NASCAR will open the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup championship at Chicagoland Speedway, shifting the start of its title-deciding 10-race format to the second largest media market the series serves. "I can't think of a better market than Chicago and the Chicagoland area to kick off NASCAR's version of the playoffs," track president Craig Rust said in an announcement made Monday in Chicago with NASCAR officials, current series points leader Kevin Harvick and defending race winner David Reutimann. It was the first major change officially confirmed in what's expected to be several significant shifts to the 2011 Sprint Cup schedule. Multiple sources told ESPN.com's David Newton on Friday that Chicago would kick off the 2011 Chase. Kansas Speedway and Kentucky Speedway have both called Tuesday news conferences to announce their 2011 schedules. Kansas is expected to announce the addition of a second race date, while Kentucky will announce its inaugural Cup date. Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/news/story?id=5448962
