# 2013 GEICO 400

The 2013 GEICO 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on September 15, 2013, at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, United States. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.500-mile (2.414 km) tri-oval, it was the twenty-seventh in the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the first race in the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, which ends the season.
Matt Kenseth of Joe Gibbs Racing won the race, his career best sixth of the season, teammate Kyle Busch finished second, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five.

## Report
### Background

Chicagoland Speedway is a four-turn tri-oval track that is 1.500 miles (2.414 km) long. The track's turns are each banked at 18 degrees and have a turn width of 55 feet (17 m). The racetrack has a grandstand capacity of 75,000 spectators, and has a 11,050-square-foot (1,027 m$^2$) garage area. Brad Keselowski was the race's defending champion.
Before the race, Matt Kenseth led the Drivers' Championship with 2,015 points, with Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch tied for second place with 2,012. Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards had a total of 2,006 points, while Joey Logano and Greg Biffle were sixth and seventh with 2,003. Clint Bowyer, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, and Jeff Gordon rounded out the Chase field with 2,000 points each. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 178 points, ten points ahead of Toyota. Ford, with 141 points, was in the third position.

### Entry list

(R) - Denotes rookie driver.
(i) - Denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Sponsor |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | McDonald's |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Penske Racing | Ford | Miller Lite |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Farmers Insurance |
| 7 | Dave Blaney | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | Tommy Baldwin Racing |
| 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | DeWalt / Stanley Tools |
| 10 | Danica Patrick (R) | Stewart–Haas Racing | Chevrolet | GoDaddy.com |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | FedEx Office |
| 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Ford | GEICO |
| 14 | Mark Martin | Stewart–Haas Racing | Chevrolet | Mobil 1 / Bass Pro Shops |
| 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | Peak Antifreeze |
| 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | Post-It |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (R) | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | Best Buy |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Doublemint |
| 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Dollar General |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Penske Racing | Ford | Shell / Pennzoil |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Drive to End Hunger |
| 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Quaker State / Menards |
| 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Budweiser |
| 30 | Cole Whitt (i) | Swan Racing | Toyota | Swan Energy / Lean1 |
| 31 | Jeff Burton | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Caterpillar |
| 32 | Timmy Hill (R) | FAS Lane Racing | Ford | U.S. Chrome |
| 33 | Tony Raines (i) | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | Little Joe's Autos |
| 34 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | Taco Bell |
| 35 | Josh Wise (i) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | MDS Transport |
| 36 | J. J. Yeley | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | Tommy Baldwin Racing |
| 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | Long John Silver's |
| 39 | Ryan Newman | Stewart–Haas Racing | Chevrolet | Quicken Loans |
| 40 | Landon Cassill (i) | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | Circle Sport |
| 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | Target / Kraft |
| 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | Eckrich |
| 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Toyota | Kingsford Charcoal |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Lowe's |
| 51 | Justin Allgaier (i) | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | BRANDT |
| 55 | Brian Vickers (i) | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | Aaron's Dream Machine |
| 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts |
| 78 | Kurt Busch | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / Serta |
| 83 | David Reutimann | BK Racing | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper |
| 87 | Joe Nemechek (i) | NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing | Toyota | RoyalTeakCollection.com |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Time Warner Cable |
| 93 | Travis Kvapil | BK Racing | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper |
| 95 | Reed Sorenson (i) | Leavine Family Racing | Ford | Leavine Family Racing |
| 98 | Michael McDowell | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | Phil Parsons Racing |
| 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | Fastenal |
| Official entry list |||||

### Practice and qualifying

Three practice sessions were held before the race. The first session, scheduled on September 13, 2013, was 90 minutes long. The second and third, held a day later on September 14, 2013, were 55 and 50 minutes long. In the first practice session, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the quickest with a best lap time of 28.774 seconds. Kurt Busch followed in second, ahead of Edwards and Johnson in third and fourth. Juan Pablo Montoya was scored fifth quickest with a best lap time of 28.853, seven-tenths slower than Stenhouse. Logano, Biffle, Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski, and Bowyer completed the top-ten.
After the first practice session, NASCAR discussed the second half of what became known as Spingate, the race fixing scandal that took place during the last ten laps of the previous week's race in Richmond, which was still under investigation. NASCAR had uncovered radio chatter between two Roush Fenway Racing affiliated teams (Penske and Front Row). At 2:55 PM CT, NASCAR held a press conference to discuss the results and placed both Ford teams in question on probation for the rest of 2013. Furthermore, after discussions that took place because of the first part of the rule where which Michael Waltrip Racing ordered Brian Vickers to pit in order to help Martin Truex Jr. get into the Chase, and later disqualifying the #56 of Truex from the Chase while reinstating the #39 of Ryan Newman, NASCAR had no choice but to add Jeff Gordon, who was the victim of both manipulations, to the Chase as the 13th team. Chairman Brian France has always had the power to expand the Chase field in exceptional circumstances, and decided to invoke this power in order to add Gordon to the Chase. According to France, "There were too many things that went on Saturday night that provided a clear disadvantage (to the #24 team)" for him not to take this action. Ironically, Joey Logano, one of the drivers involved in the controversy, set a new track qualifying record, qualifying on pole with a time of 28.509 seconds, and speed of 189.414 mph.

## Results
### Qualifying

| Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Penske Racing | Ford | 28.509 | 189.414 |
| 2 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Penske Racing | Ford | 28.534 | 189.248 |
| 3 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.562 | 189.062 |
| 4 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.604 | 188.785 |
| 5 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.606 | 188.772 |
| 6 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.641 | 188.541 |
| 7 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.645 | 188.515 |
| 8 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.669 | 188.357 |
| 9 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.677 | 188.304 |
| 10 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.678 | 188.298 |
| 11 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.678 | 188.298 |
| 12 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.679 | 188.291 |
| 13 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Toyota | 28.681 | 188.278 |
| 14 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 28.684 | 188.258 |
| 15 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 28.704 | 188.127 |
| 16 | 78 | Kurt Busch | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 28.712 | 188.075 |
| 17 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.730 | 187.957 |
| 18 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.742 | 187.878 |
| 19 | 34 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.798 | 187.513 |
| 20 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 28.845 | 187.207 |
| 21 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.892 | 186.903 |
| 22 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.906 | 186.812 |
| 23 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 28.912 | 186.774 |
| 24 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 28.915 | 186.754 |
| 25 | 55 | Brian Vickers | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 28.963 | 186.445 |
| 26 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 29.019 | 186.085 |
| 27 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 29.051 | 185.880 |
| 28 | 30 | Cole Whitt | Swan Racing | Toyota | 29.067 | 185.778 |
| 29 | 14 | Mark Martin | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 29.069 | 185.765 |
| 30 | 36 | J. J. Yeley | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 29.124 | 185.414 |
| 31 | 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Ford | 29.277 | 184.445 |
| 32 | 40 | Landon Cassill | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | 29.283 | 184.407 |
| 33 | 83 | David Reutimann | BK Racing | Toyota | 29.288 | 184.376 |
| 34 | 35 | Josh Wise | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 29.293 | 184.344 |
| 35 | 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 29.331 | 184.106 |
| 36 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 29.335 | 184.080 |
| 37 | 93 | Travis Kvapil | BK Racing | Toyota | 29.380 | 183.799 |
| 38 | 98 | Michael McDowell | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | 29.455 | 183.331 |
| 39 | 32 | Timmy Hill | FAS Lane Racing | Ford | 29.458 | 183.312 |
| 40 | 95 | Reed Sorenson | Leavine Family Racing | Ford | 29.657 | 182.082 |
| 41 | 7 | Dave Blaney | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 29.682 | 181.928 |
| 42 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing | Toyota | 29.875 | 180.753 |
| 43 | 33 | Tony Raines | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | 30.213 | 178.731 |
| Source: |||||||

### Race results

| Pos | Grid | Car | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Led | Points |
| 1 | 10 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 89 | 48 |
| 2 | 12 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 67 | 43 |
| 3 | 17 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 2 | 42 |
| 4 | 16 | 78 | Kurt Busch | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | 40 |
| 5 | 9 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 40 | 40 |
| 6 | 6 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 22 | 39 |
| 7 | 2 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Penske Racing | Ford | 267 | 2 | 38 |
| 8 | 5 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford | 267 | 0 | 36 |
| 9 | 24 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 267 | 0 | 35 |
| 10 | 20 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 1 | 35 |
| 11 | 8 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 267 | 1 | 34 |
| 12 | 4 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | 32 |
| 13 | 15 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 267 | 1 | 32 |
| 14 | 21 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | 30 |
| 15 | 26 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 267 | 0 | 29 |
| 16 | 7 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush-Fenway Racing | Ford | 267 | 2 | 29 |
| 17 | 29 | 14 | Mark Martin | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | 27 |
| 18 | 14 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 267 | 0 | 26 |
| 19 | 27 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 2 | 26 |
| 20 | 23 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | 24 |
| 21 | 13 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Toyota | 267 | 0 | 23 |
| 22 | 11 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | 22 |
| 23 | 41 | 7 | Dave Blaney | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | 21 |
| 24 | 37 | 93 | Travis Kvapil | BK Racing | Toyota | 266 | 0 | 20 |
| 25 | 30 | 36 | J. J. Yeley | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 2 | 20 |
| 26 | 19 | 34 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 266 | 1 | 19 |
| 27 | 36 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | 35 | 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 266 | 0 | 16 |
| 29 | 32 | 40 | Landon Cassill | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | 266 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | 31 | 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Ford | 266 | 0 | 14 |
| 31 | 42 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing | Toyota | 266 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | 3 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 261 | 0 | 12 |
| 33 | 22 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 247 | 0 | 11 |
| 34 | 39 | 32 | Timmy Hill | FAS Lane Racing | Ford | 225 | 0 | 10 |
| 35 | 18 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 224 | 2 | 10 |
| 36 | 33 | 83 | David Reutimann | BK Racing | Toyota | 195 | 0 | 8 |
| 37 | 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Penske Racing | Ford | 175 | 32 | 8 |
| 38 | 25 | 55 | Brian Vickers | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 161 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | 28 | 30 | Cole Whitt | Swan Racing | Toyota | 151 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | 43 | 33 | Tony Raines | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | 87 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | 34 | 35 | Josh Wise | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 84 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | 40 | 95 | Reed Sorenson | Leavine Family Racing | Ford | 68 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | 38 | 98 | Michael McDowell | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | 29 | 0 | 1 |
| Source: |||||||||

#### Notes

^1 Points include 3 Chase for the Sprint Cup points for winning, 1 point for leading a lap, and 1 point for most laps led.

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Matt Kenseth | 2063 |
| 1 | 2 | Kyle Busch | 2055 (-8) |
| 1 | 3 | Jimmie Johnson | 2052 (-11) |
| | 4 | Kevin Harvick | 2048 (-15) |
| | 5 | Carl Edwards | 2040 (-23) |
| 4 | 6 | Kurt Busch | 2040 (-23) |
| 6 | 7 | Jeff Gordon | 2039 (-24) |
| 4 | 8 | Ryan Newman | 2035 (-28) |
| 1 | 9 | Clint Bowyer | 2035 (-28) |
| 1 | 10 | Kasey Kahne | 2032 (-31) |
| 4 | 11 | Greg Biffle | 2032 (-31) |
| 6 | 12 | Joey Logano | 2011 (-52) |
| 4 | 13 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 2010 (-53) |
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Chevrolet | 184 |
| 2 | Toyota | 179 (-5) |
| 3 | Ford | 143 (-41) |