Joey Logano started on the pole. It was his second pole of 2013. Before Logano could lead the field to the line, Mother Nature would intervene. Rain began to come down before the race started. The rain stopped fairly quick and NASCAR was able to get the track dried. After a delay of one hour and thirty minutes, the race went green. Logano was able to come around and lead the first lap. Logano held the lead until the first caution of the race waved on lap 31. NASCAR waved a competition caution due to the rain that delayed the race previously. Timmy Hill received the lucky dog. The strategy session began early in the race. Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, and Aric Almirola took only two tires while Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, and the rest of the lead lap drivers took four tires. The race went back green and Jimmie Johnson was able to hold the lead after a short battle with Kyle Busch. Johnson held onto the lead until his team decided to use a little strategy. Johnson came to pit road on lap 74, which was a few laps before schedule. The strategy would not work out for the team. The rear tire changer had trouble on the right rear, but he was able to get all the lug nuts tightened. The NASCAR official did not see him get them all tightened and signaled for the team to come back around and fix it. They did, but the NASCAR official waved them off because he had not realized the lug nut was already tightened. After sitting on pit road for a few seconds, Johnson was able to leave, but he had lost a lot of time. Plus, the rest of the lead lap drivers followed Johnson's move by coming to pit road on lap 75. Another Chase driver would have trouble during the stops.
Kurt Busch came down pit road and his team did a good job on the stop. Busch left his box and made a huge mistake. He was caught speeding on the exit of pit road. He made a pass through penalty on pit road and returned to the track, but he had lost a lot of time. After the stops, Matt Kenseth cycled around to the lead after Jimmie Johnson's struggles on pit road. Kenseth led the race until the second caution waved on lap 108. Rain began to fall on the track in turns 3 and 4. Cole Whitt lost traction in turn 4 due to the rain and made contact with Juan Pablo Montoya, causing Whitt to slide down the frontstretch. He ended up in the grass with a few blown tires, but he could continue on in the race. Montoya had a cut tire, but would continue after replacing the tire. Jeff Burton received the lucky dog. The rain became too heavy and NASCAR pulled the cars down pit road and the red flag was waved. The teams covered the cars and the wait was on. The rain stopped pretty quickly and the jet dryers went on track, but the rain came back and set in for a little bit. Hour after hour passed and the rain still continued to come down. After a few hours of rain, it finally quit and the jet dryers returned to the track. After five hours and ten minutes, the race coverage returned to ESPN2 and the race was ready to get back going. Before the race would get back going, pit stops would occur from the second caution five hours ago. Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, and others took two tires while the rest of the lead lap drivers took four tires. After five hours and fifteen minutes, Matt Kenseth was able to take the green flag and get the race back going.
The race went a short time before the third caution on lap 122. Juan Pablo Montoya lost a left rear due to the previous caution and left debris on the track. His damage was pretty significant, but he would be able to return to the race. A.J. Allmendinger received the lucky dog. Another strategy session occurred during the caution. Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, and others decided to come down pit road. The caution was actually a break for Busch because he was able to make his way onto the lead lap after his speeding penalty. The race went back green and Matt Kenseth was able to take control of the field once again. The race went another short amount of time before the fourth caution of the race waved on lap 148. Justin Allgaier, who was making his Sprint Cup debut, was bumped by Landon Cassill on the backstretch. The bump from Cassill caused Allgaier to spin down the backstretch of the track. He made slight contact with the inside wall, but there was little damage and he was able to continue on. Danica Patrick received the lucky dog. At the same time, a Chase driver was having huge problems.
Joey Logano, who was running well, began to slow on track. When the caution came out, Logano was able to stay on track with the field, but his car was smoking pretty bad. When pit stops arrived, Logano came down pit road and his team checked under the hood and they reported to Logano's crew chief that the engine was down two cylinders. All Logano could do for the rest of the race was ride around and hope to finish, but this significantly impacted his hopes for the championship. The lead lap drivers also came to pit road with Logano. Jeff Gordon, Aric Almirola, and others took two tires while Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, and others took four tires. Johnson would have another problem during pit stops. His team did a good job on the right side and they went around to the left side. The jackman went to jack up the car and it wouldn't budge. The jack had broken and another team member had to hand him the spare jack. The team completed the pit stop, but the problem had caused Johnson to lose a lot of spots. It would be interesting to see if Johnson could once again overcome a pit problem.
The race went back green and Jeff Gordon was able to use his pit strategy to hold onto the lead after a battle with Carl Edwards. The race would only go two turns before the fifth caution waved on lap 154. Cole Whitt lost an engine in turn 2 and his car started smoking heavily down the backstretch. His car erupted into flames after exiting the backstretch. He came to a stop and was able to get out safely, but his engine was gone and he would not return to the race. Casey Mears received the lucky dog. None of the drivers came to pit road and the race went back green. Jeff Gordon was able to hold the lead on the restart. It was a short time after this that another driver had engine troubles. On lap 163, Brian Vickers began to slow down on track. He reported to pit road and informed his team that all his pressures were gone. This was a good indication that the engine was gone and he would not return to the race. This led to the sixth caution of the race on lap 168. Debris was spotted on the frontstretch of the track. Joey Logano received the lucky dog. Greg Biffle stayed out on the track while all the lead lap drivers came to pit road. Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, and others took just fuel while everybody else took either two or four tires. The pit stops also had a stack up that involved a couple of Chase drivers.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was riding behind his teammate, Kasey Kahne, exiting pit road. The two came up on Dave Blaney, who had slowed to allow a driver to get into their stall. Kahne came up on Blaney quick and was able to stop and only hit Blaney slightly. Earnhardt was not as quick to react and made heavier contact with the rear of Kahne's car. Both drivers had to come back to pit road and repair the damage, but they were able to return to the race. The race went green and Kyle Busch was able to take the lead from Greg Biffle as Jeff Gordon began to have a problem. Gordon had a tire go down once the restart occurred. He was forced to come down pit road and his team replaced the tire. Gordon was able to get back on track without damage, but he had lost a lot of time and his championship chances looked like they were in jeopardy. Shortly after this, the seventh caution of the race waved on lap 176. Joey Logano finally lost his engine in turn 2 of the track. His car began to smoke heavily and he would be forced to retire from the race. His championship hopes seemed dashed, but he still has nine races to go. David Gilliland received the lucky dog. Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and others decided to come down pit road since they were pretty far back in traffic. The race went back green and Kyle Busch held onto the lead. The longest green flag run since the rain delay began and Greg Biffle finally made the move to pit road on lap 212. It was a scheduled move to pit road for Biffle, but he told his team he thought the motor was going sour. All he could do was ride it out and see if it was gone. Only time would tell if it survived until the end of the race. Biffle's stop led the field to pit road beginning on lap 216. Most of the stops were completed when the eighth caution of the race waved on lap 226. Dale Earnhardt Jr. lost an engine entering turn 1. He went for a slide after smoke had poured out of the back of his car and oil had landed on his tires. Earnhardt ended up stopped in the grass with a few flames coming out. He was able to get out of the car safely, but his night was finished. Danica Patrick received the lucky dog. With this caution, Jeff Gordon was able to get back on the lead lap after his earlier tire problem. It would be interesting to see if Gordon could make the move by NASCAR to put him in the Chase pay off.
The race went back green and Kyle Busch was able to hold onto the lead. The race went a short time before the ninth and final caution of the race waved. Justin Allgaier got loose underneath Paul Menard in turn 3. Allgaier drifted up the track and almost made contact with Menard, but the contact did not occur. Nonetheless, Allgaier went for a spin and came to a stop on the apron of the track, but he was able to continue on without damage. Dave Blaney received the lucky dog. The final bit of strategy occurred during the caution. Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, and others decided to stay out on track to stay up front while Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, and others came down pit road for the benefit of either two or four tires. The race went green for the final time and Matt Kenseth received a huge push from Kevin Harvick. The push propelled Kenseth to the lead and all he had to do was hold on. Kenseth did this very well and he took his sixth win of 2013. Kenseth has been dominating this year and his performance at Chicago was no different.
I have a statistic for you guys to ponder. In the past two seasons, Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski, the two most recent champions, won the first race of the Chase en route to their championship victories. This year, Matt Kenseth took the opening race of the Chase in a season that has been a break out one to say the least for the former champion. It is just a stat, but Kenseth could be a huge threat for the championship if he doesn't have anything major happen to him over the rest of the Chase. With the Chase, drivers get eliminated fairly quick. With engine failures to open the playoffs, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Joey Logano are really deep in points and are pretty much out. I have seen miracles, but I believe they don't have a chance at this point. Kyle Busch was also impressive during the event. If he had gotten ahead of Kenseth on the final restart, he might have taken the win in the first race of the Chase. It did not work out for Busch and he settled for second place. The win bolstered Kenseth's championship lead that he held coming into the Chase with Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson sitting second and third, respectively. With the series heading to New Hampshire this weekend, the points could shake up a good bit. Will Matt Kenseth continue to bolster his points lead, will Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch make a charge, or will another driver deeper in the points move himself up? We will have to wait until Sunday to find this out.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 31- Competition caution waved by NASCAR due to earlier rain.
2nd Caution: Lap 108- Rain began to fall down on the track. Cole Whitt also spun on track exiting turn 4 due to the rain. Juan Pablo Montoya also received damage.
3rd Caution: Lap 122- Juan Pablo Montoya lost a tire and left debris on track.
4th Caution: Lap 148- Justin Allgaier was bumped by Landon Cassill on the backstretch, which caused Allgaier to spin out.
5th Caution: Lap 154- Cole Whitt lost an engine in turn 2 and dropped oil on the backstretch of the track. Whitt's car erupted in flames, but he was able to get out safely.
6th Caution: Lap 168- Debris was spotted on the frontstretch of the track.
7th Caution: Lap 176- Joey Logano lost an engine in turn 2 of the track.
8th Caution: Lap 226- Dale Earnhardt Jr. lost an engine in turn 1 and went for a slide down the track.
9th Caution: Lap 240- Justin Allgaier got loose underneath Paul Menard in turn 3 and Allgaier went for a spin.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: Timmy Hill
2nd Caution: Jeff Burton
3rd Caution: A.J. Allmendinger
4th Caution: Danica Patrick
5th Caution: Casey Mears
6th Caution: Joey Logano
7tht Caution: David Gilliland
8th Caution: Danica Patrick
9th Caution: Dave Blaney
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Matt Kenseth
2nd: Kyle Busch
3rd: Kevin Harvick
4th: Kurt Busch
5th: Jimmie Johnson
Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Jeff Gordon
9th: Clint Bowyer
10th: Ryan Newman
11th: Carl Edwards
12th: Kasey Kahne
16th: Greg Biffle
35th: Joey Logano
37th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013_GEICO_400/W
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/live-standings.html?intid=livestandings_livestandingsleaderboard_08292013
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
-Special thanks to a full race uploader. I am not going to give his link or information because he has been hit hard a lot for copyright complaints and he is a good source for races so I want him to be able to do it for a good while.
-Image:
http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20130919&Category=SPORTS16&ArtNo=309190176&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&NASCAR-Chase-leader-Matt-Kenseth-turns-attention-New-Hampshire
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