SPRINT CUP SERIES TO THE GLEN

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

Kenseth Tacks On The Bonus Points

It was appropriate that the Windows 10 400 at Pocono Raceway was decided by the fuel “window.”

Matt Kenseth passed three drivers who ran out of gas – Joey Logano with three laps left, Martin Truex Jr. who had two laps to go and Kyle Busch on the final go-around – to win his first race at Pocono in 32 attempts.

The victory was Kenseth’s second of the season and 33rd of his career, tying him with Busch and Fireball Roberts for 20th on NASCAR’s all-time list. With the triumph, Kenseth moved up to fourth on the Chase Grid and now has six bonus points for the Challenger 16 round of NASCAR’s playoffs.

Out Of Gas: Kyle Busch Runs Out Of Fuel In Bid For Fourth Straight Win

Kyle Busch was on his way to his fourth consecutive victory when he ran out of fuel while he was leading on the final lap in Sunday’s Windows 10 400 at Pocono Raceway. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver finished 21^st..

With his performance, Busch gained 10 points on 30th-place (the position he needs to ascend to in order to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup) and is now only 13 points behind David Gilliland who currently mans the 30th position. Busch has five races left until the Chase to get into the top 30.

Despite being unable to close the deal at Pocono, Busch has won four of the last six races dating back to Sonoma. He gets the chance to sweep the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ road courses in Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen (2 p.m. ET at NBCSN). Busch has won at Watkins Glen twice (2008, 2013) and in 2008 was the last NSCS driver to sweep the road courses.

All-In For Allmendinger At The Glen

Road course maven AJ Allmendinger provided arguably the most feel-good moment of the 2014 season when he won at Watkins Glen. The victory – the first for Allmendinger and JTG Daugherty Racing – secured the single-car team a berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Sunday’s Cheez-It 335 at The Glen may be Allmendinger’s last legitimate shot to make NASCAR’s playoffs. Similar to last year, he needs a win to get in.

In six career starts at Watkins Glen, Allmendinger boasts one win, two top fives and four top 10s. He claims the second-best average finish (7.8333), third-best driver rating (100.5), third-best average running position (12.288) and fourth-fastest green flag speed (120.332 mph).

Gordon, Stewart Attempt To Get Back To Winning Watkins Glen Ways

For periods of time, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart dominated the competition at Watkins Glen International. Stewart owns a track-record five wins (2002, 2004-05, 2007, 2009), while Gordon comes in second with four (1997-99, 2001).

Both could use a return to their winning ways at the Central New York road course on Sunday. Stewart needs a visit to Victory Lane in the next five races to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.  At 12th on the Chase Grid, a comfortable 83 points above the cutoff line, Gordon will likely make the postseason. Still, a win would give him momentum. Also, if/when Kyle Busch makes the top 30, Gordon’s cushion shrinks. A DNF could doom him.

While Gordon’s loop stats at The Glen are mediocre by his standards (10th-best driver rating, 85.4; 12th-best average running position, 17.075) Stewart’s are elite by any measure. The No. 14 Chevrolet driver boasts series-best totals in average running position (5.661), driver rating (120.4) and average green flag speed (120.785 mph).

Click here for an infographic on previous Watkins Glen winners who are not locked in to the Chase.

Kahne In Trouble After Pocono Wreck

Kasey Kahne wrecked on Lap 4 at Pocono and could not get back out on the track, dooming him to a 43rd-place finish. Fifteenth on the Chase Grid prior to the race, 50 points above the cutoff line, Kahne is now 16th, 25 points above the cutoff line.

Although Kahne holds the 16th and final spot right now, he will get bumped if/when Kyle Busch enters the top 30 in points. As it stands now, Kahne would trail Clint Bowyer by 15 points for the final Chase spot.

If the season ended today, the following winless drivers 11th-16th on the Chase Grid would make NASCAR’s playoffs: 11. Jamie McMurray (+97) 12. Jeff Gordon (+83) 13. Paul Menard (+57)  14. Ryan Newman (+50) 15. Bowyer (+40) 16. Kahne (+25). McMurray and Menard would make the Chase for the first time in their careers.

Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing Try To Break Owner Wins Tie At Watkins Glen International

Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing have been dominant at Watkins Glen International, with each team earning a record six wins at the track – twice as many as any other owner.

The two organizations will try to snap the tie in Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen. HMS has won at the 2.45-mile road course with Tim Richmond (1986), Ricky Rudd (1990) and Jeff Gordon (1997-99, 2001). JGR has placed two drivers in Victory Lane: Tony Stewart (2002, 2004-5, 2007) and Kyle Busch (2008, 2013).

Click here for an infographic on the teams’ winning history at Watkins Glen.

Toyota On Torrid Run

Since Erik Jones’ NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win at Iowa Speedway on June 19, Toyota has won 12 of the last 16 NASCAR national series races (5/6 Sprint Cup, 3/6 XFINITY and 4/4 Camping World Truck). Included in Toyota’s run is a stretch that includes wins in eight of the last nine NASCAR national series races. Kyle Busch (6 wins), Erik Jones (2), Matt Crafton, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Christopher Bell have all contributed to the 12-in-16 run.

Chevrolet On The Verge Of Its 750th Win

With one more visit to Victory Lane, Chevrolet would notch its 750th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win.

Here are some numbers detailing Chevrolet’s NSCS history:

•           76 different drivers have piloted a Chevrolet to Victory Lane

•           30 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships

•           38 Manufacturers’ championships – including the last 12

•           70 different tracks where Chevrolet drivers have won a race

•           23 Daytona 500 wins

Jeff Gordon boasts the most wins in a Chevrolet (92), followed by Jimmie Johnson (74), Dale Earnhardt (73), Darrell Waltrip (60) and Cale Yarborough (48).

Chevrolet winners have logged more than 260,918 miles, enough to circle the Earth at the equator 10 times.

Chevrolet’s 17 victories at Watkins Glen are the most by any manufacturer.

Five To Go: The Math Becomes Clear

OK, there are a lot of numbers, but it’s not as confusing as it may look.

There are 11 different winners. There are five races left in the regular season. And there will be 16 drivers in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

In other words, after this weekend, the playoff picture will come closer into focus.

Here’s where we stand now:

With the exception of Kyle Busch, all drivers with multiple wins have clinched a spot in the Chase, assuming all start the remainder of the regular season races. That includes Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch. (Kyle Busch has not clinched a spot yet because he needs to first lock up a top 30 spot.)

None of the single-win drivers have fully clinched a Chase spot yet. Here’s the reason: There’s still the potential of a zero-win points leader – and the regular season points leader is guaranteed a Chase spot, regardless of win total.

Which leads us to the math above…

Because there aren’t enough races left to fill out the Chase Grid with more than 16 unique winners, if there is a repeat winner at Watkins Glen this weekend, all single-win drivers will clinch a spot as long as they have also clinched a top-30 spot. All except Carl Edwards have already done this, and Edwards will likely accomplish the feat this weekend.

If there’s a new winner this weekend, a number of different scenarios can play out.

This weekend, Kevin Harvick can mathematically guarantee that the points leader at regular season’s end has a win. If he leaves Watkins Glen with a 176-point lead over the highest non-winning driver, it would guarantee the points leader after race No. 26 would have at least one win – and all one-win drivers would then clinch a spot as long as they also have clinched a top 30 spot.

If Harvick doesn’t accomplish the above, and there’s a new winner, single-win drivers could lock up a Chase spot, but would need help (a clinching single-win driver would need to ensure that the lowest ranked winner could not pass him/her in the points – and that includes drivers who could potentially win).