Tensions high in Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup

The First Reid: Tensions high in Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

Which two Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers better be watching their backs over the next few weeks?

Here’s a hint: The drivers of the two yellow cars in the Chase have a number of their fellow competitors seeing red.

Matt Kenseth is the obvious first choice. Admitting later he made a mistake in the yellow No. 20 Toyota, Kenseth spun on Lap 228 at Martinsville, knocking Kevin Harvick into the wall and into the cellar of the Chase standings.

“He won’t win this championship,” Harvick asserted after the race. “If we don’t, he won’t.”

Harvick has an excellent memory, and he’s just as good at keeping promises as he is at leading laps.

The driver of the other yellow car, Joey Logano, may have concerns on more than one front. Though Logano says he and Danica Patrick have settled their differences after a run-in at Charlotte, there are those in Patrick’s camp who aren’t so sure that’s the

case.

Patrick and Logano were never close together on the track at Martinsville, but there are three races left.

Denny Hamlin, on the other hand, was close enough to give Logano a few strategic bumps at Martinsville, but Logano repeatedly frustrated Hamlin’s efforts to pass.

No doubt Hamlin remembers the hard ride he took into the concrete at Fontana after contact from Logano. That accident sidelined Hamlin for four races.

So don’t be shocked if Hamlin tries to sideline Logano’s title chances.

Maybe as soon as this Sunday at Texas (3 p.m. ET on ESPN).