Although 5-time champion Jimmie Johnson led 172 laps in the opening race of the Chase on Sunday, it was not going to be his day at Chicagoland Speedway. After winning the pole during qualifying on Saturday, Johnson was battled early by Kasey Kahne although the #5 Farmers Chevrolet was unable to push ahead to lead a lap. Johnson had a rocket for a race car for most of the race and maintained a comfortable lead throughout a relatively uneventful afternoon.
It was Keselowski who would finally make a move on the #48 Kobalt Chevrolet with 32 laps to go. After both cars had pitted for the last time, the #2 hitting pit road a couple of laps after the #48, Keselowski appeared to enter the track too soon when trying to blend back into traffic. The move seemed to loosen Johnson’s car slightly, costing him momentum, and the Blue Deuce was able to take the lead. He never relinquished it and was able to take the checkered flag in first place. NASCAR later ruled that Keselowski had re-entered the track legally.
Even though the race was clean without too much controversy, there were some dramatic moments. Casey Mears, whose Geico Ford was in the top 20 most of the day, cut a tire on lap 149 and wound up making contact with the wall. Mears’ sponsor, Geico, had renewed their contract with Germain Racing earlier in the week, and the company was also the title sponsor of Sunday’s Cup race. Disappointment was evident as they felt that they had a car to be competitive.
The only other crash of the day devastated the #24 team of Jeff Gordon. A less-than-stellar qualifying effort started them way down in the field in 19th, but the DuPont Chevrolet was strong and was top 5 and gaining on the leaders by mid-race. But on lap 189, Gordon’s throttle stuck and he sailed into the wall from turn 1. Fortunately for his safety it was only half-throttle, but the damage put a dent in his hope for a strong Chase opener. The #24 car was able to get back out later but couldn’t keep pace and only made one more lap.
The resulting caution from Gordon’s crash benefitted the #17 Best Buy Ford of Matt Kenseth, which had dropped a shock out onto the track. His crew was able to replace it on pit road in a series of stops and Kenseth pulled off an 18th place finish.
Denny Hamlin, who had maintained a top ten position most of the day, unfortunately ran out of fuel on the last lap and lost championship points while fading to 16th at the checkered flag.
Here are the new standings for the Chase (courtesy of NASCAR.COM):
RANK |
+/- |
DRIVER |
POINTS |
BEHIND |
STARTS |
POLES |
WINS |
TOP 5 |
TOP 10 |
WINNINGS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | +3 | Brad Keselowski | 2056 | Leader | 27 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 16 | 4,724,610 |
2 | — | Jimmie Johnson | 2053 | -3 | 27 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 18 | 6,370,460 |
3 | — | Tony Stewart | 2048 | -8 | 27 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 5,283,940 |
4 | -3 | Denny Hamlin | 2041 | -15 | 27 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 13 | 5,455,470 |
5 | +6 | Kasey Kahne | 2041 | -15 | 27 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 3,743,900 |
6 | — | Clint Bowyer | 2041 | -15 | 27 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 16 | 4,114,050 |
7 | — | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 2039 | -17 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 18 | 4,489,280 |
8 | -3 | Greg Biffle | 2037 | -19 | 27 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 15 | 4,641,910 |
9 | +1 | Martin Truex Jr. | 2035 | -21 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 15 | 4,123,590 |
10 | -1 | Kevin Harvick | 2032 | -24 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 4,456,840 |
11 | -3 | Matt Kenseth | 2030 | -26 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 16 | 5,848,810 |
12 | — | Jeff Gordon | 2009 | -47 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 4,525,920 |