Chicagoland Debrief

After an eventful first race in the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, Martin Truex Jr continues his dominance. Truex took home his fifth victory of the season as he won the Tales of the Turtles 400  at Chicagoland.
Truex led a total of 77 of the 267 laps at Chicagoland to claim the victory. Rounding out the top five in the finishing order were Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson. Playoff drivers led a combined total of 265 of the 267 ran laps at Chicagoland. Stage 1 winner Kyle Busch led the most laps in 85 as he had a dominate car early on in the race. But a mistake on pit road cost Busch the win and ended the day with a 15^th place finish, one lap down to race winner Martin Truex Jr. 

Heading into the next race in New Hampshire, four drivers sit below the cut off line in advancement into the second round of the playoffs. Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch sits 13^th, while Talladega and Daytona winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr sits in 14^th, Brickyard 400 winner Kasey Kahne sits in 15^th and Phoenix winner Ryan Newman sits 16^th and dead last in the playoff standings after race one in round one. Only the top 12 drivers in the standing will advance to round two and continue to be in contention for the championship after the third playoff race in Dover. 

Current Playoff Standings after Race 1

1.    Martin Truex Jr

         2.    Kyle Larson         -27

          3.    Kevin Harvick      -35

         4.    Brad Keselowski  -41

          5.  Kyle Busch           -41

           6.    Denny Hamlin       -44

           7.    Jimmie Johnson     -56

         8.    Chase Elliott        -58

        9.    Matt Kenseth      -63

        10. Ryan Blaney        -68

        11. Jamie McMurray -71

       12. Austin Dillon      -76

        13. Kurt Busch          -76

            14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr  -80

         15. Kasey Kahne        -81

        16. Ryan Newman     -83

With his win in Chicago,
Truex Jr automatically advances into the second round. Last year Truex Jr won two of the first three round one races (Chicagoland and Dover). Can he do it again as the series heads to the flat one mile oval in New Hampshire. Coverage from New Hampshire Motor Speedway begins at 2:00pm et on NBC sports network.