There are only four race tracks on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule where seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson has yet to hoist a trophy. And when it comes to his 0-fer streak at Chicagoland Speedway, Johnson has literally done everything but win.
Perhaps that will change for the veteran in this weekend’s Camping World 400. Certainly Johnson’s resume at this 1.5-mile venue outside Chicago lacks only that Cup victory.
Johnson has led more laps (695), won more pole positions (two), earned the most runner-up finishes (three) and netted the most top-10s (11, tied with Kevin Harvick) in this week’s starting field. And, Johnson’s blink-of-an-eye .159-second loss to Kyle Busch in 2008 is part of the closest margin of victory in track history.
Statistically (since 2005) Johnson has turned the most laps in the top 15 (3,215), the most fastest laps run (413) and made the most quality passes (451). His 10.0 average starting position is best all-time among drivers with at least 10 starts. He is second in Driving Rating (110.2) and Average Running Position (8.12) only to his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott, who has only three starts compared to Johnson’s 17.
Johnson has seven top-five finishes among those 11 top-10s with a best of second place in 2004, 2008 and 2012. Johnson led 172 laps in his 2012 runner-up finish.
And Johnson does have a victory at Chicagoland. He won the very first Xfinity Series race at the track in 2001 – the only Xfinity Series win of his career.
A victory this weekend wouldn’t only be significant historically and check another track off his win list, it would be Johnson’s first win since the Fall Dover race two full seasons ago.
His No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro has looked pretty good this year. He has six top-10 finishes in the opening 16 races including a season best fifth place at Texas from the pole position – and Texas is a 1.5-mile track similar to Chicago.
“Our 1.5 track performances have really improved over the last few races and I am excited for this weekend,” Johnson said. “Chicago is a race that we have shown so much strength in the past and just never have been able to finish the job. It’s been so frustrating to have led so many laps and just been so close and not taken the checkers.”
Xfinity Series Is Back At It At Chicagoland
The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to competition this Saturday with the Camping World 300 and the big question is whether the series’ “Big 3” – Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell and Cole Custer – can maintain their dominating form or if a first-time winner emerges this season.
Certainly the work of those three drivers – Reddick, Bell and Custer – has been one of the most productive efforts in recent memories. They account for 10 of the first 14 race victories and have led 1,619 of the 2,587 laps of competition (62.5 percent). Bell, a four-time winner, has led laps in every race of the season. That includes a stellar effort two weeks ago in Iowa, where Bell led 186 of the 250 laps to claim his fourth win. He started 11th and finished 12th in his only previous Xfinity Series start at Chicago last year.
Reddick, who holds a 52-point advantage over Bell atop the championship standings, has three wins and a series best 11 top-five finishes. The Richard Childress Racing driver started last year’s race from the outside pole position but finished 33rd due to an incident in his only start.
Custer has three victories and eight top-five finishes this season. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver’s most recent win was at Pocono three races ago and he finished runner-up to Bell at Iowa. Custer has been lights out at Chicago as well, making two starts on the 1.5-mile track posting an average finish of 5.0.
This week’s Camping World 300 will feature a couple unique competitive elements.
Father and son, Joe and John Hunter Nemechek will be competing in the same race for the first time since Charlotte Motor Speedway earlier this season. John Hunter Nemechek is currently second in the Xfinity Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings.
And reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champ Joey Logano will be making his first Xfinity Series start of the season – an Xfinity race he has won twice (2009 and 2013).
Gander Trucks In The Windy City
The “Melon Man” Ross Chastain took a major step to assuring his position in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series championship Playoffs with a win at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway last weekend. He enters Friday night’s Camping World 225 needing to earn only 38 more points to break into the Top-20 and formalize his Playoff hopes.
And as motivated as Chastain has been racing, there are plenty of drivers ahead of him in the series driver standings equally as eager to win a race. Chastain won at Kansas before declaring his truck series championship eligibility, then again at Iowa, but his truck was determined to be illegal and he was given only last place points. He needed the win at Gateway to earn that truck series title opportunity.
While Chastain has won twice, championship leader Grant Enfinger is still looking for his first victory of 2019, although his series best 10 top-10 finishes in 11 races have helped him to an impressive 54-point advantage on the rest of the field. Second place Stewart Friesen through fifth place Brett Moffitt – the defending Chicagoland winner – are separated by only 15 points. Fifth place Moffitt (who was awarded the win when Chastain was disqualified) is the only driver currently among the top-five with a victory.
WDUN will carry live MRN Radio coverage of the NASCAR Weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. It starts with Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series Camping World 300 beginning at 3 o'clock on 102.9 FM, AM 550 and streaming live on AccessWDUN. Coverage continues on Sunday with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Camping World 400 beginning at 2 o'clock on 102.9 FM, AM 550 and streaming live on AccessWDUN.
NASCAR Weekend Preview
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Camping World 400
The Place: Chicagoland Speedway – Joliet, IL
The Date: Sunday, June 30
The Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN, 2:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 160), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 267)
2018 Race Winner: Kyle Busch
What to Watch For: Only two times (Harvick 2001-02) and Truex (2016-17) has a driver won back-to-back at Chicagoland Speedway. No one has won consecutive pole positions at the track. … Tony Stewart is the winningest driver at Chicago with three victories. Harvick, Truex, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski all have two victories. …The deepest a race winner has started on the grid is 32nd. Harvick won the 2002 race from that position. … The pole winner has only won the race one time – Kyle Busch in 2008. It is the only win from a front row starting spot. … The winningest starting position is sixth place on the grid. …Jimmie Johnson is the only multiple-time pole winner in the field (2005, 2012). …. Kurt Busch has the most starts (18) without a victory. …. Jimmie Johnson’s three runner-up finishes is most all-time – tying him with Jeff Gordon. … Kyle Busch’s victory over Jimmie Johnson in 2008 marks the closest Margin of Victory (.159-second) in track history….Although he has never won a Cup race at Chicago, Jimmie Johnson has led the most laps (695). …Keselowski is the only driver to win for two different car manufacturers (Dodge, 2012, Ford, 2014). … Toyota drivers have won the last four races. … Chevrolet is the winningest make with eight wins. Toyota has seven and Ford has one (Keselowski in 2014). … Joe Gibbs Racing has the most victories (six) among teams. … The oldest driver to win at Chicago is Mark Martin (50 years, six months) in July, 2009. … Mark Martin’s 2009 win was the most dominating in track history. He led 195 of the 267 laps. … In 2005, Matt Kenseth led the most laps (176) in a single race without scoring the win. He finished second.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Camping World 300
The Place: Chicagoland Speedway – Joliet, IL
The Date: Saturday, June 29
The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN, 3:00 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 300miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)
2018 Race Winner: Kyle Larson
What to Watch For: Three drivers – Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell and Cole Custer – have won 10 of the opening 14 races in 2019, including the last eight consecutive. They have led 1,619 of the 2,587 laps of competition (62.5 percent). … Christopher Bell is the only driver to lead laps in every race this season. . … Illinois native Justin Allgaier is ranked fourth in the standings – the highest ranked driver without a victory. He has two wins at Chicago – in 2011 and 2017. …. Kyle Busch and Brian Scott lead all drivers with three pole positions at Chicagoland. … Kyle Busch has the most Xfinity Series wins (four) and has led the most laps (1,039) all-time. … Elliott Sadler’s 10 top-10 finishes is most. … No driver has ever won back-to-back races. … Three times the race has been won from the pole position, including Kyle Larson’s victory last year. … Chevrolet has won 10 races, Toyota seven races and Ford has won three times. …. Joey Logano, who will be racing in the Xfinity Series for the first time this season, is the last Ford driver to win this race (in 2013). …Ryan Newman holds the qualifying record (186.438 mph) set in July, 2005. …. In 2014, Chase Elliott became the youngest race winner (18 years, seven months). Kevin Harvick was the oldest (38 years, 9 months). … Jimmie Johnson won the very first Chicagoland race in 2001. It is his only Xfinity Series victory.
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
Next Race: Camping World 225
The Place: Chicagoland Speedway – Joliet, IL
The Date: Friday, June 28
The Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 9:00 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 225 miles (150 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 35),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 70), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 160)
2018 Race Winner: Brett Moffitt
What to Watch For: Reigning NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series champion Brett Moffitt is the defending winner at Chicagoland – taking the trophy in his first ever truck start at the track. … Kyle Busch is the winningest driver with five victories. He’s the only driver to earn back-to-back wins and he’s done it twice – in 2009-2010 and 2013-14. … Two-time series champion Johnny Sauter returns to competition this week after serving a one-race suspension for aggressive driving on-track. He is a former Chicago winner (2017). … No one has ever won this race from the front row. The fourth starting position has produced the most winners (three). … Last week’s winner Ross Chastain is now 38 points from breaking into the Top-20 in the standings to earn a Playoff position. ….Harrison Burton leads Sheldon Creed by 31 points in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings. …While Grant Enfinger continues to lead the championship standings by 54 points over Stewart Friesen, second through fifth place (Moffitt) in the championship is much tighter – separated by only 15 points. …. The driver who leads the most laps has only won twice in the last five Chicago races. Both times Kyle Busch (2014 and 2016). …. Toyota and Chevrolet are the only two manufacturers to win at Chicagoland. Toyota has six trophies and Chevrolet has four. …Kyle Busch won the inaugural race in 2009. … Last year’s race featured 17 lead changes – tying a series record at the track (also in 2014).
