Fans, NASCAR professionals, and even viewers on television might have been surprised by thousands of empty seats being visible in the stands at Chicagoland Speedway last weekend during the NASCAR competitions being held at this facility in Joliet, Ill. This must be a stress filled site for NASCAR officials watching the race and employees of this track on the far outskirts of Chicago. Especially since this track isn’t one of the larger capacity tracks that have been having trouble filling up to capacity, but a moderate facility designed for around 75,000 fans. Craig Rust, the new track president at Chicagoland …read more

A critical choice by crew chief Dave Rogers at the right time propelled NASCAR racer Joey Logano to victory Friday night in the Dollar General 300 Nationwide race held at Chicago’s Chicagoland Speedway.  Staying out on the track during the second caution of the Dollar General 300 on Lap 185, Logano was able to pull away from teammate Kyle Busch after the restart on Lap 192 on his old tires and the choice turned out to be the right one. Kyle Busch for his part had taken two fresh tires during the restart and was astonished when Logano was able …read more

The sparks will be flying and the wheels screaming again on Saturday night in Joliet, Illinois as the Sprint Cup Series rolls back to Chicago’s Chicagoland Speedway this week for the running of NASCAR’s LifeLock.com 400. Chicagoland Speedway is a 1.5 mile intermediate oval track that’s similar in requirements and construction to the other tracks of this type in NASCAR, which do make up the majority of the tracks currently used for Sprint Cup Series competitions at present. Chicagoland Speedway does have one twist that the other tracks of this type don’t have, it’s closer to being one continuous circle …read more

Before I get into this week’s topic, I would like to point out that Bruce Simmons, who normally joins us here in our weekly “Loose in Turn 3″ segment representing Bruce’s NASCAR Bits ‘n’ Pieces, will to be joining us this week as he is off in San Diego on a separate venture at the moment. He will be returning with us next week, but in his place today is our guest blogger, one of DYN’s very own loyal readers, Rocky Akins. I’d like to give a special thanks to Roc for filling the gaps for us this week, and as a bonus, he even …read more

Sure, this section is typically reserved for one of the week’s better wrecks, but like him or not, let’s face it – Kyle Busch’s restart to win the Lifelock.com 400 last Saturday was just too good to pass up. After starting from the pole and leading more than 160 laps in the race, Kyle nearly let one get away after getting passed by Jimmie Johnson in the closing laps of the race. But, a blown engine by David Gilliland with just 6 laps to go bunched the field back together and gave Kyle one last crack to pick up the …read more

Image details: LifeLock.com 400 served by picapp.com
Kyle Busch continued his dominating run over the Sprint Cup Series Saturday night as he picked up his series-leading 7th win of the season by taking the checkers in the Lifelock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL. After rain cancelled Friday’s qualifying session, Busch was awarded the pole position due to leading the championship points standings, and that proved to be invaluable as he led the first 44 laps of the race en route to setting a new track record by leading a total of 165 laps, erasing the previous record set by …read more

TZ’s Picks (Chicago):
1. Matt Kenseth – 7th – 40 points
2. Jimmie Johnson – 2nd – 42 points
3. Kyle Busch – 1st – 42 points
4. Kevin Harvick – 3rd – 40.5 points
5. Tony Stewart – 5th – 39 points
6. Kurt Busch – 28th – No points
Lock of the Week - Tony Stewart – Top Five – 10 points
Sleeper Pick - Travis Kvapil – Outside Top Fifteen – No points
Steer Clear of - Martin Truex Jr. – Top Ten – (Minus) 15 points
Roc’s Picks (Chicago):
1. Kevin Harvick – 3rd – 42 points
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 16th – No points
3. Matt Kenseth – 7th – 39 …read more

Image details: The Meijer 300 served by picapp.com
Good morning, everyone. It’s another Friday here in mid-July, and it’s a hot one out there ….. which is rather fitting, because that’s the only way to describe the NASCAR scene as of late! I welcome you to another edition of our overly-glorified “Loose in Turn Three” segment. Of course you all know me, and with me as usual are my fellow NASCAR Bloggers, Bruce Simmons and Charlie Turner.
Just as we do every week, we have a trio of topics that the three of us are going to be discussing, but before we jump right into that, let’s …read more

Image details: LifeLock.com 400 Practice served by picapp.com
It was the hardest easy decision in Tony Stewart’s career, but the two-time Sprint Cup Series champion addressed the media today at Chicago, and just as expected, announced his departure from Joe Gibbs Racing a year premature, and that his newest venture will be as a 50% owner of Stewart Haas Racing, currently competing as Haas CNC Racing.
Stewart took the time on Wednesday afternoon to address his friends and co-workers at Joe Gibbs Racing, and explain to them why he was leaving. He said that by the time he was done speaking, everyone …read more

Image details: USG Sheetrock 400 served by picapp.com
NASCAR will return to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL this weekend. Saturday night’s race will mark the eighth trip to Chicagoland for the Sprint Cup Series, and the first NASCAR event there run under the lights. The 1.5 mile tri-oval track has produced only two repeat winner to-date (Kevin Harvick & Tony Stewart), and no driver has ever won the pole here twice. With the points shakeup that occurred as a result of the mele’ at Daytona last week, all eyes are certain to be focused on the Midwest this week with only 8 races …read more