2016 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400

The 2016 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, the 27th event of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, took place on September 18 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. The race covered 270 laps on the 1.5-mile tri-oval and marked the opening round of the Chase, specifically the Round of 16.

Qualifying was canceled due to rain on Friday, so Kyle Busch started from the pole. In the first practice, Jimmie Johnson posted the fastest time (29.383 seconds, 183.780 mph). Kyle Larson led the second and final practice sessions, with times of 29.033 seconds (185.995 mph) and 29.460 seconds (183.299 mph), respectively.

Busch led the opening 22 laps before Martin Truex Jr. took the lead on lap 23. The first caution came on lap 49 after a tire from Aric Almirola’s pit stall rolled onto the frontstretch grass. Johnson, who stayed out while Truex pitted, assumed the lead. Kevin Harvick, who started from the rear due to an unapproved adjustment, fell a lap down after failing to beat Truex back to the line. Truex made an unscheduled stop on lap 70 for a flat right-rear tire, dropping him to 21st, one lap down. Green-flag stops began around lap 103, with Johnson cycling back to the lead after Brad Keselowski and others pitted. Casey Mears received a pass-through penalty for speeding, then a stop-and-go penalty for speeding again during the pass-through. The second caution flew on lap 119 when Brian Scott spun in turn 4; Matt Kenseth was sent to the rear for speeding on pit road.

The race restarted on lap 126. During a long green-flag run, Harvick made contact with Truex’s car. Truex later explained they hadn’t been near each other all day, and he was trying to regain his lap after the flat tire. Another round of green-flag stops started on lap 172, with Johnson pitting from the lead and handing it to Keselowski, then cycling back to Johnson. Kyle Busch was penalized for speeding on pit road. Busch worked back onto the lead lap by passing Johnson on lap 182, and Chase Elliott took the lead from Johnson on the same lap. Debris on the backstretch brought out the third caution on lap 193.

The race restarted on lap 199. With 33 laps to go, Elliott pitted, handing the lead to Denny Hamlin, then Ryan Blaney, then Alex Bowman, before Elliott cycled back to the front. During this pit cycle, Johnson was penalized for speeding, later saying he couldn’t believe he made the mistake.