Brian Vickers and Scott Speed occupy the front row for the Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.  It’s Brian’s 5th pole of the 2009 season

1 83 Brian Vickers
2 82 Scott Speed #
3 48 Jimmie Johnson
4 11 Denny Hamlin
5 33 Clint Bowyer
6 18 Kyle Busch
7 24 Jeff Gordon
8 21 Bill Elliott
9 00 David Reutimann
10 47 Marcos Ambrose
11 43 Reed Sorenson
12 39 Ryan Newman
13 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
14 5 Mark Martin
15 9 Kasey Kahne
16 77 Sam Hornish Jr.
17 6 David Ragan
18 66 Dave Blaney
19 42 Juan Pablo Montoya
20 44 A J Allmendinger

Continue reading It’s an all Red Bull front row in Chicago

RCR Looks For Turnaround At Chicagoland

Seven different teams populate the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series top 12, the most after 18 races since the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup expanded to 12 teams in 2007.

But one team is noticeably missing from the list – Richard Childress Racing.

After putting all three of its cars in last year’s Chase, RCR expanded to a four-car operation in the offseason.

Currently, none of those four cars have a victory this season, and the closest driver to a Chase spot is Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet) in 15th-place.

Continue reading Childress hopes to rebound this weekend

Chicagoland Speedway’s Victory Lane Has Seen Wide Variety Of Winners

Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet), Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman (No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet).

Sounds like a dream lineup, right?

Perhaps, but what they also have in common are NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins at Chicagoland Speedway. And two drivers have more than one victory here.

In only eight years, the track has seen six winners – including Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart, who both have two Chicagoland wins.

Continue reading Chicagoland Victory Lane sees variety

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Stewart Sizzles In Summertime

As the temperatures heat up, so does Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot Chevrolet).

Not only does Stewart top the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings, he has two wins under his belt and is moving in on Kyle Busch’s (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota) and Mark Martin’s (No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet) series-best three wins thus far. Seems like a good time to be heading to a track where he has excelled.

“It’s a place I like,” Stewart said of Chicagoland Speedway, site of Sunday’s LifeLock.com 400. “This place is really getting racy as far as finally being able to move around and change lines and run anywhere from the bottom to the top. It’s a fun track because of that.”

Stewart is tied with Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Pennzoil/Shell Chevrolet) for most wins at the track with two each. His wins came in 2004 and 2007, while Harvick won back-to-back in 2001 and 2002.

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Continue reading Summertime is for Stewart

By Kerry Murphey

It’s been rumored for months now and now it’s official, Martin Truex Jr. is headed over to Michael Waltrip Racing for the 2010 season. Martin will wheel the #56 full time Toyota sponsored by NAPA Auto Parts.

So what about Michael Waltip himself, who has said on a number of occasions, that if his performance didn’t improve he would not race in 2010. It seems he will take the path of several other aging NASCAR drivers and drive a partial schedule instead, and drive the #55 NAPA Toyota on a limited basis, including next year’s Daytona 500, a race in which Michael has won twice before.

Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photo

Michael Waltrip believe he has chosen the right guy for the job, to propel MWR into a Championship in Martin Truex Jr., saying “I am turning my car over to a guy I think can win the championship, I just believe at this time in my career, Martin is the right guy.”

Truex has two Nationwide Series Championships to his credit, 1 Cup Series win, 12 Top 5’s, and 34 Top 10’s in NASCAR’S Top Series. Currently he drives for Earnhardt/Ganassi Racing driving their #1 machine, and is 24th in the point standings.

So why did they choose the #56? Well besides being one number up from Michael’s #55, this was the number Martin raced his entire career before getting to NASCAR. Martin Truex Jr. will have 3 teammates next season with Michael Waltrip, David Reutimann, and Marcos Ambrose (JTG/Daugherty Racing, out of the MWR shop)

Stewart’s Performance, Competitive Balance Highlight First Half

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 6, 2009) – Two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart needed little time to grasp the driver-owner concept. At the season’s midpoint, he has already:

Won two races (Pocono and Daytona), becoming the first driver-owner to win a race since Ricky Rudd in 1998, and the first to win multiple races since Rudd in ’97;
Captured the points lead, the first driver-owner to do so since Alan Kulwicki in 1992;
Put both of his Stewart-Haas Racing cars in the top 12 in points.
Stewart’s surprising success highlights a season filled with compelling storylines. Competition is strong and balanced, as illustrated by the 11 different race winners this season. There were 12 different winners in all of 2008, including seven drivers who have yet to win this season. In other words, last year’s mark will likely be passed.

Photo Credit: CIA STOCK PHOTO

Continue reading 18 down, 18 to go – The 2009 NASCAR Season