Final Chicagoland Driver Ratings: 2018 Overton's 400

Pual Menard is on the pole at Chicago and was 100/1 to win Sunday's race in Las Vegas.

MICAH ROBERTS' 2018 MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER RATINGS
2018 OVERTON'S 400
CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY
SUNDAY, JULY 1, 2018 - 2:46 PM ET
RATING   DRIVER   ODDS                   PRAC 1    PRAC 2   QUALIFIED   
 1. Kevin Harvick 9/4               11th          6th           11th
 2. Kyle Larson 7/1                     8th         16th          18th
 3. Kyle Busch 7/2                     18th          8th          16th
 4. Martin Truex Jr. 7/2             19th          2nd          36th
 5. Clint Bowyer 20/1                14th        10th           5th
 6. Ryan Blaney 15/1                   1st         14th          2nd
 7. Denny Hamlin 12/1               7th         12th          37th
 8. Kurt Busch 20/1                    12th           4th          4th
 9. Brad Keselowski 15/1          13th           1st           7th
10. Jimmie Johnson 30/1            2nd         30th         38th
11. Paul Menard 100/1               15th         24th          1st
12. Jamie McMurray 100/1        10th           7th         13th
13. Joey Logano 18/1                   9th           3rd         12th
14. Erik Jones 20/1                      25th          9th           9th
15. Chase Elliott 25/1                   4th         23rd          3rd

Opening odds courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.

Micah Roberts, a former Las Vegas sports book director, has been setting auto racing odds in Las Vegas since 1994.

Chicagoland Betting Preview: 2018 Overton's 400

Martin Truex Jr and Kyle Busch are 7/2 co-second choices to win.

The NASCAR Cup Series went the entire month of June without a race on a 1.5-mile track, but Sunday's Overton's 400 at Chicagoland Speedway gets us back to the type of racing there's the most of on the season.

This will be the sixth of 11 races on 1.5s and two drivers have combined to win the previous five. Guess who? Good guess, Kevin Harvick has three of them and leads the series with five wins overall and Kyle Busch has the other two on 1.5s and also has the second-most wins on the season with four.

But what about Martin Truex Jr. who won on seven of the 11 1.5s last season? He won last week for his third win of the season and is actually hotter than Harvick and Busch by winning two of the past three races on the schedule. He's been runner-up on the past two 1.5s at Kansas and Charlotte and he also had top-fives at Atlanta and Las Vegas.

Truex comes into Chicagoland with lots of momentum, and I almost forgot to mention...he's won the past two seasons at Chicagoland.

“Yeah, I feel great about that — going for three in a row at Chicago,” Truex said. “A little sad it’s not kicking off the playoffs anymore just because of our record there, but at the same time, great racetrack and excited to go there and see what we can do. We had to overcome some issues the past two years at Chicagoland and hopefully we will have a clean race on Sunday and be there at the end in our No. 78 5-hour ENERGY/Bass Pro Shops Toyota.”

Truex is the co-second choice to win with Kyle Busch at 7/2 odds while Harvick is the 9/4 favorite (Bet $100 to win $225) according to odds posted Monday at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook. In 2016, Truex had a tire issue that set him back prior to winning at Chicago and last season he had to overcome a speeding penalty.

Harvick won the first two races ever at Chicagoland (2001-02), but none since and was third last fall there. Kyle Busch won there in 2008 and has led at least 21 laps the past five years there which has helped give him 514 laps led all-time, second-most in track history. Harvick is using his runner-up Texas chassis this week. But enough about those two guys. It's like a broken record or groundhog day....every week, the same storyline. How about some other candidates to win Sunday?

READ HERE FOR MORE.........TOP-5 FINISH PREDICTION

Kevin Harvick using runner-up Texas chassis at Chicagoland

Kevin Harvick is the 9/4 favorite to win Sunday at Chicagoland.

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing: 

You’ve worked with Jimmy John’s for a few years. What makes Jimmy John’s unique? 

“I’ve known Jimmy since 2009 and I’ve personally seen how driven he is and how his work ethic is embraced by everyone who works at Jimmy John’s. They’re freaks about the details just like he is and want to be the best, period. And he’ll outwork everyone to be the best. That’s the same mindset we have in racing.” 

You’ve won four of the last seven races on 1.5 mile racetracks. Do you feel your team has become the favorite at 1.5-mile tracks since the start of the year? 

“I think Atlanta is its own beast, but I think we answered a lot of those questions for ourselves. And now it’s about navigating the rest of it, and how do you push yourself forward, what do you need to work on, even though things are going well. Sometimes you have to trick yourself and everybody else into thinking, ‘OK, well, everything is going well. Well, I can promise you that the 78 (Martin Truex Jr.), the 18 (Kyle Busch), the 2 (Brad Keselowski), the 22 (Joey Logano) – everybody – is going to work, and they’re going to get better.’ I mean, we did that last year. We’ve been in this position before and you have to keep pushing forward to try to keep your advantage of things that are working well for you, but you also have to find out what your weaknesses are. So, we have to figure out how to motivate everybody to keep pushing forward to not sit idle in the things we’re doing and become complacent in the things we’re doing that are good enough right now because they won’t be when the playoffs start.

Chassis Selection:
Chassis No. 4-010: Kevin Harvick will pilot the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Kickin’ Ranch Ford Fusion built on Chassis No. 4-010 Sunday in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Overton’s 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. Built new in 2017, Chassis No. 4-010 made its NASCAR Cup Series debut at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Brickyard 400, when Harvick started second and finished sixth. In its only appearance of 2018, Harvick started second, led 87 laps and finished runner-up to Kyle Busch by .3 of a second at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth

Chicagoland NASCAR Cup Series Notes: 2018 Overton's 400

Denny Hamlin won at Chicagoland in 2015. He's 12/1 to win Sunday.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Overton’s 400
The Place: Chicagoland Speedway
The Date: Sunday, July 1
The Time: 2:30 p.m.
TV: NBCSN, 2:00 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 400 miles (267 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 160), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 267)


Same Dale, New View

With the return to Chicagoland Speedway also comes the return of NBC Sports to the broadcast schedule…and a face very familiar to all NASCAR fans will be wearing a rookie stripe as a member of the on-air talent team.

15-time Most Popular Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. joins the broadcast team starting this weekend. The two-time Daytona 500 winner retired from full-time driving following the 2017 season, but he’s been all over TV screens lately.

He started his on-air work with NBC during the off-season. He traveled to Minneapolis for Super Bowl pre-game segments, flew to PyeongChang to cover the Olympics and appeared in Stanley Cup intermission reports.

His popular podcast, the Dale Jr. Download, now airs on NBCSN on Thursday nights following NASCAR America. And this week, he’s on a whirlwind trip to New York City, appearing on Megyn Kelly TODAY, the Dan Patrick Show, E! News and the Tonight Show.

Now with a four-person booth, NBC will employ a wide variety of unique and creative set-ups to best utilize the on-air talent. Included in that is the introduction of the “Peacock Pit Box,” an on-location studio set designed to bring fans closer to the action.

Same Track, New Vibe

For the first time in eight years, Chicagoland Speedway’s place in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is an early summer race.

This Sunday’s Overton’s 400 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) marks the July return of the 1.5-miler after seven years as the Playoff opener. And it will undoubtedly be interesting to see how the shift in schedule affects the vibe in the garage.

Instead of just 16 drivers searching for a Playoff victory to advance – the race now becomes a high-stakes postseason qualifier in a season that currently has only six “guaranteed” Playoff positions secured by race winners.

Last week’s winner at Sonoma Raceway, Martin Truex Jr., is the defending race winner, having one the last two fall races at Chicago. He has never won at Chicago in the summer. Interestingly, the 2018 season’s most prolific winner to date, five-time winner Kevin Harvick, won both his Chicagoland races (2001-02) in the summer.


Young Luck

There is some positive precedent for the Monster Energy Series’ youngest talent at Chicago. Second-year driver, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones, 22, has won two of the last four NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the track. Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott, 22, won here in the summer of 2014 in the Xfinity Series.

The former Xfinity Series champ Elliott continued to do well at Chicago after moving into the Monster Energy Series in 2016. He finished third and led 75 laps in his Cup debut. And last year he finished runner-up to Truex and led 42 laps. He boasts the top driver rating (125.6) at Chicago.

Rookie Bubba Wallace also has an impressive record at Chicago with three top-10 finishes in four Xfinity Series starts, including a best of third place in 2015. He had finishes of 11th or better in both his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at the track. His current rookie rival William Byron had a 33rd-place finish in one Xfinity start and a 30th-place finish in one truck start.


Seven-time Looking for “Breakthrough” Win

It’s not often that we think of a seven-time champion looking for a first-time win, but Jimmie Johnson has an interesting history at this week’s Chicagoland Speedway.

It is one of only three tracks (also Kentucky and Watkins Glen) on the Monster Energy Series schedule where Johnson has not won. He has finished runner-up three times (2004, 2008 and 2012). And in 2016 led a race-best 118 laps only to finish 12th. Johnson has won the pole position twice – the 2005 summer race and the 2012 fall race.

Interestingly, however, Chicagoland Speedway is the only place he ever won a NASCAR Xfinity Series race. Johnson won the Xfinity Series race there in 2001, edging out Mike Skinner and Jeff Burton. It was his only win in 83 Xfinity starts…and Johnson now has 83 Cup victories.

The champ heads to the Midwest ranked 12th in the 2018 Monster Energy Series points standings after an 11th-place result Sunday on the Sonoma road course. He has four finishes of 11th or better in the last six races. His best showing of the season was a third-place at Bristol in April.


Keselowski on Course

This week’s venue could well prove to be the place where Brad Keselowski earns his first win of the season. He is a two-time winner at Chicago – taking the trophy in his 2012 championship season and then winning again in 2014. And he won the 2011 Xfinity Series race as well.

He has finished eighth or better in the last seven races here, including fifth-place in 2011 and 2016. He’s led laps in six of the previous seven races.

He is ranked fourth in the Monster Energy Series standings – highest among those drivers still without a win this season and has three top-six finishes in the last four races.


Kyle Busch on Point at Chicagoland

Count Chicagoland Speedway as another venue where championship leader Kyle Busch has celebrated in Victory Lane – in all three NASCAR national series. His Monster Energy Series win in 2008 marks the only time the race has been won from the pole. His four Busch Pole awards in 12 tries at Chicago is an all-time best mark.

He is the 2011 Xfinity Series race winner at the track and has five Camping World Truck Series wins in the nine truck races the facility has hosted. Twice he won back-to-back truck races (2009-2010 and 2013-14).

As for the Monster Energy Series, Busch has finished among the top-10 in five of the last six races and has won pole position in three of the last four races, including the last two.

And Busch’s lone Cup win in 2008 – by 0.159-seconds over Jimmie Johnson – is the closest margin of victory in track history.


Going for Three

Not only is Martin Truex Jr. the most recent Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race winner, toasting for the second time in California’s wine country over the weekend, he is the two-time defending winner at Chicagoland Speedway.

In the last three races, Truex has led 148 of his career 176 laps led at the track and his two wins for the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team are the only top-fives he has in 12 starts in Chicago.

He and Kevin Harvick are the only two drivers to win consecutive races at Chicago.


Statistically Speaking

Young driver Chase Elliott and his veteran Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson lead the six primary loop data statistical categories at Chicagoland Speedway (statistics from 2005-present).

Elliott, 22, has only two starts at the track and is always quick to caution about taking statistical signs too seriously with so few races under his belt. But his finishes were good enough to earn him the top driver rating (125.6). He is tops in average running position (2.9) and has the rare distinction of running 100 percent of the time among the top-15 on the track.

His teammate, seven-time Monster Energy Series champion Johnson, has 16 starts and although Chicagoland is one of only three track where he hasn’t won a Cup race, his driver rating is 113.0 – best among all the competition except his teammate Elliott. Johnson is tops in Chicago in Laps Led (637), Fastest Laps Run (412) and Quality Passes (421).


Statistically Speaking, Part 2

Unlike most tracks the series visits, the majority of Chicagoland races have not been won from a front-row starting spot. Kyle Busch is the only Busch Pole winner (2008) to win the race and only 6 percent of the time has the race winner started from second through fifth place.

The winningest starting positions are sixth-10th, statistically speaking, with 29 percent of the winning drivers starting there on the grid. Even more interesting, 24 percent of the race winners have started in positions 11-15.


Historic Milestones

Three drivers are a victory away from impressive positions on NASCAR’s all-time win charts. Jimmie Johnson is one victory away from tying Hall of Famers Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip with 84 wins.

Kyle Busch is one win away from earning his 48th victory, which would tie him with Herb Thomas, 14th on the all-time list. Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin is one victory away from tying NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett with 32 wins, which is the 24th best win total all-time.

Any takers with Ricky Stenhouse Jr 300/1 at Chicago?

Ricky Stenhouse Jr has shown improvements on downforce tracks.

Team: No. 17 Fastenal Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Brian Pattie
Twitter: @Stenhouse17Team, @stenhousejr, @FastenalRacing and @roushfenway

ADVANCE NOTES

Stenhouse at Chicagoland Speedway

Stenhouse has five Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) starts at Chicagoland Speedway with an average starting position of 14.8 and average finishing position of 18.6.

In 2012, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. dominated the final 20 laps of the Xfinity Series race and in the process earned Roush Fenway Racing’s first ever NASCAR win at the 1.5-mile tri-oval of Chicagoland Speedway.

Last year at Chicagoland

With stage one and two going caution free, Stenhouse was unable to get his two laps back to the leaders after making contact with the outside wall early on. After taking the wave around at the start on stage three, Stenhouse caught a lucky break when the caution waved allowing him to get one lap back.

On the final green flag pit-stop, Stenhouse was served with a speeding penalty while exiting pit-road, causing him to bring his Fastenal Ford to pit-road for a pass thru penalty. With the race staying green for the remainder of the day, Stenhouse was able to pick up two more positions in the closing laps due to fresher tires to take the checkered flag in the 25th position.

In the Points

Stenhouse currently sits in the 17th position, just 17 points out of 16th place, with 10 races remaining before the Playoffs kick off.

This Week

Stenhouse and the No. 17 team are participating in the two-day test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

On the Car

Fastenal is currently in its seventh season as a primary partner in the MENCS for Roush Fenway. They spent three years on the No. 99 before jumping over to the No. 17 entry, and were the primary partner on the No. 60 Xfinity team that captured the owner’s championship in 2011.

Stenhouse Jr. on racing at Chicagoland:

“Chicago has been a decent track for me over the years. I just made too many mistakes last year and cost us a decent finish. We have been working really hard on our intermediate program so I’m looking forward to getting to Chicago this weekend. It’s a rough track with a lot of character. Overall, we need to have a strong showing to gain some points on the final transfer spot for the Playoffs.”

MICAH ROBERTS CHICAGO TAKE: #17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (300/1) - In five Chicagoland starts he's averaged an 18.5 finish. However, in the last two races on 1.5s, he was 10th at Charlotte and 11th at Kansas. He battles hard for every position. He won a 2012 Xfinity Series race at Chicagoland.

William Byron 100/1 to win at Chicagoland Speedway

William Byron makes his Cup debut at Chicagoland.

William Byron on racing at Chicagoland:
“Chicagoland is a fun racetrack. It’s probably going to be the hottest race of the year, so I can’t say that’s something I’m going to look forward to (laughs). But, I like Chicago and how you can run against the fence there. I had a parts failure in the transmission there last year (in the NASCAR Xfinity Series), but I was able to just run some laps and run laps on the top. I feel like it’s very similar to Homestead in that aspect, so you go there with the same mentality you have at Homestead – you try to move around and work your car in the different lanes to figure out something that works.”

BYRON AT CHICAGO: While this weekend marks William Byron’s first NASCAR Cup Series start at Chicagoland Speedway, he has raced at the 1.5-mile track in both the NASCAR Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series. Byron has always shown speed in qualifying at the track, but various circumstances have affected his finishes. In the Xfinity Series last season, he qualified eighth before transmission issues relegated him to a 33rd-place result. In the Truck Series in 2016, Byron qualified ninth but an on-track incident on Lap 40 ended his day, resulting in a 30th-place finish. However, the Joliet, Illinois, track is one that he enjoys, so Byron and the No. 24 team will look to secure a solid finish this weekend.

MICAH ROBERTS CHICAGO TAKE: #24 William Byron (100/1) - He makes his Cup debut at Chicagoland, but I like what I saw out of him at Michigan finishing 13th. He's in the same boat with HMS teammates getting faster weekly.

Kurt Busch, with Chicago ties, looking for first win of 2018

Kurt Busch is 20/1 to win at Chicagoland.

KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (June 26, 2018) – It’s well known that Kurt Busch is a massive Chicago Cubs fan. Despite growing up in Las Vegas, he caught many Chicago Cubs games on WGN-TV in the 1980s and 1990s. 

He has connections to Chicago as his parents were born in the metro area and his grandfather lived in downtown Chicago. And his grandfather was a huge Cubs fan. In 1984, when Busch was just 6 years old, the late Steve Goodman wrote the famous song, “Go Cubs Go,” which is played at Wrigley Field after Cubs victories. Busch is hoping he can play “Go Kurt Go,” as he hopes to win his first-ever Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. 

He has two top-five finishes and nine top-10s in 17 races at the 1.5-mile oval just southwest of Chicago, but he’s yet to find victory lane. Busch’s best finish at Chicagoland came in 2015, when he came home third. He overcame a flat tire on lap 86 and a green-flag pit stop that put him a lap down to still contend for the win. However, a late-race caution took away what appeared to be a sure win and an automatic advance into the next round of the playoffs for Busch and the No. 41 team. 

The prospects for a career-best Chicagoland finish this weekend for Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), look good as he’s been fast on 1.5-mile ovals this season. His average starting position on the intermediate tracks has been 7.0, including a pole at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. 

He’s qualified in the top-eight in four of five races at 1.5-mile ovals. Busch has also finished in the top-eight in four of the five races at 1.5-mile ovals. While he may not be singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” on lap 200 of Sunday’s 267-lap race, Busch is hoping that, in the words of the late Cubs broadcasters Harry Carey and Jack Brickhouse, he hears either “Busch Wins!” or “Hey Hey!” once the checkered flag falls. And then his fans can launch into a heartfelt rendition of “Go Kurt Go.” 

KURT BUSCH, Driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing: 

You have a lot of connections to Chicago. Talk about that. 

“Both my mom and dad were born in the Chicagoland area. My grandfather lived downtown and was a big Chicago Cubs fan. I remember growing up and going to his house and seeing all of his Cubs stuff. And then in Vegas, where I grew up, we had WGN-TV and it was cool to be connected to the Cubs at an early age. I still have aunts and uncles in the Chicago area. The Busches moved out to Vegas in the early ’70’s. And that’s where Kyle and I were born and raised.” 

Do you look at Chicago as another hometown race? 

“It’s fun just with my affinity for Chicago. I love the town, the Chicago Cubs, the Bears. Over the years, I’ve met a lot of good people throughout the Illinois area. It does feel like a second home.” 

The 1.5-mile ovals all look the same but are completely different. How is Chicagoland? 

“They’re all very different. It’s all about the asphalt and grip level. It’d be very interesting to get to choose what sets of tires we all wanted to race on for grip levels. Chicago is very similar to Homestead and it’s similar to Atlanta that we run earlier in the year. Very worn-out mile-and-a-half that chews up tires, and you have to be nice to your tires.”

What have your previous races at Chicago been like for you?

“Chicago is a fast, mile-and-a-half track I have always enjoyed racing on since I started racing there in my rookie season. The track isn’t as smooth as it used to be – it has some bumps in it – but it’s a place I like. It’s another one of those tracks, though, where I just haven’t had the best of luck. An example is the 2002 race. We had a really fast car for that race but, for some reason after the last pit stop, the car just wasn’t handling the same as it had been. We were just way too tight and really couldn’t figure out why. When we got back to the shop and started going over the car, we realized that the radiator pan had come off and that’s like 100 pounds of front downforce. We were going so fast that the car bottomed out and dragged the radiator pan out. It’s just weird stuff like that.”

Martrin Truex Jr not favored at Chicago despite two-time defending champ

Martin Truex Jr is 7/2 to win Sunday at Chicagoland.

DENVER (June 26, 2018) – You can list Chicagoland Speedway as “my type of racetrack” for Martin Truex Jr., who will be seeking his third straight win at the 1.5-mile oval in Sunday’s Overton’s 400.

Truex overcame adversity in both wins at Chicagoland Speedway when it was the opening race of the NASCAR playoffs. He managed to come back from a deflating tire in 2016 and a speeding penalty in 2017.

“Yeah, I feel great about that — going for three in a row at Chicago,” Truex said. “A little sad it’s not kicking off the playoffs anymore just because of our record there, but at the same time, great racetrack and excited to go there and see what we can do. We had to overcome some issues the past two years at Chicagoland and hopefully we will have a clean race on Sunday and be there at the end in our No. 78 5-hour ENERGY/Bass Pro Shops Toyota.”

Right now Truex’s optimism level is pretty high after winning two of the last three races, including Sunday’s victory at the Sonoma Raceway road course.

“We had great runs in Pocono and Sonoma,” Truex noted. “But overall we have a much better handle on our race car and feel that we can contend on any type of track.”

Truex, who has 18 career wins (16 since joining Furniture Row Racing in 2014) has won at 12 different NASCAR Cup Series tracks and has scored more than one victory at six different tracks.

“This team is all about talent, heart and passion,” Truex said. “They keep on bringing me fast race cars and Cole (Pearn, crew chief) has made a couple of great calls at both Pocono and Sonoma. We just need to keep on improving because I know the other contenders are not going to sit still.”

Speaking of Pearn, he has been the crew chief for Truex’s 16 wins with Furniture Row Racing and was the lead engineer for the team’s first victory with Regan Smith at Darlington Raceway in 2011.

Pearn is one of four team members who has been at the track for all of Furniture Row Racing’s 17 career wins. The others are: Joe Garone (president), Nick Kerlin (shock specialist) and Clayton Hughes (spotter).

Since taking over the crew chief role in 2015 Pearn ranks second among crew chiefs during this time period with 16 wins, two shy of Adam Stevens’ (Kyle Busch’s crew chief) 18 victories.

Truex enters the 267-lap Chicagoland race with three wins and 10 top-five finishes in the first 16 races of the season. He is fifth in overall driver points and third in the playoff standings.

Truex’s career record at Chicagoland Speedway includes 12 starts, two wins, two top fives, four top 10s and 176 laps led. His average starting position is 14.2 and average finish is 13.8.

Chase Elliott has 2.5 average finish at Chicagoland

Chase Elliott is 25/1 to win at Chicagoland.

Chase Elliott on what makes Chicagoland unique:
“The surface, for sure. It hadn’t been paved in a while, one of the older surfaces that we race on. The racetrack is pretty friendly to moving around and lets everybody kind of spread out, which is always fun. It has a good feel to it. It has some bumps and some character, which is nice, and I have always enjoyed racing there.”

NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1: NAPA AUTO PARTS will return to the hood of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. The Atlanta-based company will serve as majority sponsor for Chase Elliott and the No. 9 team for 26 NASCAR Cup Series races this year.

CHICAGOLAND STATS: This weekend, Elliott will make his third Cup Series start at Chicagoland Speedway. In his 2016 start at the 1.5-mile track, Elliott qualified 14th and finished third after leading 75 laps, making him one of just six drivers to earn a top-five finish at Chicagoland as a rookie. He followed that in 2017 by leading 42 laps en route to a second-place result. His average finish of 2.5 is the best of all active drivers at a single track. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native has led a total of 117 laps at the venue, ranking him second to teammate Jimmie Johnson (695 laps) for most laps led at the 1.5-mile track without a win. It is one of five venues on the Cup circuit where Elliott has led at least 100 laps. He also has four NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Chicagoland – collecting a win in his first start at the speedway in July 2014. In the four Xfinity starts, he averaged a starting position of 7.5 and finishing position of 9.8.

GUSTAFSON AT CHICAGOLAND: No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson will call his 14th Cup Series race from atop the pit box at Chicagoland Speedway this weekend. In his previous 13 races calling the shots for five different drivers at the Joliet, Illinois, track, Gustafson has collected one win in 2009 with Mark Martin, five top-five finishes – two of which were runner-up results – six top-10s and 403 laps led.

SONOMA REWIND: Elliott started and finished in the top five at the 110-lap event at Sonoma Raceway last weekend, posting his best career road course result of fourth. The fourth-place finish also gave Elliott and the No. 9 team their third consecutive top-10, the team’s longest streak of the season.

DOUBLE DUTY: In addition to his full-time duty piloting the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the Cup Series, Elliott will once again compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race driving the No. 23 Chevrolet for GMS Racing on Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native will also drive the No. 23 Chevy in the upcoming Daytona (July 6) and Bristol (Aug. 17) Xfinity races.

MICAH ROBERTS CHICAGO TAKE: #9 Chase Elliott (25/1) - Like his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Johnson, he's having a down year but the speed is coming. His first two Chicago starts saw him finish third in 2016 and follow it up with runner-up last season. He's still searching for his first career Cup win. NASCAR could sure utilize his popularity right now with attendance and TV ratings down, but he's got to win. He does have an Xfinity Series win at Chicago (2014).

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2018 Season 13th in standings 16 starts 0 wins 0 pole positions 4 top-five finishes 8 top-10 finishes 8 laps led     Career 93 starts 0 wins 3 pole positions 26 top-five finishes 46 top-10 finishes 926 laps led     Track Career  2 starts 0 wins 0 pole positions 2 top-five finishes 2 top-10 finishes 117 laps led

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2018 Overton's 400 at Chicagoland Speedway Driver Match-ups

Martin Truex Jr. has won past two races at Chicagoland.

WESTGATE LAS VEGAS SUPERBOOK
DRIVER VS DRIVER MATCH-UPS
OVERTON'S 400
CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY
SUNDAY, JULY 1, 2018 - 2:46 PM ET

(MR= Micah Roberts choices prior to practices)

Kevin HARVICK - 150
Kyle BUSCH +130 (MR)

Kevin HARVICK - 150
Martin TRUEX JR +130 (MR)

Kyle BUSCH - 110
Martin TRUEX JR - 110 (MR)

Kyle BUSCH - 150 (MR)
Kyle LARSON +130

Martin TRUEX JR - 150 (MR)
Kyle LARSON +130

Denny HAMLIN - 130 (MR)
Ryan BLANEY +110

Denny HAMLIN - 130 (MR)
Brad KESELOWSKI +110

Denny HAMLIN - 140 (MR....Yes, I like Hamlin to do well)
Joey LOGANO +120

Ryan BLANEY - 110
Brad KESELOWSKI - 110 (MR)

Ryan BLANEY - 125
Joey LOGANO +105 (MR)

Brad KESELOWSKI - 125 (MR)
Joey LOGANO +105

Erik JONES - 110
Kurt BUSCH - 110 (MR...good bet)

Erik JONES - 110
Clint BOWYER - 110 (MR)

Erik JONES - 130
Chase ELLIOTT +110 (MR)

Kurt BUSCH - 110 (MR)
Clint BOWYER - 110

Kurt BUSCH - 130 (MR)
Chase ELLIOTT +110

Clint BOWYER - 130
Chase ELLIOTT +110 (MR)

Jimmie JOHNSON - 125 (MR)
Aric ALMIROLA +105

William BYRON - 110
Alex BOWMAN - 110 (MR)

Daniel SUAREZ - 130
Jamie McMURRAY +110 (MR)

WESTGATE SUPERBOOK ODDS TO WIN 

2015 Chicago winner Denny Hamlin 12/1 to win Sunday

Denny Hamlin won at Chicagoland  in 2015.

Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Ground Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:
Race: Overton’s 400
Date/Time: Sunday, July 1/ 2:30 p.m. ET
Distance: 267 Laps/400 Miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Track Shape: Oval
Banking: 14 degrees
2017 Winner: Martin Truex Jr.

Express Notes:

Sonoma Recap: Denny Hamlin finished 10th in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway, charging his way through the field in the #11 FedEx Express Toyota to collect his fifth top-10 finish at the 1.99-mile California road course. After battling his way inside the top-five in Stage 2, Hamlin elected not to pit with the leaders as they made scheduled green-flag stops in the segment’s closing laps. The decision allowed him to assume the race lead where he remained as the segment ended, collecting his second Stage win of the 2018 season. Due to having to pit during the subsequent Stage break, Denny lined up 20th to begin the race’s final 60-lap segment. After pitting with 20 laps left in the race, he was scored 17th, but he continued to fight his way to the front, making it to 13th with five laps remaining. During the race’s final lap, Hamlin made some aggressive moves to pass multiple competitors and break his way into the top-10.

Chicagoland Preview: The Series heads to Chicagoland Speedway for Sunday’s 267-lap Cup event. Hamlin notched his first career win at the 1.5-mile oval in Joliet, IL, in 2015. He has scored four top-10 finishes in his last four starts at the Windy City track, including a fourth-place finish during last year’s Playoff race.

Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares: This season, FedEx is tying the performance of the #11 FedEx Toyota on the track to its efforts to improve road safety through a new program, Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares, by donating $111 for each lap Hamlin leads and $11,000 for each race victory to Safe Kids Worldwide, a nonprofit working to protect kids on the road, at home and at play. FedEx will also contribute $111,000 to Safe Kids if the #11 team wins the 2018 NASCAR championship. New for the 2018 season, the Denny Hamlin Foundation will also match the total donation to Safe Kids Worldwide.

After 16 regular season races, Hamlin has led 239 laps resulting in an $26,529 donation to Safe Kids Worldwide which will ultimately be matched by the Denny Hamlin Foundation. Fans can track the total amount donated to date from the Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares program on the homepage of FedExRacing.com.

Press Kit: Download the 2018 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedexracing.com/presskit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Mike Wheeler and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights and statistics.

Hamlin Statistics:

Track: Chicagoland Speedway
Races: 12
Wins: 1
Poles: 0
Top-5: 3
Top10: 6
Laps Led: 13
Avg. Start: 13.6
Avg. Finish: 15.1

Hamlin Conversation:

Will Chicago feel unusual this weekend with it not being the Playoff opener?
“It will certainly be a lot different, but it’s always a fun race. I really like Chicagoland because you can run all the way from the wall to the inside apron there. We’ll probably go back with the same notes and the same setup that we had last year and work from there, obviously with the hope of locking our spot in the 2018 Playoffs.”

Chicagoland Speedway Track Facts: 2018 Overton's 400

Kyle Busch has won the Chicago pole three of past four years, but Martin Truex Jr has won the last two there.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 2018 Top 16 at Chicagoland Speedway

Rank	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
1	Kyle Busch	13	1	1	4	7	1	11.4	107.3
2	Kevin Harvick	17	0	2	9	10	0	11.7	98.9
3	Joey Logano	9	1	0	2	5	1	12.9	91.0
4	Brad Keselowski	9	0	2	4	7	0	9.2	100.4
5	Martin Truex Jr	12	0	2	2	4	1	13.8	94.5
6	Clint Bowyer	12	0	0	1	7	1	14.4	84.0
7	Kurt Busch	17	0	0	2	9	1	15.6	88.6
8	Denny Hamlin	12	0	1	3	6	1	15.1	89.7
9	Kyle Larson	4	0	0	2	3	0	8.2	97.1
10	Aric Almirola	6	0	0	0	1	1	22.8	71.4
11	Ryan Blaney	2	0	0	1	1	0	7.5	87.5
12	Jimmie Johnson	16	2	0	7	11	1	9.4	113.0
13	Chase Elliott	2	0	0	2	2	0	2.5	125.6
14	Erik Jones	1	0	0	0	0	0	33.0	58.6
15	Alex Bowman	3	0	0	0	1	0	27.3	59.7
16	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	5	0	0	0	1	0	18.6	69.4

* – Based on last 13 races at Chicagoland Speedway.

Loop Data Leaders: Chicagoland Speedway

Monster Energy Series - Top 3 In Key Loop Data Statistics
Driver Rating		Avg. Running Position		Laps Led
Chase Elliott	125.6	Chase Elliott	2.900	Jimmie Johnson	637
Jimmie Johnson	113.0	Jimmie Johnson	7.308	Kyle Busch	514
Kyle Busch	107.3	Kyle Busch	9.247	Kevin Harvick	244
Fastest Laps Run		% of Laps in the Top 15		Quality Passes
Jimmie Johnson	412	Chase Elliott	100.0%	Jimmie Johnson	421
Kyle Busch	237	Daniel Suarez	99.6%	Kurt Busch	400
Martin Truex Jr	227	Jimmie Johnson	90.1%	Kyle Busch	397
Loop Data stats are from 2005 – Present (Active Drivers Only)

Chicagoland Speedway Data Season Race #: 17 of 36 (07-01-18) Track Size: 1.5-miles Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 18 degrees Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 18 degrees Banking/Tri-Oval: 11 degrees Banking/Backstretch: 5 degrees Frontstretch Length:  2,400 feet Backstretch Length:  1,700 feet Race Length: 267 laps / 400.5 miles Stage 1 & 2 Length: 80 Laps (each) Final Stage: 107 Laps Top 10 Driver Ratings at Chicago Chase Elliott............................. 125.6 Jimmie Johnson........................ 113.0 Kyle Busch............................... 107.3 Brad Keselowski....................... 100.4 Kevin Harvick............................. 98.9 Kyle Larson................................ 97.1 Martin Truex Jr........................... 94.5 Joey Logano............................... 91.0 Denny Hamlin............................. 89.7 Kurt Busch................................. 88.6 Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2016 races (13 total) among active drivers at Chicagoland Speedway. Qualifying/Race Data 2017 pole winner: Kyle Busch, Toyota 187.963 mph, 28.729 secs., 09-15-17 2017 race winner: Martin Truex Jr., Toyota 145.401 mph, (02:45:16), 09-17-17 Track qualifying record: Joey Logano, Ford 189.414 mph, 28.509 secs. 09-13-13 Track race record: Martin Truex Jr., Toyota 145.401 mph, (02:45:16), 09-17-17

Chicagoland Speedway:

History

·        Construction of the Chicagoland Speedway began in August 1999.

·        The first NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Chicago was July 14, 2001 – won by Jimmie Johnson.

·        The first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race was held on July 15, 2001 – won by Kevin Harvick.

·        For seven seasons Chicagoland Speedway was the opening race of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs (2011 – 2017)

·        There have been 17 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races held at Chicagoland Speedway, one race per season since the first event in 2001.

Starts

·        128 drivers have competed in at least one Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway; 99 in more than one.  

·        Three drivers have competed in all 17 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series events at Chicagoland Speedway: Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, and Kevin Harvick.

·        Eight drivers all-time have posted their first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Chicago; Ray Black Jr. (2017), Joey Gase (2014), Justin Allgaier (2013), Josh Wise (2011), Todd Kluever (2006), David Stremme (2005), Chad Blount (2004) and Johnny Sauter (2003).

·        Jimmie Johnson leads the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in average starting position at Chicago with an 8.25 in 16 starts.  

Poles

·        A total of 12 different Monster Energy Series drivers have posted won Busch poles at Chicago, led by Jimmie Johnson with two (2005 and 2012).  

·        Todd Bodine won the inaugural MENCS Busch Pole Award at Chicago in 2001 with a speed of 183.717 mph. 

Poles

·        Youngest Chicago Monster Energy Series pole winner: Joey Logano (09/15/2013 – 23 years, 3 months, 22 days).

·        Oldest Chicago Monster Energy Series pole winner: Matt Kenseth (09/19/2011 – 39 years, 6 months, 9 days).

·        Three different manufacturers have won a MENCS Busch pole at Chicago led by Chevrolet with seven, followed by Ford (four) and Toyota (two). 

Wins

·        A total of 12 different Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won at Chicagoland Speedway.

·        Tony Stewart leads the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Chicago with three victories (2004, 2007, 2011).

·        Kevin Harvick (first two series events at the speedway; 2001 and 2002), Brad Keselowski (2012 and 2014) and Martin Truex Jr. (2016 and 2017) lead all active drivers in wins at Chicago with two each.

·        Stewart, Harvick, Keselowski and Truex are the only four drivers all-time with multiple wins at Chicago.  

·        Kevin Harvick (2001, 2002) and Martin Truex Jr. (2016, 2017) are the only two drivers to post consecutive series wins at Chicagoland Speedway.

·        Youngest Chicago MENCS winner: Kyle Busch (07/12/2008 – 23 years, 2 months, 10 days).

·        Oldest Chicago MENCS winner: Mark Martin (07/11/2009 – 50 years, 6 months, 2 days).

·        Only one of the 17 (5.9%) Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Chicago have been won from the pole position. Kyle Busch accomplished the feat in 2008 - it is also the only win from the front row.

·        The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Chicago is 32nd, by Kevin Harvick in 2002.

·        Kyle Busch swept the weekend at Chicagoland Speedway winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and NASCAR Xfinity Series races in 2008 – the only time the feat has been accomplished at Chicago.   

Monster Energy Series
Chicagoland Speedway Winners
Organizations	Wins
Joe Gibbs Racing	5
Team Penske	3
Furniture Row Racing	2
Hendrick Motorsports	2
Richard Childress Racing	2
Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	1
Michael Waltrip Racing	1
Stewart-Haas Racing	1

·        A total of eight different organizations have won at Chicagoland Speedway in the Monster Energy Series, led by Joe Gibbs Racing with five victories: Tony Stewart (two), Kyle Busch (one), Matt Kenseth (one) and Denny Hamlin (one).

·        Four different manufacturers have won in the MENCS at Chicago led by Chevrolet with eight victories; followed by Toyota with six, Dodge has two and Ford has one.

·        Seven of the eight active Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series winners at Chicagoland Speedway participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Kevin Harvick won at Chicago in his first two appearances (2001, 2002). Ryan Newman won in his second appearance (2003).     

·        Kurt Busch leads the series among active drivers with the most Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Chicago without visiting Victory Lane at 17.

Additional Finishing Position Stats

·        A total of 11 different drivers have finished runner-up in the Monster Energy Series at Chicago, led by Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon with three each; followed by Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards with two each.

·        A total of 32 different drivers have finished in the top-five at Chicago in the Monster Energy Series, led by Kevin Harvick with nine top fives; followed by Tony Stewart with eight, and Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon with seven each.  

·        A total of 46 different drivers have finished in the top-10 at Chicago in the Monster Energy Series, led by Jimmie Johnson with 11 top 10s; followed by Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart with 10 each.

·        Chase Elliott leads all active drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position with a 2.5. Below are the top five all-time and active average finishing positions:

Drivers	Average Finish	Starts		Active Drivers	Average Finish	Starts
Robert Pressley	2.0	1		Chase Elliott	2.5	2
Chase Elliott	2.5	2		Ryan Blaney	7.5	2
Ryan Blaney	7.5	2		Kyle Larson	8.3	4
Kyle Larson	8.3	4		Brad Keselowski	9.2	9
Brad Keselowski	9.2	9		Jimmie Johnson	9.4	16

Track / Event Specific Stats

·        Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Chicagoland Speedway was the July 12, 2008 race won by Kyle Busch over Jimmie Johnson with a MOV of 0.159 second – the only race won from the pole.

·        Top Five Closest Margins of Victory at Chicago:

Margin of Victory	Date	Race Winner	Runner-Up
0.159	7/12/2008	Kyle Busch	Jimmie Johnson
0.291	7/10/2005	Dale Earnhardt Jr	Matt Kenseth
0.415	7/11/2009	Mark Martin	Jeff Gordon
0.461	7/9/2006	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Burton
0.649	7/15/2001	Kevin Harvick	Robert Pressley

·        Two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race has resulted with NASCAR Overtime:

Date	Scheduled No. of Laps	Actual No. of Laps	NASCAR Overtime Laps	Race Winner
9/18/2016	267	270	3	Martin Truex Jr
7/9/2006	267	270	3	Jeff Gordon

·        None of the series races at Chicagoland Speedway have been shortened due to weather conditions.   

·        Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the MENCS at Chicagoland Speedway four times – 2008, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

·        Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers in the series in laps led at Chicago with 695 laps led in 16 starts.

Drivers	Led	Completed	% Led	Starts
Jimmie Johnson	695	4,232	16.4%	16
Kyle Busch	514	3,465	14.8%	13
Matt Kenseth	438	4,541	9.6%	17
Tony Stewart	434	3,997	10.9%	15
Kevin Harvick	432	4,469	9.7%	17

Female Competitor Stats

·        Danica Patrick is the only female driver that has competed at Chicagoland Speedway in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series; Shawna Robinson attempted to qualify in 2001 but failed to qualify for the event.

Season	Driver	Starting Position	Finishing Position	Driver Rating
2017	Danica Patrick	22	18	70.2
2016	Danica Patrick	25	24	58.5
2015	Danica Patrick	25	26	62.8
2014	Danica Patrick	18	19	69.2
2013	Danica Patrick	23	20	61.2
2012	Danica Patrick	41	25	49.0
Averages:		25.7	22.0	61.8

NASCAR in Illinois

·        A total of 85 NASCAR national series races among five different tracks have been held in the state of Illinois.

Track Name	City	Monster Energy	Xfinity	Camping World	Total Races
Chicagoland Speedway	Joliet	17	22	9	48
Gateway Motorsports Park	Madison	0	15	18	33
Chicago Motor Speedway	Cicero	0	0	2	2
Santa Fe Speedway	Willow Springs	1	0	0	1
Soldier Field	Chicago	1	0	0	1
TOTALS		19	37	29	85

·        The first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held in the state of Illinois was at Willow Springs, Illinois at Santa Fe Speedway in 1954 – the event was won by Dick Rathmann (72.216 mph, 1:23:05, 07-10-1954). 

·        A total of 80 different drivers with their home state recorded as Illinois have made at least one start in a NASCAR national series race.

·        Five of the 80 have posted at least one victory in a NASCAR national series event; including NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen with 26 victories in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. 

Driver	Monster Energy	Xfinity	Camping World
Fred Lorenzen	26	0	0
Tom Pistone	2	0	0
Justin Allgaier	0	7	0
Bobby Dotter	0	1	0
Erik Darnell	0	0	2

2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Results
Date	Track	Busch Pole	Stage 1	Stage 2	Stage 3	Race Winner	OEM
2/18/2018	Daytona	Alex Bowman	Kurt Busch	Ryan Blaney	N/A	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet
2/25/2018	Atlanta	Kyle Busch	Kevin Harvick	Brad Keselowski	N/A	Kevin Harvick	Ford
3/4/2018	Las Vegas	Ryan Blaney	Kevin Harvick	Kevin Harvick	N/A	Kevin Harvick	Ford
3/11/2018	ISM	Martin Truex Jr	Kyle Busch	Kurt Busch	N/A	Kevin Harvick	Ford
3/18/2018	Auto Club	Martin Truex Jr	Martin Truex Jr.	Martin Truex Jr.	N/A	Martin Truex Jr	Toyota
3/26/2018	Martinsville	None-Weather	Denny Hamlin	Ryan Blaney	N/A	Clint Bowyer	Ford
4/8/2018	Texas	Kurt Busch	Kevin Harvick	Kyle Busch	N/A	Kyle Busch	Toyota
4/15/2018	Bristol	Kyle Busch	Brad Keselowski	Brad Keselowski	N/A	Kyle Busch	Toyota
4/21/2018	Richmond	Martin Truex Jr.	Joey Logano	Joey Logano	N/A	Kyle Busch	Toyota
4/29/2018	Talladega	Kevin Harvick	Brad Keselowski	Paul Menard	N/A	Joey Logano	Ford
5/6/2018	Dover	Kyle Larson	Kevin Harvick	Kevin Harvick	N/A	Kevin Harvick	Ford
5/12/2018	Kansas	Kevin Harvick	Ryan Blaney	Kyle Larson	N/A	Kevin Harvick	Ford
5/19/2018	All-Star Open	N/A	Alex Bowman	Daniel Suarez	N/A	AJ Allmendinger	Chevrolet
5/19/2018	All-Star Race	Matt Kenseth	Kevin Harvick	Kyle Busch	Kevin Harvick	Kevin Harvick	Ford
5/27/2018	Charlotte	Kyle Busch	Kyle Busch	Kyle Busch	Kyle Busch	Kyle Busch	Toyota
6/3/2018	Pocono	Ryan Blaney	Martin Truex Jr	Kevin Harvick	N/A	Martin Truex Jr	Toyota
6/10/2018	Michigan	Kurt Busch	Ryan Blaney	Kevin Harvick	N/A	Clint Bowyer	Ford
6/24/2018	Sonoma	Kyle Larson	AJ Allmendinger	Denny Hamlin	N/A	Martin Truex Jr	Toyota
2018 Top Five Performers In Each Statistical Category
Rank	Drivers	Wins		Rank	Drivers	Runner-Ups
1	Kevin Harvick	5		1	Kyle Busch	3
2	Kyle Busch	4			Kyle Larson	3
3	Martin Truex Jr	3			Kevin Harvick	3
4	Clint Bowyer	2		4	Martin Truex Jr	2
5	Austin Dillon	1		5	Brad Keselowski	1
	Joey Logano	1			Bubba Wallace	1
					Chase Elliott	1
Rank	Drivers	Top Fives			Clint Bowyer	1
1	Kevin Harvick	12			Kurt Busch	1
2	Kyle Busch	11
3	Martin Truex Jr	10		Rank	Drivers	Top 10s
4	Denny Hamlin	6		1	Kevin Harvick	13
5	Joey Logano	5			Kyle Busch	13
	Kyle Larson	5		3	Joey Logano	12
	Clint Bowyer	5		4	Martin Truex Jr	10
				5	Brad Keselowski	9
Rank	Drivers	Laps Led			Kyle Larson	9
1	Kevin Harvick	993			Denny Hamlin	9
2	Kyle Busch	888			Kurt Busch	9
3	Ryan Blaney	444			Clint Bowyer	9
4	Martin Truex Jr	370
5	Kyle Larson	358		Rank	Drivers	Poles
				1	Kyle Busch	3
					Martin Truex Jr	3
				3	Kevin Harvick	2
					Kurt Busch	2
					Ryan Blaney	2
					Kyle Larson	2

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series - Milestones
STARTS
Driver: Clint Bowyer	Has	Needs
Milestone:	449	1
Will become the 52nd driver to make 450 or more Monster Energy Series starts.
Driver: Alex Bowman	Has	Needs
Milestone:	97	3
Will become the 200th driver to make 100 or more Monster Energy Series starts.
WINS
Driver: Jimmie Johnson	Has	Needs
Milestone:	83	1
Tie Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip for fourth on the all-time series wins list.
Driver: Kyle Busch	Has	Needs
Milestone:	47	1
Tie Herb Thomas (48) for 14th on the all-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins list.
Driver: Kevin Harvick	Has	Needs
Milestone:	42	2
Tie Bill Elliott (44) for 16th on the all-time MENCS wins list.
Driver: Denny Hamlin	Has	Needs
Milestone:	31	1
To tie Dale Jarrett for 24th on the all-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins list.
Driver: Kurt Busch	Has	Needs
Milestone:	29	2
Tie Denny Hamlin for 25th on the all-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins list.
BUSCH POLES
Driver: Ryan Newman	Has	Needs
Milestone:	51	3
Tie Bill Elliott for eighth on the all-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series poles list.
Driver: Jimmie Johnson	Has	Needs
Milestone:	35	1
To tie Rusty Wallace and Rex White for 18th on the all-time series poles list.
Driver: Kyle Busch	Has	Needs
Milestone:	30	1
To tie Fonty Flock for 23rd on the all-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series poles list.
Driver: Kasey Kahne	Has	Needs
Milestone:	27	2
To tie Kyle Busch and Ricky Rudd for 25th on the all-time Monster Energy Series poles list.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series - Milestones
Second-Place Finishes
Driver: Kevin Harvick	Has	Needs
Milestone:	53	3
Tie Buck Baker for ninth on the all-time series second-place finishes list.
Driver: Jimmie Johnson	Has	Needs
Milestone:	46	2
Tie Lee Petty for 11th on the all-time series second-place finishes list.
Driver: Kyle Busch	Has	Needs
Milestone:	43	1
Tie Tony Stewart for 13th on the all-time series second-place finishes list.
Top Fives
Driver: Jimmie Johnson	Has	Needs
Milestone:	224	1
To become the 11th series driver all-time to post 225 or more top fives
Top 10s
Driver: Jimmie Johnson	Has	Needs
Milestone:	347	2
Tie Rusty Wallace for 11th on the series all-time top-10 finishes list
Laps Led
Driver: Jimmie Johnson	Has	Needs
Milestone:	18,665	335
To become the ninth driver in the MENCS all-time to lead 19,000 laps.
Driver: Martin Truex Jr.	Has	Needs
Milestone:	6,889	111
To become the 29th driver all-time in the MENCS to lead 7,000 laps.