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

50 year old Mark Martin is like a fine wine this year as he won his 2009 series best fourth Sprint Cup competition of the year and the 39th of his long and illustrious racing career Saturday night at Chicago’s 1.5 mile Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. The last man standing on a night of body-slamming and bump-drafting that included seven cautions, the last one with only two laps left in the race due to oil on the track from Kyle Busch’s blown engine. Mark Martin pulled away after a double-file restart after the seventh caution of the night and …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: 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

NASCAR’s Worst Tracks:
5. Pocono Raceway
4. New Hampshire International Raceway
3. Auto Club Speedway
2. Michigan International Speedway
1. Texas Motor Speedway
NASCAR’s Best Tracks:
5. Richmond International Raceway
4. Daytona International Speedway
3. Lowe’s Motor Speedway
2. Chicagoland Speedway
1. Bristol Motor Speedway

Image details: Dickies 500 served by picapp.com
Petty Enterprises recently announced that Kyle Petty will take a leave of absence from the no. 45 Dodge beginning on the June 1st race at Dover until July 12th when the Sprint Cup Series heads to Chicago. The reason for Petty’s leave from the team is to attend his daughter’s wedding, and he will then join the TNT booth to report from broadcasting duty.
The void in the no. 45 car will be filled by NASCAR rookie, Chad McCumbee, at Dover and Chicago, with Terry LaBonte to drive the car for the five races in …read more