NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Chase Round 1 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland

Track Classification: Intermediate

Similar Tracks: Atlanta Motor Speedway • Charlotte Motor Speedway • Darlington Raceway  Homestead-Miami Speedway • Kansas Speedway • Kentucky Speedway

Las Vegas Motor Speedway  • New Hampshire Motor Speedway • Texas Motor Speedway

Distance: 1.5 Miles

Drivers with Most Top 10s (Last 5 Years):

By Race
Brad Keselowski - 5
All with 4 -  Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch
All with 3 - Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenneth, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Clint Bowyer  

By Track

Both with 4 - Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch
All with 3 - Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Joey Logano

Recent Pole Winners:

2015 Rained Out
2014 Rained Out
2013 Joey Logano

Last Year's Race Winner: Denny Hamlin

The Likely Suspects: Year three of The Chase should be the best yet. It will be interesting to see whether the headlines will be stolen by non-Chase drivers or the two rookies that made it into the playoffs. Look for these drivers to perform well: Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano.

My 2 Cents: My no-brainer pick is Brad Keselowski. My next picks are Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Kyle Larson, Tony Stewart and Martin Truex Jr. I will complete my team with Ryan Blaney and David Ragan.

My Final Four: Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney

Points to Ponder:

• Joe Gibbs Racing has the most wins at Chicago in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with five: Tony Stewart (two), Kyle Busch (one), Matt Kenseth (one) and Denny Hamlin (one).
• Team Penske has the second most wins with three; followed by Richard Childress Racing and Hendrick Motorsports with two each at Chicago in the NSCS.
• 11 drivers have posted Coors Light poles at Chicago, led by Jimmie Johnson with two. 
• Only three of the 11 Chicago NSCS winners have multiple wins; led by Tony Stewart with three (2004, 2007, 2011); followed by Kevin Harvick with two (first two series events at the speedway; 2001 and 2002) and Brad Keselowski with two (2012 and 2014). 
• Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at 9.286. He also leads all drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Chicagoland with 577 laps.
• Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart lead the series in top-10 finishes at Chicago with 10 each; followed by Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick with nine each.

Enjoy the race! Post your comments here or follow me on Twitter at @purplecatpr.