Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service JOLIET, Ill. – You could see it coming from a mile-and-a-half away. On new tires, Martin Truex Jr. rocketed around the outside lane after a restart in overtime at Chicagoland Speedway and pulled away to win Sunday’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, the opening race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. With the victory—his first at the 1.5-mile track, his third of the season and the sixth of his career—Truex also rocketed into the Chase’s Round of 12. But Truex wasn’t satisfiedRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor After Sunday’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, the cars of race-winner Martin Truex Jr. and 12th-place finisher Jimmie Johnson failed post-race LIS (laser inspection station). But according to NASCAR, the infraction will not result in the loss of Chase advancement for Truex. The penalty for both drivers should be of the P2 variety, which should result in a minimum of 10 points and a $15,000 fine. With Truex’s Chase advancement not in question, the penalty definitely will hurt Johnson much more. A 10-point deduction wouldRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer Entering Sunday’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, Chicagoland Speedway was one of four tracks that Jimmie Johnson had yet to score a victory at. After Johnson put his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS on top of the speed charts in the first practice, it looked like Johnson was finally going to cross Chicagoland off of his list. With qualifying canceled due to weather, Johnson lined up eighth on the starting grid for the first Chase race of the season. At the drop of the greenRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Tony Stewart is in sole possession of the final transfer spot (12th in the standings) in the Chase Grid after the first race of the playoffs at Chicagoland, but after a disappointing race in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 Stewart was not in an optimistic mood about his championship hopes. After climbing from his No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Chevrolet SS after a 16th place finish, Stewart didn’t mince words about his day. “It wasn’t much fun, but I was proud of Mike (Bugarewicz,Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Entering the first race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the two rookies in the 16 driver playoffs were hoping for a solid finish to be able to propel themselves into the second round in two weeks time, while the others were hoping to play spoiler. On Sunday afternoon, both scenarios nearly came true for the rookie class. Chase Elliott, who was making his first start at Chicago and his first appearance in the Chase, showed that he was ready to be inRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Before the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 went green at Chicagoland Speedway, Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team were already facing adversity. NASCAR didn’t approve of adjustments made to the body work on the left side of Harvick’s car before Sunday’s race. As a result, the sanctioning body ruled that Harvick would start at the rear of the field, while the majority of the other Chase combatants started in the front after rain washed out qualifying earlier in the week. Harvick, who tweetedRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service JOLIET, Ill. – When rain forced cancellation of Friday’s knockout qualifying session for Sunday’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN), Kyle Busch was the primary beneficiary. As the top seed in Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and with his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota seeded first in the corresponding owners’ standings, Busch will start on the pole at the 1.5-mile track for the first of the 10 playoff races that will decide the 2016 champion.Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor The Chase is on. After 26 regular season races to set the 16 driver field for the 2016 edition of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Chicagoland Speedway for the opening salvo of the Chase and Sunday’s 16th annual running of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400. As one of the newer tracks on the circuit, having joined in 2001, the 1.5 mile Chicagoland Speedway finds itself front and center as the Chase begins. The track, which onlyRead More