JOLIET, Illinois – The 10-race NASCAR Cup playoffs begin this afternoon with the Tales of the Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.
Here are the details for today’s race
(All times are Eastern):
START: Greg Cipes, voice of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Michelangelo, will give the command to start engines at 2:57 p.m. Green flag is set for 3:06 p.m.
DISTANCE: The race is scheduled for 267 laps (400.5 miles) around the 1.5-mile speedway.
STAGES: Stage 1 ends on Lap 80. Stage 2 ends on Lap 160.
PRERACE SCHEDULE: The Cup garage opens at 9:30 a.m. The driver/crew chief meeting is at 1 p.m. Driver introductions at 2:20 p.m.
NATIONAL ANTHEM: Jim Cornelison, anthem singer for the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, will perform the Anthem at 2:51 p.m.
TV/RADIO: NBCSN will broadcast the race at 3 p.m. Coverage begins at 1 p.m. on NBCSN with NASCAR America, followed by Countdown to Green at 2:30 p.m. The Motor Racing Network radio broadcast begins at 2 p.m. on mrn.com and affiliates. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the MRN broadcast.
FORECAST: The wunderground.com site predicts a temperature of 80 degrees and a 24 percent chance of rain at race time.
LAST TIME: Martin Truex Jr. won this race last season. Jimmie Johnson led a race-high 118 laps but fell back late in the race and finished 12th. Truex took the lead away from Ryan Blaney on Lap 268 and held on for the final two laps to take the checkered flag in overtime. Joey Logano finished second. Chase Elliott was third.
STARTING LINEUP: Click here for starting lineup