JOLIET, IL: A three hour rain delay didn’t stop these drivers from finishing the race on a Sunday at the 1.5 mile tri-oval at Chicagoland Speedway, and the racing turned out to be great in the end.
Alex Bowman in the 88 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports has won the Camping World 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Bowman led 88 laps, and would win his first career race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 134 starts. Bowman finished second three times in a row at Talladega, Dover, and Kansas before this win. This is the first time that the 88 has won since 2015 at Phoenix with Dale Earnheardt Jr.
Bowman’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates finished in the top 15 as well with two of them finishing in the top 10. Jimmie Johnson in the 48 Ally Chevy finished fourth increasing playoff chances, and would lead 10 laps. William Byron in the 24 Liberty University Chevy led nine laps and finish eighth. The only car to finish outside the top 10 was Chase Elliott in the 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy who was in the top five earlier but got pushed back in traffic. Elliott would not lead a lap however and finish 11th.
Three of the Team Penske cars finished in the top ten. Joey Logano in the 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang did not lead a lap but would finish third, Brad Keselowsk in the 2 Miller Lite Ford nearly won stage one, got stuck in traffic afterwards, but came back to finish fifth, and Ryan Blaney in the 12 Body Armor Ford who would lead one lap and finish fifth.
Stewart Haas Racing had one car that looked to contend, but would fall out of contention later on while the others struggled. Kevin Harvick in the 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Mustang would lead 132 laps and win stage two, but would hit the wall hard while in the lead. Harvick would finish 14th. The other three finished outside the top 15. Aric Almirola in the 10 Smithfield Ford finished 16th, Daniel Suarez in the 41 Ruckus Ford finished 24th due to tire issues, and Clint Bowyer in the 14 Toco Repair Coverage On-Call Ford who would spin in the grass before the end of stage one. Bowyer would finish 37th.
Joe Gibbs racing had an up and down day. Erik Jones in the 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry would lead a lap and finish seventh, while Martin Truex Jr in the 19 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker ATVs/Boats Toyota did not lead a lap, but did finish ninth. Denny Hamlin in the 11 FedEx Express Toyota who led five laps and won stage one, but an uncontrolled tire penalty ruined his day and put him back in traffic. Hamlin finished 15th. Defending Chicagoland Winner Kyle Busch in the 18 Skittles Red White and Blue Toyota also had problems on the track today. Busch was loose for most of the day and would head down to pit road after contact with Logano. Busch finished 22nd and did not lead a lap.
Chip Ganassi driver Kyle Larson in the 42 McDonalds Chevrolet Camaro had a big playoff points day as well. Larson would lead seven laps and finished second, while his teammate Kurt Busch in the 1 Global Poker Chevy was silent throughout the day finishing in the 13th position.
Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon in the 3 Dow Chevrolet Camaro would start on the pole, but would fall back in traffic. Dillon would lead nine laps and finish in the tenth position. His teammate Daniel Hemric in the 8 Liberty National Life Insurance Company Chevy would start third and finish 19th.
The next race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be Saturday at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 as last year’s winner Erik Jones looks to get his first win of 2019.
- Alex Bowman 88 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Kyle Larson 42 McDonald’s Chevrolet Camaro Chip Ganassi Racing
- Joey Logano 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Team Penske
- Jimmie Johnson 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Brad Keselowski 2 Miller Lite Red White & Blue Ford Mustang Team Penske
- Ryan Blaney 12 Body Armor Ford Mustang Team Penske
- Erik Jones 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- William Byron 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Martin Truex Jr. 19 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker ATVs/Boats Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Austin Dillon 3 Dow/UniverSolutions Chevrolet Camaro Richard Childress Racing
- Chase Elliott 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Fastenal Red White & Blue Ford Mustang Roush-Fenway Racing
- Kurt Busch 1 Global Poker Chevrolet Camaro Chip Ganassi Racing
- Kevin Harvick 4 Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Denny Hamlin 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Aric Almirola 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Ryan Newman 6 Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs Ford Mustang Roush-Fenway Racing
- Chris Buescher 37 Maxwell House/USO Chevrolet Camaro JTG-Daugherty Racing
- Daniel Hemric (R) 8 Liberty National Life Insurance Company Chevrolet Camaro Richard Childress Racing
- Michael McDowell 34 Love’s Ford Mustang Front Row Motorsports
- Paul Menard 21 FVP/Menards Ford Mustang Wood Brothers Racing
- Kyle Busch 18 Skittles Red White & Blue Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- David Ragan 38 Shriners Hospitals Ford Mustang Front Row Motorsports
- Daniel Suárez 41 Ruckus Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Bubba Wallace 43 Victory Junction Chevrolet Camaro Richard Petty Motorsports
- Ross Chastain 15 Low-T Center Chevrolet Camaro Premium Motorsports
- Matt DiBenedetto 95 Procore Construction Software Toyota Camry Leavine Family Racing
- Ryan Preece (R) 47 Kroger Chevrolet Camaro JTG-Daugherty Racing
- Matt Tifft (R) 36 Crab Delights Ford Mustang Front Row Motorsports
- Corey LaJoie 32 CoinLotto.com Ford Mustang Go Fas Racing
- Landon Cassill 00 Chevrolet Camaro StarCom Racing
- Bayley Currey (R) 52 Monarch Crypto Wallet Ford Mustang Rick Ware Racing
- Josh Bilicki (R) 53 Insurance King Chevrolet Camaro Rick Ware Racing
- Reed Sorenson 27 VIPRacingExperience.com Chevrolet Camaro Premium Motorsports
- Ty Dillon 13 GEICO Military Chevrolet Camaro Germain Racing
- B.J. McLeod 51 Jacob Companies Ford Mustang Rick Ware Racing
- Clint Bowyer 14 Toco Repair Coverage On-Call Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Quin Houff (R) 77 Chevrolet Camaro Spire Motorsports
Ian O’Brien is a Contributor for the Unwrapped Sports Network website. Follow him @Ianthekicker41 on Twitter.