The 17th race of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season is the Overton’s 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Here are the five drivers most likely to win that race.
The first of three road courses in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season is in the books, and this weekend, the series returns to a more traditional style of oval racing at Chicagoland Speedway. The Overton’s 400 will be the first race of the season on NBC Sports Network, and it will feature the debut of Dale Earnhardt Jr. sharing his insight in the booth.
Last weekend at the Toyota/Save Mart 350, it was Martin Truex Jr. and his team utilizing pit strategy to earn the win at Sonoma Raceway. Truex Jr.’s crew chief, Cole Pearn, made the decision to keep Truex Jr. out longer than Kevin Harvick in hopes that the caution flag wouldn’t come out in the remaining laps.
In the end, that gamble paid off, as Truex Jr. earned his third win of the 2018 season and his second in a row at a road course. He will take the win from Sonoma and head to another track at which he has had great success. He is the back-to-back defending Chicagoland Speedway race winner and will look to go for three in a row there on Sunday.
This Sunday’s race will be the 18th Cup Series race held at Chicagoland Speedway in the track’s history. Recent trends show a Toyota dominance, which we very well could see again this weekend. However, Ford drivers have been pretty strong at 1.5-mile oval tracks in 2018. Here are the five drivers most likely to win the Overton’s 400 this weekend.