Cruising Into Chicagoland

Originally Posted on July 6, 2006 on Foxsports.com

The Cup series makes its one time stop for the season in Chicago this weekend.   Who's a good bet and who's not at the Windy City race? 

Dale Earnhardt Jr.:  Last year, Dale Jr. won the race on a fuel mileage gamble.  This year, his team has pulled together, and Junior is currently third in points.  He doesn't seem to lead many laps this year at 1.5 mile tracks, which could be his downfall at Chicago (and in the Chase). 

Kevin Harvick:  Since this track opened, Harvick has done very well there - he won the 1st two races.  Last year, he finished 19th, but with the resurgence of RCR, look for him to be a contender before this one is over.

Jimmie Johnson:  Johnson  holds the track record at Chicago, but he has not won here.  Although he finished 3rd last year and has finished 2nd here, he is at the point in the season where he takes a hit in the points.  Maybe this is the year he turns things around.  Unlike Stewart who heats up in the summer, Johnson seems to cool off (or maybe it is that everyone else gets hot).

Carl Edwards:  Edwards has been struggling this year.  He finally got the kinks worked out of the Busch series with a win, now he needs to turn around his Cup season.  Edwards raced a Champ Car in Indy on Wednesday night with Schrader, Stewart, and Jason Leffler among others.  Edwards dominated the race - lapping the field except for the top 4 cars.  Maybe that magic can translate to Chicago...

Tony Stewart:  Stewart does well at this track.  He's won here once, and finishes in the top 5 consistently.  However, the past 2 years he has crashed his primary car in practice.  Last year's crash required a trip to the hospital for observation.  I don't know if it will be a good sign or a bad sign for his finish if he crashes the car on Friday... With his delicate shoulder... Oh, wait, he was using that sledge hammer a few weeks ago... But then those fans in Daytona...Like he'll fess up to it.  Nevermind.

Jeff Gordon:  Gordon has never won at this track.  But he does have 3 top 5 finishes over the 5 races run here.  He's a bit mad after the crash at Daytona - it may inspire him to win.  Plus he needs to get into the top 10 again for the Chase.  Remember Jeff, you have a weddding to pay for!

Ryan Newman:  Newman is a prior Chicagoland winner.  Remember when he used to dominate qualifying?  Remember when he used to win a lot on 1.5 mile tracks?  Remember when Rusty was his teammate?  I'm not so sure now that this is all coincidence.  Ryan ran better when he hated his teammate and tried to out do him.  He likes Kurt.  That could be bad for his chances in the Chase.  Ryan ran a USAC sprint car and midget car race in Columbus on Wednesday.  Who knew Nascar drivers needed to moonlight so much?

Dale Jarrett:  Jarrett has two top 5 finishes at Chicago.  He's probably due for a good race - and the announcment on UPS sponsorship should come this weekend.  If they go with him to Toyota/Waltrip, will that mean a third Waltrip car?  Will Awesome Bill be back as Jarrett's teammate?

Matt Kenseth:   Kenseth led most of the race last year only to finish second.  He'd like to finish this one this year.  He and Stewart played nice at Daytona, can they work together at Chicago? 

Kasey Kahne:  He's been a force on the 1.5 mile tracks this year:  Atlanta, Texas, Charlotte, can he add Chicago to that list?  Look out if he wins the pole.

Mark Martin:  Martin won at Kansas last fall - which is a very similar to Chicago.  He's quietly in the top 10, but could use a win to solidify his point lead over 10th place.

The race could boil down to a decision on whether to pit or not, whether to top off or not, or whether to change 2, 4 or no tires. 

At least, that's how it played out last year.