Martin on his mark

Posted on July 11, 2009 - 20:59:09

Mark Martin has led for 116 out of 158 laps at the Sprint Cup LifeLock.com 400. He joked earlier on his radio that he hasn't even had to push the car full throttle tonight.

"I'm proud to drive it, whatever happens," he said.

Teammate Jimmie Johnson, who led for 31 laps near the start of the race, continues to run second, while Tony Stewart has moved up to fourth after starting 32nd. It's familiar territory for Stewart, who has Top 5 finishes in six of his eight career starts at Chicagoland Speedway.

– Kevin Druley

Martin has healthy lead through 108 laps

Posted on July 11, 2009 - 20:19:37

With 108 laps in the books for the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, Mark Martin's No. 5 Chevrolet is in the lead by about five seconds. Martin, who started in 14th position, has led sice the 42nd lap. Kasey Kahne in the No. 9 Dodge is running second.

The track has cooled about five degrees since the start of the race, which might help drivers handle the turns. Night racing in general tends to be faster, which means the remaining 159 laps could fly by.

– Eric Olson

Johnson grabs early LifeLock lead

Posted on July 11, 2009 - 19:45:58

Jimmie Johnson surged past polesitter Brian Vickers after nine laps in Saturday's NASCAR Sprint Cup LifeLock.com 400 and has led for the past 31 entering the night's first caution.

A sloppy pit stop, however, caused Johnson to restart at the tail while Vickers, still searching for his first victory of the season, moved up to second.

– Kevin Druley

Can Team Chevy match Toyota's success?

Posted on July 11, 2009 - 14:32:11

Friday night was a great night for Toyota drivers, who took first through fourth place in the Dollar General 300 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

In tonight's Sprint Cup series race, the LifeLock.com 400, Chevrolet drivers could be almost as dominant, if past performance is any indication.

Chevrolet drivers have won six of the eight Cup series points races at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, and five of the top 12 drivers, including the top three in the points standings, are with Team Chevy. Tony Stewar is the points leader, and Jeff Gordon the second-place driver both drive the Chevy Impala SS. So does three-time defending Cup series champion Jimmie Johnson, who's third in the driver points this season.

– Eric Olson

Joey Logano wins Dollar General 300

Posted on July 10, 2009 - 21:28:30

Joey Logano didn't pit in during a late-race caution flag, but it didn't matter in the end. After the caution was lifted, Logano drove away from second-place driver Kyle Busch to take the Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Busch – who had two tires put on his car during the caution period – made an early run at Logano, but the Logano's No. 20 Toyota eventually finished more than 2.5 seconds ahead of Busch's No. 18 Toyota.

Busch is Logano's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate. With the second-place finish, Busch increased his lead on Carl Edwards to 192 in the Nationwide Series drivers points standings.

Brian Vickers No. 32 Toyota finished third and Jason Leffler's No. 38 Toyota was fourth. It was Toyota's first 1-2-3-4 finish in a NASCAR race.

– Eric Olson

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