The 2016 NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup kicked off yesterday in the windy city, and there is no shortage of story-lines heading out of the race weekend.
The weekend started with rain cancelling qualifying and first practice on Friday, forcing the field to line up by points on Sunday. This left Kyle Busch starting on the pole as the top-seeded Chase driver with four wins on the year.
The race began with two of the sixteen Chase drivers being forced to start from the rear of the field: Kevin Harvick due to unspecified, unapproved adjustments, and Kyle Larson due to a transmission change. Aric Almirola also started from the rear due to unapproved adjustments.
The first 49 laps of the race went uneventfully as Kyle Busch led the first 21 laps, eventually being passed by Martin Truex Jr who held the lead through the first round of green flag pitstops.
The first caution of the race came out on lap 49 due to debris, and left utter confusion in the running order. The caution fell during the middle of green flag pitstops, and when the dust had settled Jimmie Johnson was the new race leader and championship contender Kevin Harvick was trapped one lap down, as was rookie and championship contender Chris Buescher (who finished 28th). This would prove to be an impossible hurdle to overcome for Harvick, who ultimately finished the race in 20th position. Harvick declined comment after the race, however the VP of Competition for Stewart Haas Racing described the day as “unusual” but said “we’ve had fast cars, there’s no reason to panic”.
Jimmie Johnson dominated much of the race, but had his own problems throughout the afternoon. After leading 4 times for 118 laps, he was caught speeding on pit road on lap 234 which left him with just 33 laps to make up for the mistake. He eventually finished 12th, telling reporters after the race that he was “absolutely shocked” at the penalty, as he was “sure I wasn’t speeding”. He added “I hate it for my guys”, and told reporters he needed to “stop screwing up”.
The biggest heartbreak of the race came no doubt for rookie Chase Elliot. Elliot had a very fast car all day, and took over the lead following some handling changes on Jimmie Johnson’s car. He ultimately led 75 laps and looked like a sure-fire bet to win the race before a late race tire blowout on the Michael McDowell machine caused a caution. Ryan Blaney, Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards all chose to stay out during the final caution, while the rest of the lead lap cars pitted for fresh tires. On the final restart with 2 to go, Martin Truex Jr went three-wide through turns 1 and 2, emerging in second and passing Ryan Blaney for the lead as they came to the white flag. Elliot restarted fifth and managed to climb back to third. Elliot was pleased with the teams performance, saying they controlled the things they could control.
Martin Truex Jr’s win guarantees him a spot in the next round of the Chase eliminations, and was his third win on the year. It was a hard fought win, with Truex going a lap down during the middle of the race after pitting for a flat right front tire. The team kept fighting and he was able to get back on the lead lap and take home the win. IN victory lane, an emotional Truex said “What can I say man, this is the way we wanted to start it off. It’s awesome.”
Their weekend isn’t over, though, as both the cars of Martin Truex Jr and Jimmie Johnson failed post-race laser inspection. It is unclear what penalties may come from this, but they are expected to be announced on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Joey Logano, Elliot, Blaney and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five. Other notable finishers were Denny Hamlin in 6th, Kyle Busch in 8th, Matt Kenseth in 9th, and Alex Bowman in 10th. This is Bowman’s 3rd start in the 88 car subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr, and the first race that went without issues.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway next weekend for race number 2 in the Chase. Stay with Now Habersham throughout the week for the latest on any penalties, and check back next week for all the news from New Hampshire.
