Driver Averages | Laps Led Leaders | Driver Ratings | Past Winners
Detailed driver notes and statistics to help set your fantasy racing lineup for Sunday’s Overton’s 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.
Who’s HOT at Chicagoland
- Martin Truex Jr. has won the last two races and has combined to lead 109 laps in that span.
- Brad Keselowski is the only driver that has finished in the top 10 in each of the last seven races, including two wins.
- Kyle Busch has finished ninth or better in five of the last six races and has led 340 laps in the last five races.
- Denny Hamlin has finished sixth or better in the last four races, including a win in 2015.
- Kevin Harvick, who leads all drivers with three wins at 1.5-mile tracks in 2018, has led 150 laps and finished in the top five in three of the last five races.
- Chase Elliott has led 117 laps and posted a 2.5 average finish in his two starts.
- Joey Logano has finished seventh or better in the last four races.
Keep an Eye On at Chicagoland
- Kyle Larson has finished seventh or better in three of his four starts at Chicagoland.
- Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers with 695 laps led and has finished in the top 10 in 11 of his 16 Chicagoland starts. However, he’s yet to lead a lap in the last 11 races at 1.5-mile tracks.
- Erik Jones (9.8) and Clint Bowyer (11.4) rank fourth and sixth, respectively, in average finish in the five races at 1.5-mile tracks in 2018.
- Ryan Blaney, who has two fifth-place finishes and 55 laps led in the five races at 1.5-mile tracks this season, has posted a 7.5 average finish in his two starts at Chicagoland.
- Kurt Busch has a 9.4 average finish, which includes three top 10s, in his last five starts at Chicagoland.
- Aric Almirola has finished 13th or better, including two top 10s, in four of the five races at 1.5-mile tracks in 2018.
- Jamie McMurray, who finished 10th at Chicagoland last year, has finished third and sixth, respectively, in two of the last three races at 1.5-mile tracks when running at the finish.
Notes: The Chicagoland Monster Energy Cup Series race date returns to July for the first time since 2010…Teams will be running the same multi-zone tread right-side tire that was used last year at Chicagoland…The left-side tire, which will be run for the first time at Chicagoland, was used at Auto Club Speedway earlier this season…Kyle Busch is the only driver to win from the pole at Chicagoland in 2008 (night race)…Joe Gibbs Racing leads all organizations with five wins at Chicagoland…Toyota has won four of the last five races at Chicagoland…Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch have combined to win all the races (11) at 1.5-mile tracks dating back to June 2017.
*Best Average Finish at Chicagoland
| Last # of Races | Driver | Average Finish |
| Two Races | Martin Truex Jr. | 1.0 |
| Four Races | Denny Hamlin | 4.2 |
| Six Races | Brad Keselowski | 4.7 |
| Eight Races | Brad Keselowski | 6.4 |
| Ten Races | Jimmie Johnson | 9.5 |
* – The best average finish is based off a driver entered in the race who has competed in EVERY race during that time span.
Laps Led Leaders at Chicagoland
| Last # of Races | Driver | Laps Led |
| Two Races | Jimmie Johnson | 118 |
| Four Races | Kyle Busch | 273 |
| Six Races | Kyle Busch | 340 |
| Eight Races | Jimmie Johnson | 461 |
| Ten Races | Jimmie Johnson | 534 |
Click Here to view all laps led leaders at Chicagoland over the past 10 races.
Chicagoland Loop Data Stat Leaders (2005-2017, 13 Races)
| Average Running Pos. | *Laps in Top 15 |
| 1. Chase Elliott – 2.9 | 1. Jimmie Johnson – 3,134 |
| 2. Jimmie Johnson – 7.3 | 2. Kyle Busch – 2,706 |
| 3. Kyle Busch – 9.2 | 3. Kevin Harvick – 2,337 |
| 4. Kyle Larson – 9.6 | 4. Kurt Busch – 2,250 |
| 5. Brad Keselowski – 10.1 | 5. Martin Truex Jr. – 2,223 |
| *Fastest Laps Run | *Driver Rating |
| 1. Jimmie Johnson – 412 | 1. Chase Elliott – 125.6 |
| 2. Kyle Busch – 237 | 2. Jimmie Johnson – 113.0 |
| 3. Martin Truex Jr. – 227 | 3. Kyle Busch – 107.3 |
| 4. Kevin Harvick – 149 | 4. Brad Keselowski – 100.4 |
| 5. Brad Keselowski – 145 | 5. Kevin Harvick – 98.9 |
*Must be entered in the Overton’s 400
Top 10 Stage 1 &2 Points Earned at Chicagoland
Drivers listed are entered in Sunday’s race
| Driver | Points Earned |
| Kevin Harvick | 18 |
| Chase Elliott | 18 |
| Denny Hamlin | 12 |
| Brad Keselowski | 11 |
| Kyle Busch | 10 |
| Joey Logano | 10 |
| Kyle Larson | 10 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 9 |
| Kurt Busch | 3 |
| Daniel Suarez | 2 |
2017 Chicagoland Stage Finishes
| Stage 1 | Stage 2 |
| 1. Kyle Busch | 1. Chase Elliott |
| 2. Kevin Harvick | 2. Kevin Harvick |
| 3. Chase Elliott | 3. Martin Truex Jr. |
| 4. Denny Hamlin | 4. Kyle Larson |
| 5. Joey Logano | 5. Brad Keselowski |
| 6. Brad Keselowski | 6. Denny Hamlin |
| 7. Matt Kenseth | 7. Joey Logano |
| 8. Kyle Larson | 8. Kurt Busch |
| 9. Daniel Suarez | 9. Matt Kenseth |
| 10. Martin Truex Jr. | 10. Jamie McMurray |
Rookie Report
Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates William Byron and Bubba Wallace each will be making their first start at Chicagoland Speedway in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Both drivers finished in the top 10 at Texas Motor Speedway in April for their only top 10 in the five races so far at 1.5-mile tracks. Byron, who leads the rookie standings by 34 points, hasn’t had much luck in his two starts at Chicagoland in the Camping World Truck Series (30th, accident) and Xfinity Series (33rd, transmission). Wallace has posted three top 10s in four Xfinity starts and an 8.5 average finish in two Truck Series starts.
MRN.com Staff Picks
Jeff Wackerlin: Kyle Larson
Pete Pistone: Brad Keselowski
Tyler Burnett: Kyle Larson
Driver Notes – Ordered by Average Finish (Top 15) in the Last Five Races at Chicagoland
Chase Elliott has combined to lead 117 laps and has posted a 2.5 average finish in his two starts at Chicagoland. His 18 stage points earned last season at Chicago is tied for the most with Kevin Harvick. This season, Elliott has finished 12th or better in four of the five races at 1.5-mile tracks with the new Camaro ZL1, including a 10th-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February.
Brad Keselowski is the only driver that has finished in the top 10 in each of the last seven races at Chicagoland when the race was held in September. He is one of three drivers with two wins at the track, with his last coming in 2014. Keselowski is coming off his third top 10 in the five races at 1.5-mile tracks with a fourth-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Keselowski led 38 laps and finished second in February at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a track that has an old racing surface like Chicagoland.
Ryan Blaney finished fourth and 11th, respectively, in his two Chicagoland starts when he drove for the Wood Brothers. This weekend, he will make his first track start in the No. 12 with Team Penske. An accident at Kansas in May after leading 54 laps snapped a streak of two consecutive fifth-place finishes on 1.5-mile tracks this season.
Kyle Busch has finished ninth or better in five of the last six races at Chicagoland. Busch led 85 laps last season and won Stage 1, but had to pit for a loose wheel and then was penalized on that stop for a crewmember over the wall too soon. He came back to finish 15th. His 273 laps led in the last five races are the most among all drivers. Busch’s only Chicago win came in July 2008 when the race was held under the lights. This season in the five races at 1.5-mile tracks, Busch leads all drivers in top 10s (five), average finish (4.2) and points earned (252). He scored his second win at a 1.5-mile track in 2018 in last month’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Kyle Larson has finished seventh or better in three of his four starts at Chicagoland. Larson led 101 laps at Kansas Speedway in May and finished fourth for one of his four top 10s in the five races at 1.5-mile tracks in 2018.
Kurt Busch has finished in the top 10 in three of the last five races at Chicagoland. He comes into the weekend as one of two drivers that has finished in the top 10 in each of the last three races at 1.5-mile tracks.
Martin Truex Jr. has won the last two races at Chicagoland after combining to lead 109 laps. This season, Truex has the fifth-best average finish (10.0) in the five races at 1.5-mile tracks and has finished in the runner-up spot in the last two.
Jimmie Johnson has finished in the top 10 in 11 of his 16 starts at Chicagoland, including an eighth-place finish last season. Johnson is coming off his best finish (fifth), and first top 10, in the five races at 1.5-mile tracks this season. Johnson, who has led 695 laps at Chicago, has not led a lap at a 1.5-mile track dating back to the 2017 Coca-Cola 600.
Denny Hamlin has finished sixth or better in the last four races at Chicagoland, including a win in 2014. He ranks second in stage points earned at Chicago with 12. Hamlin heads into the race weekend having posted consecutive top fives at 1.5-mile tracks – Kansas and Charlotte – and a 12.6 average finish in the five overall races at intermediate tracks in 2018.
Joey Logano has finished seventh or better in the last four races at Chicagoland, including a second-place finish in 2016. This season, Logano has the second-best average finish (8.8) in the five races at 1.5-mile tracks.
Daniel Suarez finished 12th last season in his first Monster Energy Cup Series start at Chicagoland. Suarez has yet to finish in the top 10 in five races so far at 1.5-mile tracks this season with his best finish being 15th – Atlanta and Charlotte.
Jamie McMurray has finished 16th or better in the last four races at Chicagoland, including two top 10s. Last season, he finished 10th in Stage 2 and 10th in the race. McMurray is coming off his second top 10 in the five races at 1.5-mile tracks this season, finishing sixth at Charlotte.
Ryan Newman scored his last of nine top 10s in 16 starts at Chicagoland in 2015, fourth. Newman, who won at Chicago in 2003 with Team Penske, has yet to record a top 10 at a 1.5-mile track with the new Camaro ZL1. His best finish at an intermediate track in 2018 came at Las Vegas, 11th.
Kevin Harvick led 59 laps and finished third last year for his second top five in four Chicagoland starts with Stewart-Haas Racing. His 18 stage points earned last season at Chicago is tied for the most with Chase Elliott. This season, Harvick leads all drivers with three wins and 561 laps led in the five races at 1.5-mile tracks. This weekend, he will return in the same chassis (No. 010) that he led 87 laps and finished second with at Texas in April. Harvick won the first two races at Chicagoland and 2001 and 2002 driving for Richard Childress Racing.
