Rating the LifeLock.com 400: 3 Stars ***

After a wreckfest at Daytona, the drivers settled down at Chicagoland with only four cautions and a very clean race. Also, the final 79 laps were run uninterrupted with a surprise winner at the finish. The first race of the second half of the season gets a 3 Star Rating.

David Reutimann kind of came out of nowhere for this victory. Yes, he had qualified in the top 10 and had run well the past several weeks, but guys like him usually have something go wrong during the race before they can close the deal. The way races tend to go, the likely scenario would have been a caution with 20 or so laps left and either Carl Edwards or Jeff Gordon would have won the race. However, Reutimann’s car was so strong late in the race he may have still been able to hold on for the win.

Overall, the racing at Chicagoland wasn’t too bad. There were several stretches of green-flag racing, which is always better than the alternative. But, things may have been better if NASCAR had allowed a practice session after qualifying. It wouldn’t have made sense to have a practice the day of the race, but maybe the schedule could have been adjusted for the weekend to give the teams a chance to dial in a race setup. Both practices were run during the heat of the day and it showed early in the race Jimmie Johnson and a few drivers at the front dominated the first half of the race.

However, as day turned to night a few different cars came to the front of the field. Johnson spun out and then had several different issues that took him out of the picture for this race. As the race came to a close, including Reutimann, eight of the top-10 finishers have not won a race in 2010. It was kind of ironic that there was a top 10 with such diversity after a few big names dominated early.

While there were certainly big-name teams up front early, there was also several Chase contenders way back in the pack. Kevin Harvick and both Buschs never did find what they were looking for. The #2 team even changed both front shocks at one point. That looked like something Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team tried a few times last year when he was running so terrible.

Well, the Summer Series has come to a close, and with a week off the series gets set for the final run to the Chase. There are still several drivers on the outside of the cutoff at this point that still have a very real chance of being in the Chase once the checkered flag falls at Richmond in September. The last few years have had one or two drivers with a realistic shot of racing their way into the Chase on that final night of the regular season, but this year the point standings have been so fluid I would expect several drivers to have a chance to race into the Chase in that final race.

It's now time to step back and take a week off here in the middle of the summer. With another month before the final week off, everyone can get set for the Brickyard. The Ganassi cars of Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya will probably be strong, as will the Hendrick cars. It was great to see Reutimann win at Chicagoland, but the big boys will likely be back in full force at Indy. Have a great break everybody.