of crappy.”

 

This is the second consecutive week the No. 78 failed post-race LIS.

 

RELATED: No. 78 fails Richmond post-race | Team assessed P2 penalty

 

Previous LIS violations have produced either 10- or 15-point deductions during the regular season. NASCAR recently updated its rules for “encumbered” victory penalties during the postseason, but those would not be in effect for Truex Jr. because it was the lowest grade of failure for the LIS platform.

 

“The right rear of our car was well within the tolerance margin, which showed that we were trying to be conservative,” Furniture Row Racing announced in a team release on Monday. “However, the left rear wheel alignment was off by approximately ten-thousandths of an inch, which in high probability was due to damage in that area as a result of being hit by the No. 4 car. We believe the laser inspection numbers were correct and accept NASCAR’s decision that was made following Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.”

 

RELATED: Read more about the rules updates

 

Kyle Busch‘s No. 18 Toyota failed its first trip through the LIS platform, but passed the second. That does not equal a failed post-race inspection.

 

Additionally, the No. 16 Ford of Greg Biffle was missing one lug nut after the race and the No. 43 Ford of Aric Almirola had a broken stud.

 

The Nos. 78, 22 (of Joey Logano) and 24 (of Chase Elliott) will undergo further scrutiny at the weekly post-race inspection at the R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, on Tuesday. That event will be live-streamed on NASCAR.com.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Full starting lineup

 

Kyle Larson was forced to start his No. 42 Chevrolet from the rear of the field in today’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup opener at Chicagoland Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), and Kevin Harvick joined him in the back just before the race started.

 

Larson’s Chip Ganassi Racing team had to change the transmission in his Chevy early Sunday morning, which sends him to the back of the pack. That news came early in the day; Harvick’s move to the rear, due to unapproved adjustments, wasn’t confirmed until approximately 2:25 p.m. ET, about 20 minutes before the green flag.

 

Larson led both practice sessions on Saturday, and he will be credited with an official starting position of 10th, where he would have lined up had the car change not been needed. Harvick was slated to start fourth.

 

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Full race results | Updated Chase Grid
SHOP: Chase gear

One race into the 2016 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and already some drivers are in bubble trouble. Let’s find out which drivers went into their shells during the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, and who is sitting back, relaxing and chomping on pizza before New Hampshire.

Who’s hot: Martin Truex Jr.: He overcame a lot to win his first Chase race in the opener at Chicago. First, there was a shredded right-front tire that forced him to come to pit road and fall a lap down before the race was 90 laps old. He jumped back on the lead lap after a caution on Lap 119 and overcame Ryan Blaney on a restart in an overtime finish to pull away for the win. It was critical for Truex to do well on the intermediate track since two short tracks (New Hampshire, Dover) are up next in the Round of 16. Truex advances. (Note: The No. 78 failed post-race inspection but not to the level of an encumbered finish. Read more) …

Chase Elliott: The Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate appeared to have his first Sprint Cup Series race in the bag before a caution on Lap 262 for an accident involving the No. 95 of Michael McDowell. In the ensuing pit stop, Truex beat Elliott off pit road, and after an overtime restart, the No. 24 finished third. Still, it’s a great way to start the Chase, and with three top-10 finishes in his past four races, Elliott seems to have turned his season around at the right time.

Who’s not: Kevin Harvick: The 2014 champ charged up from the back after starting there for unapproved adjustments and was poised to contend for the victory. But bad luck struck when he pitted under green just before a caution flag came out on Lap 48. Harvick couldn’t beat the leader to the start/finish line on pit road and fell a lap down. He had a good car but finished 20th (15th among the 16 Chase drivers). …

Kyle Larson: The first-time Chase participant got off to a bad start when he had to move to the back because of a transmission change prior to the race. However, Larson fought his way back into the top five late in the race before he reported the right side of the car feeling like it was about to go down. Crew chief Chad Johnston called him to pit road with seven laps to go and Larson finished 18th (14th among Chase drivers) and was 15th in the Chase standings heading to New Hampshire.  

Four in, four out: Here’s a look at the Chase bubble, with four drivers being eliminated after the third race of this round, at Dover International Speedway.

Chase Bubble Watch

Standing Driver Point Differential from Cutoff
9. Carl Edwards +5
10. Kurt Busch +4
11. Jamie McMurray +3
12. Tony Stewart +1
———— CUT-OFF LINE ————
13. Austin Dillon -1
14. Kevin Harvick -1
15. Kyle Larson -2
16. Chris Buescher -12


Up next: New England 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Who it favors
Most wins: 3 (Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart)
Best driver rating: 103.3 (Denny Hamlin-21 races)
Best average finish: 10.2 (Denny Hamlin)

Who it hurts
Fewest top 10s: 1 (Austin Dillon-5 races), 0 (Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher-1 race)
Worst driver rating: 45.0 (Chris Buescher), 72.2 (Jamie McMurray)
Worst average finish: 34.0 (Chase Elliott-1 race), 29.0 (Chris Buescher-1 race), 19.9 (Jamie McMurray-27 races) 

Posted on by Staff Report

With Regan Smith still in North Carolina due to the impending birth of his second child, Ty Dillon will pilot the No. 7 Chevrolet for Tommy Baldwin Racing in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the team announced Sunday morning.

 

Dillon has practiced all weekend in the No. 7 as Smith flew back to North Carolina to be with wife Megan.

 

 

Smith has made all 26 starts in the No. 7 so far this year with two top-10 finishes. Dillon has made eight starts this season in the Sprint Cup Series and served as a relief driver for Tony Stewart at Talladega in the spring. 

 

Dillon is currently a regular in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and will participate in that series’ seven-race XFINITY Series Chase, which begins next weekend at Kentucky Speedway.

 

Smith has taken to Twitter the past few days to keep fans updated on his status. Here are his latest posts:

 

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Find NBCSN in your area

All times ET

Monday, September 19
4 p.m., NASCAR 120, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Tuesday, September 20
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Scan All Special: Sonoma, Daytona, Kentucky (re-air), NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., The Season (re-air), NBCSN
11:30 p.m., NASCAR The List: Daytona Memories (re-air), NBCSN

Wednesday, September 21
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Thursday, September 22
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Modified Series: South Boston (taped), NBCSN

Friday, September 23
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, NBCSN
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, FS1
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FS1
3:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, NBCSN
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, NBCSN
7:30 p.m., The Season (re-air), NBCSN
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (re-air), NBCSN
10 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice (re-air), NBCSN

Saturday, September 24
9 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, CNBC
10 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FS1
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, CNBC
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series SetUp, FS1
1 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series UNOH 175, FS1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Coors Light Pole Qualifying (re-air), NBCSN
7:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN
8 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300, NBCSN

Sunday, September 25
11:30 a.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
1 p.m., NASCAR America Sunday, NBCSN
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN
2 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bad Boy Off Road 300, NBCSN
5 p.m., Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge from Circuit of the Americas (taped), FS1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Post-Race Show, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Victory Lap, NBCSN
11:30 p.m., NASCAR Victory Lap (re-air), NBCSN
1 a.m., NASCAR Victory Lane, FS1

 



Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: Full race results | Series standings | Chase Grid
SHOP: Chase gear

JOLIET, Ill. — Kevin Harvick‘s hopes for a strong start to this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs were thwarted Sunday afternoon by a case of unfortunate timing.

Harvick left Chicagoland Speedway with an unsatisfying 20th-place finish in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, unable to make up a lap lost during the race’s first caution period. Only rookie Chris Buescher in 28th finished worse among the 16-driver postseason field.

The timing was compounded by a penalty to start the race, when NASCAR officials ordered the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet to the rear of the field for unapproved body modifications.

Harvick emerged from his car and walked with purpose from pit road toward the drivers’ motorcoach lot, declining to answer questions about the circumstances of his day. He left the Chase opener tied for 13th in the standings, needing to make up ground in the Round of 16’s next two races at New Hampshire and Dover.


RELATED: How Harvick got stuck a lap down explained

“You start behind in the Chase and that’s what happens,” said Greg Zipadelli, Stewart-Haas Racing‘s vice president of competition. “It was kind of an unusual day as it was, the way the cautions fell. We usually have more, and every time he was in an opportunity to get his lap back, they didn’t. It is what it is. We go on to Loudon, we work harder this week. We’ve had good cars all year, fast cars all year, so there’s no reason to panic.”

Harvick charged mightily from the rear of the field at the initial drop of the green flag, vaulting into the top 10 after just 20 laps around the 1.5-mile track. But he was trapped a lap behind the leader when the race’s first caution flag flew as he made his first pit stop in the 49th of 270 laps. After leaving its pit stall, Harvick’s No. 4 Chevrolet just missed crossing the pit exit line by the narrowest of margins before then-leader Martin Truex Jr. — the eventual race winner — had lapped it.

Though he was in a position to receive the free pass on several occasions, the scarcity of yellow flags — and the accumulation of other lapped cars in the race’s long green-flag stints — the rest of the way kept Harvick from ever landing back on the lead lap.

For the second-straight year, the circumstances leave the 2014 Sprint Cup champion with another hurdle to overcome in the Chase’s opening three-race round. Last season, Harvick and fellow Chevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson made contact after a midrace restart in the Chicagoland opener, leaving Harvick with a crash-related 42nd-place result. After a midpack finish at New Hampshire the following week as the No. 4 car ran dry in the closing laps, Harvick converted in a must-win situation with a dominant victory at Dover.

It’s not another must-win scenario yet, but facing a 23-point deficit to standings leader Truex and having a dozen drivers ahead of him will up the degree of difficulty.

“It is what it is. It’s life — how you deal with it, karma, how you react to it,” Zipadelli said. “Right now, we just, we’re going to go back to work and go to Loudon, a place where a couple of our cars could’ve won the last few races and that’s all we’ve got to do. We’re going to look and see why what happened today and correct that, but overall, the picture is you’ve got to go to Loudon and go over and race your guts out.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: Full race results | Series standings | Chase Grid
SHOP: Chase gear

JOLIET, Ill. — Jimmie Johnson drove the final 35 laps or so at Chicagoland Speedway in disbelief. His chance for a victory — or at least a solid top-five finish — in Sunday’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup opener fizzled the moment he was tagged for speeding as he left pit road after his final green-flag stop.

Johnson rallied from the late-race pass-through penalty to finish 12th in Sunday’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, salvaging a so-so result in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet. But it was far from what could have been after Johnson — who displayed dazzling speed all weekend — led four times for a race-high 118 laps.

“I’m making adjustments and I was dumbfounded that happened,” Johnson said. “You can’t argue it. Maybe a mistake on our part somewhere, definitely a mistake on my side, but I by no way shape or form thought that I was speeding. I was probably the slowest down pit road all day just to try to avoid it and got nailed. I will soak on it tonight and come back next week and be at 100 percent again and get ready to take this Lowe’s car to Victory Lane.”

Johnson led laps in bunches, surging to the top spot after the opening round of pit stops. Down the stretch, he ran second to Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott, who was in position for his first Sprint Cup victory before a late caution flag threw the finishing order into disarray.

But Johnson’s main obstacle arose before the overtime finish ever materialized. NASCAR race officials docked Johnson’s No. 48 in the 234th of 270 laps, and the driver screamed over the team communications to express his incredulity.

On pit road afterward, Johnson was still scratching his head. Finishing 12th and maintaining the eighth spot in the Chase standings with two races left in the Round of 16 weren’t much consolation.

“It’s not as bad as I expected, but I’ve got to stop screwing up,” Johnson said. “I didn’t think I screwed up. I mean, I was completely shocked that I was fast. I’m way under, just being cautious and still got dinged leaving that last segment. I couldn’t believe it. Just mind-boggling.”

Before he was flagged for the wrong sort of speed, Johnson’s No. 48 Chevy was a bright light in the performance department, showing sustained long-haul power in the weekend’s practices. His Hendrick Motorsports teammates also enjoyed an increase in their race-day pace, with Chase Elliott, Kasey Kahne and fill-in Alex Bowman all finishing in the top 10.

“Encouraging for the cars, for sure,” Johnson said. “I’ve just got to stop screwing up.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Full race results | Updated standings | Chase Grid

SHOP: Truex gear | Chase gear

JOLIET, Ill. – You could see it coming from a mile-and-a-half away.

On new tires, Martin Truex Jr. rocketed around the outside lane after a restart in overtime at Chicagoland Speedway and pulled away to win Sunday’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, the opening race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

With the victory—his first at the 1.5-mile track, his third of the season and the sixth of his career—Truex also rocketed into the Chase’s Round of 12. But Truex wasn’t satisfied with a ticket into the next round and the prospect of racing stress-free at New Hampshire and Dover, the final two Round of 16 events.

“We have more races to win—the more we can win, the better,” said Truex, who holds the lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings for the first time in his career. “What can I say? This is how we want to start off. This feels awesome.”

Truex lost a lap during an unscheduled pit stop on Lap 69 of 270 to change a flat right front tire, but he returned to the lead lap as the highest-scored lapped car when NASCAR called the second caution of the race on Lap 120 for Brian Scott‘s spin off Turn 4.

The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota, who led 30 laps in the early going, didn’t regain the top spot until the restart in overtime on Lap 269, when he restarted fourth in the top lane and quickly dispatched Ryan Blaney, Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards, who had stayed out on old tires under the final caution, called on Lap 263 when Michael McDowell shredded his right front tire.

MORE: Who’s in bubble trouble?

Joey Logano came from sixth to second in the two-lap overtime, trailing Truex at the stripe by .776 seconds. Chase Elliott won a drag race for third against fellow Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Blaney, with Brad Keselowski crossing the finish line in fifth.

“On one hand, the bad luck was going to bite us, and on the other, we had a lot of time to battle back,” Truex said of the flat tire. “We’re lucky it happened early, and we were able to have an awesome race car all day.” 

But for a lightning-fast pit stop that got Truex off pit road ahead of Elliott on the final stop, the outcome might have been markedly different. Elliott had held a one-second lead with four of 267 scheduled laps left before McDowell’s tire problem slowed the field and put the race in the hands of the pit crews.

While Truex restarted in overtime on the outside of the second row with a clear lane to the front, Elliott took the green in fifth, boxed in at the bottom of the track.

“That’s just part of it,” Elliott of the late caution that perhaps deprived the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of his first victory. “You’ve got to expect it and be able to embrace it and move forward. I feel like we did a good job controlling the things that we could control today. 

“We had a fast NAPA Chevy. I appreciate everybody’s hard work this weekend. Hendrick was strong—that’s good to see. Like I said, there are some things you just can’t control with the amount of guys that stay out (under caution) and where you line up on a restart. We played the cards we were dealt and came up short.”


RELATED: Elliott discusses late caution

Elliott can console himself with the knowledge that other Chase drivers had far more serious issues.

Kevin Harvick, the 2014 series champion, was trapped a lap down on pit road—by roughly two feet—when a runaway tire from Aric Almirola’s car forced the first caution on Lap 49. Harvick never got the lap back and finished 20th.

He leaves Chicagoland 14th in the Chase standings and in danger of elimination from the playoff after the Oct. 1 race at Dover, where the Chase will be pared to 12 drivers.

Jimmie Johnson led a race-high 118 laps but finished 12th after serving a pass-through penalty for a pit road speeding infraction on Lap 234. Rookie Chris Buescher struggled to a 28th-place finish in an ill-handling car and heads to New Hampshire 16th in the standings, with his prospects of advancing to the Round of 12 significantly dimmed.

Kyle Larson was forced to pit road on Lap 260 with a tire deflating, finished 18th and is 15th in the Chase standings.

Harvick, Buescher and Larson aside, Chase drivers held serve, taking 13 of the top 16 finishing positions. The only exceptions were Blaney, seventh-place Kasey Kahne and 10th-place Alex Bowman, who in relief of sidelined Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored the first top 10 with the No. 88 Chevrolet since Earnhardt ran second at Pocono in early June.

Note: Both Truex’s winning car and Johnson’s 12th-place car failed the laser inspection station post-race. Since both failed by a slight margin, NASCAR officials said the infraction to the No. 78 Camry didn’t rise to the level of an encumbered victory. Consequently, Truex’s advancement to the Round of 12 stands. If penalties to either team are warranted, they will be announced later this week.