2006 USG Sheetrock 400 Preview:
The 2006 USG Sheetrock 400 features 400 miles of racing around the 1.5 mile Chicagoland 'D' shaped oval. Last year Dale Earnhardt Jr. picked up the win with a great pit strategy call. Will this race come down to a pit strategy duel? Can Earnhardt defend his 2005 victory? Chicagoland Speedway will answer all of those questions this Sunday when NEXTEL Cup racing takes center stage on TNT.
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:
Jimmie Johnson's bad luck in Daytona last week tightened the points race significantly. Matt Kenseth is only thirteen markers back. The point lead could easily change hands this weekend. Thirteen points is just a few positions on the race track.
The current top ten in points are:
- Jimmie Johnson -0
- Matt Kenseth -13
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -267
- Kasey Kahne -292
- Tony Stewart -299
- Mark Martin -324
- Jeff Burton -349
- Kyle Busch -406
- Kevin Harvick -413
- Denny Hamlin -453
Storylines:
This weekend the big story is the point standings. For the first time in weeks we have a good battle at the top as Kenseth is just 13 points behind Jimmie Johnson.
We are now only nine races from the cutoff. Drivers like Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards are currently outside of the top ten in points. If they are going to make The Chase they need to get to post a good finish here and avoid costly errors.
Media Coverage:
TV: TNT Sunday, July 9th, 3:00PM Eastern.
Radio: MRN and XM Satellite
Actual Race: 3:35PM Eastern
Posted Awards:
$5,934,007
Last Year:
Last year Matt Kenseth lead the most laps and dominated the middle part of the race. A late caution sent the field to pit road where various pit strategies shuffled the running order.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. only took two and was first off pit road while Kenseth restarted in the back half of the top ten. Scott Wimmer didn't pit at all and temporarily took over the lead.
On the restart Junior was able to get to the front and hold off a hard-charging Kenseth to take the win.
Predictions:
Even though Dale Earnhardt Jr. picked up the win in 2005 he won it on strategy. While it was a good victory that's not enough to make my pick list for this weekend.
Last year Matt Kenseth had the best car for most of the day. If the race had been just a little bit longer Dale Jr's pit strategy play wouldn't have mattered since Kenseth was charging hard. A fast car wins more often than a great pit call. I think Matt Kenseth will pick up the win this weekend.
The other hard charger from 2005 was the 2004 Chicagoland winner Tony Stewart. Stewart is coming off his big win last week in Daytona and has proven that he knows how to get around this place. Tony Stwart is back on top of his game and makes a great backup pick this week.
