Chemistry is a key component to any successful NASCAR team. I don't mean the high school beakers and bunsen burners type of chemistry but rather the elusive, almost magical, ability to communicate on the same wavelength that the top drivers and their crew chiefs share.

Hendrick Motorsports made a change recently swapping out Dale Earnhardt Junior's crew chief in an effort to improve the chemistry. What is NASCAR Chemistry and why is it so important to a successful NASCAR team? Here is more about that special bond that all teams are searching for but very few ever find.

The 2009 LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway gave NASCAR fans the kind of race that we have come to expect here. Long green flag runs and complete domination by one or two cars are pretty common at Chicagoland Speedway. Clean air is so important that the leader has a huge advantage versus cars racing back in the pack.

Mark Martin dominated this week's race. He lead 195 of the 267 lap event and pulled away on the final restart to claim the win.

Chicagoland belongs in the same bucket with California. Both of these race tracks desperately need to be reconfigured to improve the quality of racing.

• 2009 LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway
• Bulldoze California
• Chicagoland Speedway Profile

Fresh off his exciting win last weekend in Daytona Tony Stewart brings his point lead to Chicagoland Speedway for the 2009 LifeLock.com 400. Stewart is one of two drivers with multiple Chicagoland wins as both he and Kevin Harvick have two.

Does this make Tony Stewart the overwhelming favorite this Saturday night in Chicago?

• 2009 LifeLock.com 400
• Chicagoland Speedway Profile
• Kyle Busch Celebrates In 2008

NASCAR recently announced the official list of 25 nominees to potentially be among the very first honorees in the new Hall of Fame. Five inductees will be selected from among these 25 to be enshrined when the Hall of Fame opens in 2010.

I made my list of nominees before these were announced but here are the 25 official names:

• Bobby Allison, 1983 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and winner of 84 races
• Buck Baker, the first driver to win consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup championships
• Red Byron, first NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, in 1949
• Richard Childress, 11-time car owner champion in NASCAR's three national series
• Dale Earnhardt, won record seven NASCAR Sprint Cup championships
• Richie Evans, nine-time NASCAR Modified champion
• Tim Flock, two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion
• Bill France Jr., NASCAR president, chairman and CEO (1972-2003)
• Bill France Sr., NASCAR founder and first president (1948-1972)
• Rick Hendrick, 11-time car owner champion in NASCAR's three national series
• Ned Jarrett, two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion
• Junior Johnson, 50 wins as a driver, 132 wins and six championships as an owner
• Bud Moore, 63 wins and two NASCAR Sprint Cup titles as a car owner
• Raymond Parks, NASCAR's first champion car owner
• Benny Parsons, 1973 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion
• David Pearson, 105 victories and three NASCAR Sprint Cup championships
• Lee Petty, winner of the first Daytona 500 and first three-time series champion
• Richard Petty, 200 wins and seven NASCAR Sprint Cup titles -- both records
• Fireball Roberts, won 33 NASCAR Sprint Cup races, including the 1962 Daytona 500
• Herb Thomas, first two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, 1951 and '53
• Curtis Turner, early personality, called the “Babe Ruth of stock car racing”
• Darrell Waltrip, winner of 84 races and three NASCAR Sprint Cup championships
• Joe Weatherly, two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion
• Glen Wood, as driver, laid foundation for Wood Brothers' future team success
• Cale Yarborough, winner of three consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup titles, 1976-78