NASCAR at Chicago 2015: Start time, lineup, TV schedule for Chase race
JOLIET, Ill. — It's NASCAR race day at Chicagoland Speedway, and we've got some essential information you need to get ready for today’s Sprint Cup Series race -- the opener of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
START TIME: Legendary athletes Jerry West (NBA) and Billie Jean King (tennis) will instruct drivers to start their engines at 3:07 p.m. Eastern time today (2:07 local), followed by the green flag at 3:16 p.m. So if you want to skip the pre-race show and just tune in for the race, turn on your TV at 3:16 p.m.
RACE DISTANCE: The myAFibRisk.com 400 is 267 laps around the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway for a total of 400.5 miles.
NATIONAL ANTHEM: Famous Chicago anthem singer Jim Cornelison, known for his stirring renditions of the anthem before Chicago Blackhawks games, will do the honors prior to today's race.
TV/RADIO SCHEDULE: NBC Sports Network will broadcast today's race and will live stream it on the NBC Sports app as well as its website (for subscribers). The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius/XM will call the race on the radio.
WEATHER: The National Weather Service is calling for a pleasant day with a high around 71 degrees and no chance of rain.
LAST TIME: Brad Keselowski used a bold three-wide pass late in last year's Chase opener to score a victory and become the first driver in playoff history to earn an automatic spot in the next round.
STARTING LINEUP: Defending champion Kevin Harvick was awarded the pole Friday based on practice speeds after qualifying was rained out.
Here's the starting lineup for today's Chase for the Sprint Cup race at Chicago (Chase participants in bold):
- Kevin Harvick
- Joey Logano
- Brad Keselowski
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Austin Dillon
- Ryan Newman
- Kyle Busch
- Kasey Kahne
- Kurt Busch
- Jeff Gordon
- Jimmie Johnson
- Matt Kenseth
- Jamie McMurray
- Carl Edwards
- AJ Allmendinger
- Paul Menard
- Greg Biffle
- Kyle Larson
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Aric Almirola
- Brian Scott
- Sam Hornish Jr.
- Tony Stewart
- Casey Mears
- Danica Patrick
- Clint Bowyer
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- David Ragan
- Denny Hamlin
- Trevor Bayne
- Justin Allgaier
- Alex Bowman
- Cole Whitt
- JJ Yeley
- David Gilliland
- Landon Cassill
- Michael Annett
- Brett Moffitt
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Josh Wise
- Jeb Burton
- Reed Sorenson
- Timmy Hill
PHOTOS: 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers and points