Drivers unsure of what to expect at night at Chicago

Saturday's LifeLock.com 400 is a venture into the unknown for Sprint Cup Series drivers who will be negotiating Chicagoland Speedway after dark in new cars for the very first time.

This is the first year the Chicagoland event has been run under the lights on a Saturday night. Although the green flag will drop under daylight shortly after 7 p.m. local time, the 400-mile event will finish in the dark (read more).

LifeLock.com 400
Race Lineup

Pos. Driver Make

1. Kyle Busch Toyota
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet
3. Jeff Burton Chevrolet
4. Carl Edwards Ford
5. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet
6. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet
7. Denny Hamlin Toyota
8. Kasey Kahne Dodge
9. Matt Kenseth Ford
10. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet

• Lineup | Practice 2 | FinalWell, not quite in the dark -- as the place is well lit, of course. But track conditions will vary greatly from the ones on which drivers posted their final practice times Friday.

"Night racing always adds an extra element to the race," driver Clint Bowyer said. "There is an extra energy in the air."

The top five speeds in the final Cup practice, which concluded at 6:20 p.m. Friday, were posted by Carl Edwards in his No. 99 Ford (174.070 mph); Jimmie Johnson in his No. 48 Chevrolet (173.533 mph); David Gilliland in his No. 38 Ford (173.110 mph); Matt Kenseth in his No. 17 Ford (172.568 mph); and Greg Biffle in his No. 16 Ford (172.480 mph).

David Ragan's best lap speed of 172.188 mph was sixth-fastest and Jamie McMurray's speed of 172.062 mph was seventh-fastest, giving Roush Fenway Racing five of the top seven speeds posted during the final practice, and Gilliland's effort for Roush-assisted Yates Racing gave Ford six of the top seven speeds overall.

Rounding out the top 10 in the final practice were Kasey Kahne in his No. 9 Dodge (172.035 mph); Dave Blaney in his No. 22 Toyota (172.029 mph); and Brian Vickers in his No. 83 Toyota (171.854 mph).

Drivers weren't helped when qualifying on Thursday got washed out by a terrific storm that left some 24,000 residents in the area without power. Qualifying had been set to start at 7:40 p.m. and might have at least given them a small taste of what the track will be like when Saturday's race begins unfolding (read more).

Instead, they were left with little of substance to go by. Several Cup drivers doubled up by running in Friday night's Nationwide event, hoping to get a better feel of the track in similar race conditions. But the cars running in the two events are dramatically different, negating much of what they might be able to carry over from one to the other.

In other words, they were set to gain about the same amount of useful information that drivers and teams gathered during Friday's final practice sessions in daylight: next to nothing.

"The tracks are different at night versus what they are during the day," said Jeff Burton, driver of the No. 31 Chevrolet. "Just looking at the track, it's hard to explain. The tracks are lit up so well, but you can't simulate daylight. Tracks change appearance drastically from a driver's standpoint when you go from day to night."

Bowyer differed with Burton, his Richard Childress Racing teammate, on whether visibility is a factor that must be contended with in night-time racing.

"We grew up racing at night. For me, it's a little more normal," Bowyer said. "And believe it or not, under the lights that we have, the lighting is so good, it's almost more a clear look out the windshield than it is during the day. It's just fun."

Burton had a different opinion on that.

"Tracks do look different at night," he insisted. "Anything that you do that is athletic or whatever starts with what you see. And then once you see, your brain starts to work and through that your responses to everything start to work. So when you see something different, it just takes a moment to get in gear.

"Some of the tracks we go to change a lot; some of the tracks aren't lit as well as others. I have no idea how this one is lit; we've never seen it here at night, so I have no idea."

Biffle said he is looking forward to finding out what the night-time event brings.

"Normally, night racing puts on great races," Biffle said. "This track's got a little bit better grip and we're in the middle of the summer, the heat of summer. More grip typically means better racing and more passing, all those things. So I definitely think it's a good move for Chicagoland Speedway to move this race under the lights. I think the fans here and watching on TV are going to see a great race."