# 2017 Tales of the Turtles 400

The 2017 Tales of the Turtles 400, was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on September 17, 2017, at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) intermediate speedway, was the 27th race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, first race of the Playoffs, and the first race of the Round of 16.

## Report
### Background

Chicagoland Speedway is a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and currently hosts NASCAR racing including the opening event in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Until 2011, the speedway also hosted the IndyCar Series, recording numerous close finishes including the closest finish in IndyCar history. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation and located adjacent to Route 66 Raceway.

#### Entry list

| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 13 | Ty Dillon (R) | Germain Racing | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 15 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 19 | Daniel Suárez (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 21 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 23 | Corey LaJoie (R) | BK Racing | Toyota |
| 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford |
| 33 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group | Chevrolet |
| 34 | Landon Cassill | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford |
| 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 51 | Ray Black Jr. (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 55 | Gray Gaulding (R) | Premium Motorsports | Toyota |
| 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 77 | Erik Jones (R) | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota |
| 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota |
| 83 | Brett Moffitt (i) | BK Racing | Toyota |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 95 | Michael McDowell | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet |
| Official entry list ||||

## First practice

Kyle Busch was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 29.325 seconds and a speed of 184.143 mph (296.349 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 29.325 | 184.143 |
| 2 | 19 | Daniel Suárez (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 29.441 | 183.418 |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 29.521 | 182.921 |
| Official first practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Kyle Busch scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.729 and a speed of 187.963 mph (302.497 km/h).

### Qualifying results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 | R3 |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 29.052 | 29.071 | 28.729 |
| 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 29.457 | 29.191 | 29.006 |
| 3 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 29.474 | 29.092 | 29.049 |
| 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 29.173 | 29.172 | 29.086 |
| 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 29.339 | 29.190 | 29.152 |
| 6 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 29.172 | 29.217 | 29.176 |
| 7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 29.370 | 29.136 | 29.177 |
| 8 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.235 | 29.184 | 29.179 |
| 9 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 29.281 | 29.083 | 29.183 |
| 10 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 29.093 | 29.205 | 29.344 |
| 11 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 29.418 | 29.163 | 29.356 |
| 12 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 29.204 | 29.166 | 0.000 |
| 13 | 19 | Daniel Suárez (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 29.418 | 29.246 | — |
| 14 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.585 | 29.282 | — |
| 15 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 29.623 | 29.296 | — |
| 16 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 29.369 | 29.303 | — |
| 17 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 29.524 | 29.368 | — |
| 18 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 29.635 | 29.471 | — |
| 19 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 29.383 | 29.513 | — |
| 20 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.610 | 29.522 | — |
| 21 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 29.592 | 29.552 | — |
| 22 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 29.374 | 29.565 | — |
| 23 | 13 | Ty Dillon (R) | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 29.627 | 29.716 | — |
| 24 | 77 | Erik Jones (R) | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 29.232 | 0.000 | — |
| 25 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.686 | — | — |
| 26 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 29.724 | — | — |
| 27 | 34 | Landon Cassill | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 29.726 | — | — |
| 28 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 29.766 | — | — |
| 29 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 29.774 | — | — |
| 30 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 29.779 | — | — |
| 31 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 29.879 | — | — |
| 32 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 30.059 | — | — |
| 33 | 23 | Corey LaJoie (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 30.128 | — | — |
| 34 | 15 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.555 | — | — |
| 35 | 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.586 | — | — |
| 36 | 55 | Gray Gaulding (R) | Premium Motorsports | Toyota | 30.608 | — | — |
| 37 | 33 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group | Chevrolet | 30.818 | — | — |
| 38 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.988 | — | — |
| 39 | 51 | Ray Black Jr. (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 31.724 | — | — |
| 40 | 83 | Brett Moffitt (i) | BK Racing | Toyota | 0.000 | — | — |
| Official qualifying results ||||||||

## Practice (post-qualifying)
### Second practice

Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 29.892 seconds and a speed of 180.650 mph (290.728 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 29.892 | 180.650 |
| 2 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 30.033 | 179.802 |
| 3 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.052 | 179.689 |
| Official second practice results |||||||

### Final practice

Kyle Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 29.958 seconds and a speed of 180.252 mph (290.087 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 29.958 | 180.252 |
| 2 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 30.094 | 179.438 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 30.119 | 179.289 |
| Official final practice results |||||||

## Race
### Race results
#### Stage results

Stage 1 Laps: 80
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 19 | Daniel Suárez (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage one results ||||||
Stage 2 Laps: 80
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

### Final stage results

Stage 3 Laps: 107
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| 1 | 3 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 267 | 49 |
| 2 | 8 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 53 |
| 3 | 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 267 | 52 |
| 4 | 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 45 |
| 5 | 6 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 42 |
| 6 | 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 42 |
| 7 | 7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 40 |
| 8 | 14 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 29 |
| 9 | 10 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 34 |
| 10 | 19 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 28 |
| 11 | 12 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 267 | 26 |
| 12 | 13 | 19 | Daniel Suárez (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 27 |
| 13 | 11 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 266 | 24 |
| 14 | 28 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 23 |
| 15 | 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 266 | 32 |
| 16 | 9 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 21 |
| 17 | 20 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 266 | 20 |
| 18 | 22 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 265 | 19 |
| 19 | 17 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 265 | 21 |
| 20 | 27 | 34 | Landon Cassill | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 265 | 17 |
| 21 | 25 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 264 | 16 |
| 22 | 26 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 264 | 15 |
| 23 | 16 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 264 | 14 |
| 24 | 21 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 264 | 13 |
| 25 | 15 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 263 | 12 |
| 26 | 29 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 263 | 11 |
| 27 | 18 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 263 | 10 |
| 28 | 23 | 13 | Ty Dillon (R) | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 262 | 9 |
| 29 | 31 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 262 | 8 |
| 30 | 30 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 262 | 7 |
| 31 | 32 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 261 | 6 |
| 32 | 34 | 15 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 259 | 5 |
| 33 | 24 | 77 | Erik Jones (R) | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 259 | 4 |
| 34 | 37 | 33 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group | Chevrolet | 258 | 3 |
| 35 | 35 | 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 257 | 2 |
| 36 | 33 | 23 | Corey LaJoie (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 256 | 1 |
| 37 | 40 | 83 | Brett Moffitt (i) | BK Racing | Toyota | 255 | 0 |
| 38 | 36 | 55 | Gray Gaulding (R) | Premium Motorsports | Toyota | 254 | 1 |
| 39 | 38 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 |
| 40 | 39 | 51 | Ray Black Jr. (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 251 | 0 |
| Official race results ||||||||

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 7 among different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 4 for 21
* Red flags: 0
* Time of race: 2 hours, 45 minutes and 16 seconds
* Average speed: 145.401 miles per hour (234.000 km/h)

## Media
### Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.
NBCSN :
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte | Dave Burns Parker Kligerman Marty Snider Kelli Stavast |

### Radio

The Motor Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
MRN :
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Dave Moody Announcer: Rusty Wallace | Turns 1 & 2: Mike Bagley Turns 3 & 4: Kyle Rickey | Alex Hayden Pete Pistone Steve Post Kim Coon |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | 2,102 |
| | 2 | Kyle Larson | 2,075 (–27) |
| 3 | 3 | Kevin Harvick | 2,067 (–35) |
| | 4 | Brad Keselowski | 2,061 (–41) |
| 2 | 5 | Kyle Busch | 2,061 (–41) |
| 4 | 6 | Chase Elliott | 2,059 (–43) |
| | 7 | Denny Hamlin | 2,058 (–44) |
| 3 | 8 | Jimmie Johnson | 2,046 (–56) |
| 6 | 9 | Matt Kenseth | 2,039 (–63) |
| 1 | 10 | Ryan Blaney | 2,034 (–68) |
| 5 | 11 | Jamie McMurray | 2,031 (–71) |
| 2 | 12 | Austin Dillon | 2,026 (–76) |
| 1 | 13 | Kurt Busch | 2,026 (–76) |
| 6 | 14 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 2,022 (–80) |
| 2 | 15 | Kasey Kahne | 2,021 (–81) |
| 5 | 16 | Ryan Newman | 2,019 (–83) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| | Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| | 1 | Chevrolet | 953 |
| | 2 | Toyota | 946 (–7) |
| | 3 | Ford | 943 (–10) |
| Official manufacturers' standings ||||