Nascar 2012 - race 27

Dollar General 300




Chicagoland Speedway



Written by Rick A. Talford

Nascar Enthusiast



JOLIET, ILLINOIS - Nationwide racers came to Chicago for their 26th of 33 races. Joey Lagono (18) would take the pole for the fifth time this season. Austin Dillon (3) would start second. They came to the track to run 200 laps on the one and a half miler speedway. During the opening ceremonies, Michael White gave the invocation, as the Million Dollar Quartet would sing the National Anthem. A MH-65c Helicopter flew over the speedway also. Corynn McMurray was the Grand Marshal. There were two handfuls of “Double Duty” drivers in the race. Lagono (18), Keselowski (22), Busch (54), Patrick (7), Bliss (44), Hornish Jr. (12), Menard (33), Nemecheck (87) and Whitt (88). The In-Race Reporter was Johanna Long (70).



It did not take long before the caution flag would fly in this race. On lap 4, Dexter Stacey (39) would spin out on track. Brad Sweet (38) would bring out the second caution, for the same reason. The third caution on lap 47, was for Cole Whitt (88) after he was ran into by Justin Allgaier (31). Allgaier’s exhaust cut down Whitt’s rear tire. Out of the first 60 laps, Joey Lagono led 59 of them.



Austin Dillon (3) and Kyle Busch (54) then took their chances at leading the race. For nine laps, the two racers went back and forth with the lead, then Dillon took off as the leader. By lap 100, Dillon had created a 5.4 second distance between himself and second place. The fourth caution came out on lap 124 for Benny Gordon (24). Gordon had slid up and into the wall. On lap 166, the fifth and final caution would fly for Jason Bowles (81). His engine gave out while on the race track. The race would run green from that point, to the end.



Kyle Busch was leading the late laps, when Ricky Stenhouse Jr.(6) started charging hard. He ran down and passed Busch easily. This kept Busch from getting his first win, in his own equipment. He has went zero for sixteen races so far this season. He would finish second in this race.



The rest of the top ten were: Austin Dillon (3), Brad Keselowski (22), Paul Menard (33), Sam Hornish Jr. (12), Michael Annett (43), Elliott Sadler (2), Joey Lagono (18) and Brian Scott (11). Danica Patrick would finish in twelfth position, never falling off the lead lap all day.



The next race is at Kentucky on Saturday on ESPN at 3:30 PM EST













GEICO 400



JOLIET, ILLINOIS - The Cup Series ran their 267 laps on the same speedway this weekend. The Pole Sitter was Jimmie Johnson (48), with Aric Almirola (43) starting second. The Grand Marshal was Scott Markel, and the In-Race Reporter was Tony Stewart (14). Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) had qualified fourth, but had to start at the rear of the field, for changing an engine. He would start the race in 42nd spot.



Aric Almirola (43) and Jimmie Johnson (48) led the opening laps. Johnson would eventually take off in the lead. By lap 34, Danica Patrick (10) fell a lap down to the leaders. She would complete the race, two laps down in twenty-fifth position. During green flag stops around lap 45, Sam Hornish Jr. (22) would get penalized for speeding on pit road. Aric Almirola (43) would also be penalized for a tire violation. (later, Nascar gave his lap back, as there was no violation) Travis Kvapil also was penalized for taking equipment out of the pit box. His jack was caught under the race car as he left the pits. He drug the jack all the way around the track at normal speeds, before returning to pit road.



The first caution came out on lap 67 for debris (never shown to viewers). On lap 102, another debris caution came out. It was not shown to viewers again. The race went green for awhile, as Keselowski took the lead near the halfway mark. Casey Mears (13) brought out the third caution, when he hit the wall. Before the race went back to green, they extended the caution for another piece of debris on the track, near the start/finish line. The front shock absorber, from the 17 car of Matt Kenseth had fallen off. He would continue on racing without it, not knowing that it was off his car. He would get into the pits for a repair on lap 188, when the next caution came out. The fourth and final caution was for Jeff Gordon (24) who had an accelerator stick, sending him into the wall hard. He would go to the garage for repairs. He did return for just a couple more laps, after falling 69 laps down.



The race would go back green on lap 195. Johnson took over the lead once again. The final round of pit stops were made around lap 227. As everyone got back up to speed, Keselowski would retake the lead over Johnson by a second. Keselowski would win by over three seconds in the first round of the Chase. Johnson would finish in second place.



The rest of the top ten were: Kasey Kahne (5), Kyle Busch (18), Ryan Newman (39), Tony Stewart (14), Joey Lagono (20), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88), Martin Truex Jr. (56) and Clint Bowyer (15).



Other notables in the Chase were: Kevin Harvick (29) in twelfth, Greg Biffle (16) in thirteenth, Denny Hamlin (11) in sixteenth (ran out of fuel on the final lap), Matt Kenseth (17) in Eighteenth and Jeff Gordon (24) in thirty-fifth.



The Chase Contenders are: Leader- Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson (-3), Tony Stewart (-8), Denny Hamlin (-15), Kasey Kahne (-15), Clint Bowyer (-15), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (-17), Greg Biffle (-19), Martin Truex Jr. (-21), Kevin Harvick (-24), Matt Kenseth (-26) and Jeff Gordon (-47).



The next race is at Kentucky on Sunday on ESPN at 2 PM EST