NASCAR: Five Lessons Learned From Chicagoland
![Sep 18, 2016; Joliet, IL, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr. (78) during the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports Sep 18, 2016; Joliet, IL, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr. (78) during the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/6df2be5cc3c04824869d48c420ae68be534509be5ce297b2d973e5567bfc3fe2.jpg)
The 78 Team Could Be Ready to Win a Championship
Martin Truex Jr. won the race at Chicagoland but went on to fail post race inspection.
This makes for an interesting dilemma; Truex did win and has been one of the fastest drivers on 1.5 mile tracks, but failing post-race inspection brings up another issue:
Is Truex and the 78 modifying the body of their car outside of NASCAR regulation? Are they cheating to be as good as they are?
The severity of their penalty will more than likely be determined later on this week, but how will NASCAR punish a driver who not only won the race, but is also a Chase driver?
Martin Truex Jr. should have been viewed as one of the underdogs of the Chase. Yes he’s won two races this season, but Furniture Row Racing is not a major organization in NASCAR. They might run with a Job Gibbs engine, but it’s taken years for them to be this good and even competing in the Chase.
So far they will be moving onto the next round of the Chase, thanks to their win at Chicagoland, but NASCAR could decide to change that this week depending on the severity of their post-race failure.
But even though they failed post-race inspection, the 78 team looks strong and will be moving onto the next round of the Chase.
Do they look strong enough to win the championship? Right now they look like a major contender, but if they continue to fail post-race inspections moving forward, the severity of the penalties they receive might knock them out of championship contention.
What did you learn from the first race of the Chase? Do you think Martin Truex Jr. and the 78 can win the championship? Let us know in the comments below. And as always, for more NASCAR and news about the Chase head over to BeyondTheFlag.com.