Race 18 out of 36
at Chicagoland Speedway - 1.5 mile Tri-Oval - 267 laps for 400 miles.
This Week's Schedule: (All times Eastern)
Friday, July 12th
12:20 p.m. Winston Cup 1st Practice (scheduled for 2 hours)
4:05 p.m. Winston Cup Qualifying
Saturday, July 13th
10:30 a.m. Winston Cup 2nd Practice (scheduled for 45 minutes)
12:15 p.m. Winston Cup Happy Hour Practice (scheduled for 45 minutes)
Sunday, July 14th
2:30 p.m. Start of the Tropicana 400 (NBC)
We've gotten off to a nice start talking about this race so far, so I'll try and keep it short. This is the 2nd visit to Chicagoland so falling back on track history isn't possible. As Hartley already mentioned, there are similar tracks to Chicago, but nothing exact in terms of the banking. Drivers like to compare Chicago to a Las Vegas, Texas, Atlanta, and other 1.5 mile tracks so capping this race is going to come from taking a bit from all those venues and really listening to what the drivers have to say about the track's condition now that it's been a year since they last visited.
The early drivers to watch:
2 R. Wallace -
It took some 20 years, but Rusty finally got his best Daytona finish. Rusty's amazing consistency this year makes him very attractive in matchups, but it's still going to take in the 20-25 to 1 range in order for me to bet him to win. He hasn't led many laps at all, but has finished real well.
6 M. Martin -
Same 'ole for this team. Will continue to back him every week until he shows me otherwise. He will, once again, be a contender for the win here.
8 D. Earnhardt, Jr. -
Should the 8 have been happy with his 2nd place finish last week? Not IMO. However, he should have know that it was unlikely for anyone to go and help him. As far as this week goes, the question is whether Jr. and his team will revert back to the atrocious finishes they were racking up before Daytona. I will personally wait and see instead of trying to figure it out.
9 B. Elliott -
Have already made a play on the 9 as I really believe that he will be right in the mix all race long. He qualifies great at tracks like this, so 30-1 was a must play for me.
12 R. Newman -
Another pre-qualiyfing wager has been made on Mr. Newman. Same deal as every week for this guy, as we all know he should be fast, should be overly aggressive, and should be around the top 10. It's all about some luck now, as this team will win a race before the year is over.
15 M. Waltrip -
Going to have to keep looking at this team every week now. Sure last week was no surprise, but they really seem to have turned the corner.
17 M. Kenseth -
35th or 3rd. All or nothing for this team. I'm going to guess on the "all" this week, as I really believe this is a track that suits him and the team very well. Not really a good qualifier, so I'll wait to play him.
18 B. Labonte -
This is the last week I will be bothering to include this team in the weekly write-up. It's going to take a top-10 finish for him to stay among this "elite" group.
20 T. Stewart -
Boy does Daytona hate this team! Same thing happened last year, and Tony did not begin his 2nd half roll until AFTER Chicago, as he only managed a 33rd place finish. He, like the 24, is a contender at practically every race, but I just don't have any confidence in the 20 this week.
24 J. Gordon -
I think I'll just keep talking him up like he's going to win every race from now until Homestead. Hopefully that will work against him, and he won't, because I will be leaving him out again this week.
28 R. Rudd -
Here's another one of the veterans that I really like this week. Rudd needs to announce his plans for next year, so they can all concentrate on winning races the 2nd half. If Rudds announces he's staying, I will make a strong play on him this weekend.
40 S. Marlin -
Sterling really needed that 3rd place finish last week, and even more so, really needs to back it up this week. I don't take too much stock in a good finish at Daytona as far as a momentum builder, but I will be looking closely at him this week nevertheless.
48 J. Johnson -
This is a team that should be really competetive this weekend. The odds of 8-1 currently are not was I was looking for, so I just hope that he misses on his qualifying setup in order to get something decent. Regardless though, he will be included no matter what. This team has done exceptionally well on these type of tracks this year.
88 D. Jarrett -
A possible contender this weekend, but I seriously doubt I'll include him at the odds that are out there now.
97 K. Busch -
I'm going to have to look for an audio link of what he said over the radio in order to warrant a 3 LAP penalty last week...this kid must have snapped. I think he will take that embarrassment and turn it into a positive, as I like this team to contend this weekend.
99 J. Burton -
Not very impressed with the 99 for this week, but he's always someone who can surprise with a nice top 5 here and there.
A few other drivers to watch IMO, are the 26 of Todd Bodine, the 41 of Jimmy Spencer, and the 77 of Dave Blaney. Bodine is in a different car than the one he won the pole with last year, but it is the car that sat next to him on the front row. Possible qualifying wagers along with race matchups if they show anything like they did last year here. Jimmy Spencer on the other hand, moves from the 26 he drove here last year to the 41, who clipped off a pole run at Kansas in this car. I will be watching. I've already mentioned my feelings on the 77, but he really is a car that I will look to include in matchups and have win bet on.
Any input and opinions?
GLTA
Of course, this play goes further than just his 2nd place finish here last year, but rather is based upon a combination of the car/team and driver. Robert Pressley drove the 77 last year to 2 great finishes at the first years tracks (Chicago/Kansas). In addition, Dave Blaney in the 93 car also had himself a few nice finishes at both tracks. Throw in the fact that the 77 seems to be running in the top 10 quite a lot recently, and all of sudden 70-1 seems very inviting. This team is also well known for serious pit strategy often getting them to or very near the front when it matters. While that strategy hasn't gotten this team a win yet, the right price here should be no higher than 40-1 IMO. Will have to mull this one over in the next few days.
