There was a scare after the race when Truex’s vehicle failed inspection, but reports indicated the penalty imposed won’t be enough to kick in new NASCAR rules that take away his automatic advancement. Johnson had one of the best cars in practice.
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“It’s a slippery slope”, Johnson said.
Given his struggles at Chicagoland recently, I don’t blame anyone for wanting to avoid Biffle this weekend, especially when there are drivers priced under $7,000 with similar numbers.
Hendrick, Johnson’s team, makes engines for Chip Ganassi Racing, which employs Larson. But when a win means an automatic trip to the next round and drivers only have three races to accumulate as many points as possible before four are eliminated, Johnson’s error could be huge.
Busch, the reigning Cup champ, tied Brad Keselowski with four victories during the 26-race regular season.
The deals are in place to cut down on costs for the smaller teams and also provide overhead relief for the big teams while ensuring a healthy number of entrants, which had been declining.
“The reason I thought it was intentional is because we were on the straightaway”. He fell back in the field, but with roughly 200 laps still left in the race, Truex knew he had the time to work his way back to the front and didn’t panic. This is sort of my time to make sure I’m focused and doing everything I can possibly be doing to get the best finishes to transfer through the rounds.
“Same thing is going on at Gibbs”.
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen qualified fifth but teammate Sebastian Vettel starts last after his vehicle had an anti-roll bar failure in the Q1 session.
“I don’t think they’re going to let up at all”, Furniture Row Racing team owner Barney Visser said.
After his fortunes took a bad turn following his early lead, Truex just had to focus on working his way back toward the lead, which was a lot easier said than done. Johnson, the No. 8 seed, is the highest-ranked Hendrick driver in the field. “We don’t have to worry about the things we can’t control”.
Rain backed up Friday’s schedule at Chicagoland, forcing the cancellation of qualifying for Sunday’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 Cup race.
Kahne and Biffle are two mid-priced drivers who I’m counting on having lower ownership.
Larson enters the Chase with plenty of momentum, and he has cracked the top 10 in both of his Cup starts at Chicagoland. “We had a very fast race vehicle and were awesome on pit road”. “That’s the guy we’re probably all chasing at the moment”.
“It’s been a good auto for us”, crew chief Cole Pearn said while prepping for the 10-race, 16-driver Chase for the Championship.
“That’s just a part of life”, Elliott said.
“Oh my goodness, I guess the racing gods don’t want us to lead too much”, Truex said in victory lane. At this price, I don’t expect him to be a popular pick, but he is one of only two drivers who has finished in the top 10 in all six races at 1.5-mile tracks this year, leading double-digit laps in three of those races. “It was just a matter of time before we got around him”, Jones said. “Even a year ago there were a couple where we did well at”.
The win is Truex’s third of the season and sixth of his career.
Truex had proved that he had a competitive auto, not one of those purely dominant cars, but a winning one.
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Sunday’s race can be watched live on television on NBCSN.
