The Sun has set on the preseason, and it has risen on the Chase. 16 drivers. 10 races. 4 rounds. 1 champion. And it began in Chicagoland.

Kyle Busch and Brad Keslowski started on the front row, courtesy of their points position due to qualifying getting rained out. Kyle and Brad were both fast, but they were quickly overtaken by another Chase driver.

Jimmie Johnson entered Chicago in a slump. He hadn’t won since this Spring in Fontana. Many people, myself included, didn’t expect Jimmie to get out of the first round. Well, he was determined to prove them wrong. Johnson would lead 118 of the race’s 267 laps. Caution were few and far between, so Jimmie rarely had a challenger near him. However, Jimmie didn’t have the fastest car, and sometimes that bites you at bad times.

While Jimmie led the race, two other drivers slowly stalked him, gradually gaining positions. Martin Truex Jr. had been in the lead earlier in the race, but a speeding penalty had left him deep in the field. Now, he slowly worked his way back towards the front. And just behind Jimmie was an unforeseen contender: rookie Chase Elliot. Elliot spent all day near the front, and as the laps wound down, he began to reel Johnson in.

Jimmie was a mere second ahead of Elliot as drivers entered their final pit stops, and Elliot was closing. Johnson was going to have to hold Elliot of for about 40 laps, so he need some advantage. Thus, Johnson came to pit road a lap earlier than Elliot, in an attempt to take advantage of fresh tires. But then, Johnson reminded us why many picked him to fall out of the Chase. Jimmie sped on pit road, and as a result, he had to serve a pass through penalty, taking him out of the lead.

So now, Chase was in the lead, looking to get his first win in the Cup Series. But Truex wasn’t far behind. And he was closing fast. Elliot had to stay ahead of Truex for 40 laps. Well, Elliot proved to us why he was chosen to replace Jeff Gordon in the 24 car. Elliot drove like a champion, passing lapped traffic like an expert, and maintaining a gap over Truex, who was struggling past these lapped cars. Elliot was going to win his first race. Abd then, BANG!

David Ragan blew a left front tire, and sent debris all over the track. The caution flew. Now Elliot had to survive a pit stop and a restart. And on the pit stop, Elliot’s crew was to slow. Truex beat Chase off pit road.

It now came down to a two lap dash for the win. Truex lined up 4th, and Elliot 5th, because three drivers had stayed out on old tires. The green flag waved, and rookie Ryan Blaney was the one to lead the field. However, old tires were no match for new ones. Truex blew past the drivers on old tires like they were standing still, while Elliot had to struggle past them thanks to his having to restart on the inside.

Truex won his third race of the year, and his first in the Chase.Truex now is guaranteed a spot in the next round of the Chase, and he can sleep easily over the next 2 weeks. Elliot wound up third, and surprisingly seemed satisfied. He had no criticism for his crew. Johnson wound up 12th, and is on the edge of the Chase cutoff line. As of now, the four cut people would be Austin Dillon, Chris Buescher, and surprisingly, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson. Both Larson and Harvick had some rotten luck, and found themselves in a lap down. Tony Stewart currently occupies the last spot of the drivers who will progress, and he won’t be easy to beat, seeing as he’s won 3 times at both Loudon and Dover, the next two tracks. Both Harvick and Larson face an uphill battle to progress to the next round, but both are experts at winning under pressure. See you in Loudon!