After the wild race at Daytona, the Sprint Cup Series heads north to the Chicagoland Speedway, where they will race under the lights for the first time. Adding the COT to the changed track conditions, this could be another wild race.


1. Kyle Busch

Making a fantastic save, coming from the back and making his move at just the right time to win at Daytona; just another race for Kyle Busch. Kyle has now won 1/3 of the races run this season in Sprint Cup, with six victories in 18 races. He has an average finish of 10th at Chicagoland, with a best finish of 3rd. The way he's racing right now, he'll probably improve on that.

2. Matt Kenseth

Matt Kenseth earned the best finish of his career at Daytona, finishing 3rd, rebounding from his disappointing finish at Loudon. Matt now has seven top-10's in the past eight races, and that consistency should carry over to Chicago, where he's come just short of the victory the past three races. In those races he's led 289 laps, finishing 2nd twice, with a 22nd that was the result of being spun from the lead with four laps to go.

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Earnhardt Jr. led the most laps at Daytona, but faded from contention towards the end of the race, but still finished a solid 8th. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been a contender the past three races at Chicago. In 2005 he earned a win, then in 2006 he finished a solid 5th. His result last year, 19th, is deceiving, because he was running in the top-5 before he lost a cylinder late in the race.

4. Carl Edwards

Edwards was battling for the win on the last lap when the caution flew, ending the race. After two finished of 20th or worse, Edwards earned a 3rd place finish at Chicagoland last year. Edwards' teams has been strong on the 1.5 mile tracks all year long, expect him to contend for the win.

5. Tony Stewart

Stewart had to give way to relief driver J.J Yeley when his illness became too much to handle. Stewart has to be a favorite to win at Chicagoland though, where he's earned five top-5's in the past six races, including two wins. He is the only driver besides Kevin Harvick to have multiple victories at the track.

6. Jeff Burton

Burton finished outside the top-15 for the first time this season when he wrecked late in the race. Don't expect this to happen at Chicago though, where he has finished in the top-10 the past two races, including a career best finish of 2nd in 2006.

7. Jeff Gordon

Gordon was in position to win his first race of the season at Daytona, leading the majority of the closing laps. However, he was spun on a green-white-checkered restart, leaving him with a 30th place finish. Gordon has five top-10's in the past six races at Chicagoland, including a win.

8. Greg Biffle

Biffle finished last after and early wreck at Daytona, dropping him three spots to 11th in the points standings, just 10 points in front of 13th place Kevin Harvick. Biffle has been slumping, with no top-10's in the past five races, and Chicagoland may just continue his woes, where he's never finished in the top-10.

9. Jimmie Johnson

Johnson ran up front most of the race, but lost track position when he damaged his fender and needed repairs. This put Johnson back in mid-pack, where he was caught up in a wreck, finishing 23rd. He should rebound at Chicagoland, where he has five top-10's in six career starts, with a 37th last year that resulted from a blown tire while running 2nd.

10. Brian Vickers

Vickers finished 11th at Daytona, his sixth straight finish of 16th or better. He'll need to finish even better though if he wants to make up enough ground to make the Chase, which he is still 112 points out of. In three starts at Chicagoland, Vickers has a worst finish 14th, with a 4th in 2005.



Other Notables:

11. Kurt Busch- Busch backed up his win with a 4th place finish in a backup car. Things may just be turning around for Busch, who has three straight top-10's at Chicago.

12. Kevin Harvick- Harvick won the inaugural event at Chicagoland in 2001, then again in 2002. He needs another strong run here to get back in the top-12.

13. David Ragan- After a couple of bad runs at Infineon and Loudon, he excelled once again in the plate race, finishing 5th. He's earned top-5's in two of the three plate races this year.

14. Robby Gordon- He finished 6th at Daytona in an unsponsored car. He's also earned two top-10's at Chicago, but none since 2003.

15. Ryan Newman- Had a rough day at Daytona, but Chicago is a good place for him to turn it around. He won here in 2003, and finished 8th here last year.