2005 USG Sheetrock 400:
This week the NEXTEL Cup teams head to Joliet, Ill for the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. This week's race is all about the points. There is very little to get excited about the race itself.
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:
This is race number 18 of 36. Greg Biffle's time at the top of the points wsa short lived. He was involved in a crash in Daytona last week and handed the lead back to Jimmie Johnson.
The current points top ten are: 1. Jimmie Johnson 2,378, 2. Greg Biffle 2,305, 3. Tony Stewart 2,242, 4. Elliott Sadler 2,178, 5. Rusty Wallace 2,173, 6. Ryan Newman 2,115, 7. Jamie McMurray 2,093, 8. Mark Martin 2,068, 9. Kurt Busch 2,030, 10. Dale Jarrett 2,030.
Storylines:
It's all about the points. After Richmond the top ten in points plus any drivers within 400 points of the leader qualify for "The Chase for the NEXTEL Cup" championship battle.
Right now 13 drivers are within 400 points of the leader with Jeff Gordon bringing up the rear 396 points behind his teammate Jimmie Johnson. One more, Kevin Harvick, is within striking distance 432 back.
Realistically, if you're not in the top 14 at this point your Chase dreams are done for 2005.
Media Coverage:
TV: NBC Sunday July 10th 3:00PM Eastern.
Radio: MRN and XM Satellite
Actual Race: 3:35PM Eastern
Last Year:
In 2004 Jeff Gordon took his fourth pole-in-a-row for the 2004 season. Unlike the previous two weeks he was not able to parlay his qualifing spot into a win.
Tony Stewart had the car to beat all day long and put together an impressive win. There was some drama as Stewart caused a wreck with Kasey Kahne on his way to victory. This incident caused a fight in the pits and fines for the crew members involved.
Predictions:
NASCAR is a sport of streaks. Tony Stewart was able to dominate this race last year plus he has won the last two NEXTEL Cup races in 2005. Clearly Tony is the man to beat this week at Chicagoland.
For my backup this week I'm going to go way out on a limb. Richard Childress Racing won this race in 2001 and again in 2002. I wouldn't rule out RCR racing this week with a big Jeff Burton breakthrough win. He's been running well lately and this is a track that his team knows well.
