2008 LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway

2008 LifeLock.com 400 Preview:

Chicagoland Speedway has been hosting Sprint Cup racing since 2001. This 1.5 mile 'D' has not yet seen many great races in its young history. Chicagoland is a wide race track which seems to invite runaway winners.

Last year Jimmie Johnson ran away with the first half of the race until he had trouble. Then Tony Stewart ran away with the second half of the race and cruised to the easy win. Maybe this will be the year that Chicagoland burts on the scene with a truly great 400 miles.

Tickets:

Speedway ticket office 815-727-RACE

The Track:

Chicagoland Speedway is a 1.5 mile D-shaped oval. This is a fan-friendly speedway with great sightlines from nearly every seat. Being newer on the schedule Chicagoland hasn't had the opportunity to create its history and differentiate itself from the others. Given time this fine facility will also host some memorable NASCAR moments.

Race Distance:

267 laps = 400 miles

The Big Picture:

Kyle Busch claimed more bonus points for The Chase with his win last week in Daytona. His six 2008 wins will give him a 40 point lead over Carl Edwards when the Chase begins.

At the back of the top twelve Matt Kenseth replaced Kevin Harvick in the top twelve. Kenseth jumped all the way up to ninth as Tony Stewart's problems dropped him to the twelfth and final Chase spot.

The top twelve:

1. Kyle Busch
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -182
3. Jeff Burton -202
4. Carl Edwards -249
5. Jimmie Johnson -385
6. Jeff Gordon -440
7. Denny Hamlin -458
8. Clint Bowyer -515
9. Matt Kenseth -520
10. Kasey Kahne -528
11. Greg Biffle -533
12. Tony Stewart -547

Storylines:

The big story this week is that Tony Stewart will leave Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of 2008 to become an owner-driver of the Stewart Haas Racing team. This team currently fields Scott Riggs' #66 and the #70 which has been driven by a collection of drivers.

Will Joey Logano get Stewart's #20 in 2009? Is this the end of Tony Stewart as a regular Sprint Cup contender? When one of NASCAR's biggest stars leaves his top team to become an owner it leaves many unanswered questions.

Media Coverage:

TV: TNT Saturday, July 12th, 6:30PM Eastern.

Actual Race: 8:00PM

Radio: MRN and SIRIUS Satellite

Recent Events:

2007 Winner: Tony Stewart

2007 Polesitter: Casey Mears

Last Year:

Last year this race was a blowout. Jimmie Johnson dominated the first part of the race but found the outside wall. Tony Stewart then dominated the second half of the race and cruised to the easy win.

Predictions:

In 2007 Jimmie Johnson proved that can be fast at Chicagoland Speedway. However the win went to Tony Stewart. With all of the media attention swirling around Stewart this week he doesn't make a great pick for Saturday night's race.

My primary pick this week goes to Jeff Burton. Richard Childress Racing won the first two Cup races ever held at this race track. They have not returned to Victory Lane since but have continued to have strong runs. Burton has been fast in 2008 and has a good chance to find his second win of the season on Saturday night.

For my backup pick I have to go with Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie dominated first half of the race last year. He returns to Chicagoland with the same great setup and should be a strong contender for the win. Jimmie Johnson makes a great backup pick this weekend.