NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
The Chase Is Coming: One More Shot For Drivers To Make NASCAR’s Playoffs
One
more race remains until the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, meaning
drivers have one more chance to get into NASCAR’s playoffs – Saturday’s
Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond
International Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN).
As
the Chase grid stands, Chase Elliott (39 points ahead of Ryan Newman on
the cutoff line), Austin Dillon (+31) and Jamie McMurray (+22) own the
final three Chase spots on points.
Below are the clinch scenarios for every driver not currently locked in or eliminated from the Chase.
Possible to Clinch:
Chris Buescher (1 Win, 358 Points, +11 Points Ahead of 31st)
- Would Clinch a Top 30
spot on his own with 34 Points (7th and no laps led, 8th and led at
least one lap, 9th and led most laps), which would clinch him a spot in
the Chase.
Chase Elliott (0 Wins, 659 Points, +312 Points Ahead of 31st)
- Would clinch on points
with 24 Points (17th and no laps led, 18th and led at least one lap,
19th and led most laps), if there is a new winner. If there is a repeat
winner (or a new winner and Chris Buescher falls out of the Top 30) and
2 Points (39th and no laps led, 40th and led
at least one lap). If there is a repeat winner and Chris Buescher
falls out of the Top 30, he clinches on points, regardless of finish.
With a win, he would clinch a Chase spot on wins.
Austin
Dillon (0 Wins, 651 Points, +304 Points Ahead of 31st) - Would clinch
on Points with 33 Points (8th and no laps led, 9th and led at least one
lap, 10th and led most laps)
and a new winner. If there is a repeat winner (or win by Chase Elliott
or a new winner and Chris Buescher falls out of the Top 30) and Dillon
would clinch with 11 Points (30th and no laps led, 31st and led at least
one lap, 32nd and led most laps). If there
is a repeat winner and Chris Buescher falls out of the Top 30, he would
clinch on points regardless of finish. With a win, they would clinch a
Chase spot on wins.
Jamie McMurray (0 Wins, 642 Points, +295 Points Ahead of 31st)
- Would clinch on points
with a repeat winner (or win by Chase Elliott or Austin Dillon or a new
winner and Chris Buescher falls out of the Top 30) and 20 points (21st
and no laps led, 22nd and led at least one lap, 23rd and led most
laps). If there is a repeat winner and Chris Buescher
falls out of the Top 30, McMurray would clinch on points, regardless of
finish. With a win, he would clinch a Chase spot on wins. Could
clinch on points with a new winner and help (cannot lose more than six
points to Newman as Newman would hold the tie-breaker).
Ryan Newman (0 Wins, 620 Points, +273 Points Ahead of 31st)
- With a win, he would clinch
a Chase spot on wins. Could clinch on Points with help (would need to
outpoint two of the following if there is a new winner, or one of the
following if there is a repeat winner (or win by one of these drivers),
McMurray by 22 or more points, Dillon by 32
or more points, Elliott by 40 or more points). If there is a repeat
winner (or win by Elliott, Dillon, McMurray) and Chris Buescher falls
out of the Top 30, he would need 20 points (21st and no laps led, 22nd
and led at least one lap, 23rd and led most laps)
to clinch on points.
Kasey Kahne (0 Wins, 598 Points, +251 Points Ahead of 31st)
-
With a win, Kahne would clinch a Chase spot on wins. Could clinch on
points with a repeat winner (or win by Elliott, Dillon or McMurray) and
Chris Buescher falling
outside of the Top 30 and help (would need to outpoint Newman by 22 or
23 points, depending on tie-breaker).
The following need a win to clinch a Chase spot:
- Ryan Blaney (0 Wins, 573 Points, +226 Points Ahead of 31st)
- AJ Allmendinger (0 Wins, 562 Points, +215 Points Ahead of 31st)
- Trevor Bayne (0 Wins, 559 Points, +212 Points Ahead of 31st)
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr (0 Wins, 551 Points, +204 Points Ahead of 31st)
- Paul Menard (0 Wins, 479 Points, +132 Points Ahead of 31st)
- Greg Biffle (0 Wins, 477 Points, +130 Points Ahead of 31st)
- Danica Patrick (0 Wins, 467 Points, +120 Points Ahead of 31st)
- Aric Almirola (0 Wins, 431 Points, +84 Points Ahead of 31st)
- Clint Bowyer (0 Wins, 427 Points, +80 Points Ahead of 31st)
- Casey Mears (0 Wins, 410 Points, +63 Points Ahead of 31st)
- Landon Cassill (0 Wins, 368 Points, +21 Points Ahead of 31st)
The following need a win and help (to get inside the Top 30) in order to make the Chase:
- David Ragan (0 Wins, 347 Points, 11 Points Behind of 30th)
- Regan Smith (0 Wins, 330 Points, 28 Points Behind of 30th)
Win-And-In: Three Winless Drivers Look for Repeat Success, Chase Berth at Richmond
A
victory at Richmond automatically earns a winless driver who’s in the
top 30 in points a berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Ryan
Newman (17th on the Chase Grid), Kasey Kahne (18th) and Clint Bowyer
(28th) are the only winless drivers in the field who have previously won
at the .75-mile track. Newman won
at Richmond in 2003, Kahne in 2005, and Bowyer in 2008 and 2012.
Bowyer
has the fifth-best driver rating (95.7) and average finish at Richmond
(12.3). He also has the fourth-best average running position (11.838).
Bowyer
and Chase Elliott (14th on the Chase Grid) are the only winless drivers
in the field with a NASCAR XFINITY Series victory at Richmond.
McMurray, Newman Ready To Battle For Final Chase Spot
Twenty-two
points separate Jamie McMurray, who owns the final spot on the Chase
Grid, from Ryan Newman, who has one last opportunity to take McMurray’s
spot on the Chase Grid in
Saturday’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
McMurray
finished 16th at Richmond in the spring, while Newman placed 18th. Last
fall, the No. 1 Chevrolet driver took home 13th, while Newman produced a
20th-place showing.
Overall,
McMurray owns three top fives, six top 10s and an average finish of
20.1 in 27 starts at the .75-mile track. He boasts three fourth-place
finishes in his last six starts
at Richmond.
In 29 Richmond starts, Newman claims one win (2003), six top fives, 16 top 10s and an average finish of 11.7.
In
his last five starts of 2016, McMurray has three top-10 finishes and an
average finish of 11.5. Over the same time span, Newman has posted one
top-10 finish (eighth last week
at Darlington) and an average finish of 16.2.
On
a related note, McMurray and Greg Biffle will both be making their
500th career starts on Saturday, becoming the 38th and 39th drivers to
achieve the feat.
Truex Becomes Fifth Toyota Driver With Multiple Wins
Martin
Truex Jr. visited Victory Lane in Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 for
his second win of the season. The triumph marked the first multi-win
campaign of Truex’s career and
made him the fifth Toyota driver this season to log at least two
victories.
This
season is shaping up to be even better than Truex’s career year in 2015
when he registered one win, eight top fives, 22 top 10s and 567 laps
led. In addition to his two wins,
four top fives and 11 top 10s this season, Truex boasts some of the
best loop data stats in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, ranking third in
average running position (9.5), driver rating (103.3) and laps led
(1,041), and second in fastest laps run (605).
Harvick Heating Up
Look out.
Kevin
Harvick put on another display of speed, leading 214 laps on his way to
a second-place finish at Darlington. He boasts three straight top
fives, including his win at Bristol.
The
No. 4 Chevrolet driver ranks first in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in
top fives (12), top 10s (20), average running position (8.1), driver
rating (110.9) and fastest laps run
(828). He is second to Kyle Busch in laps led (1,244).
Harvick
is searching for his second career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
championship (2014) after finishing runner-up in the Chase last year.
Larson Looks Dangerous With Chase Looming
One
week after winning his first NASCAR national series race, Kyle Larson
challenged for the victory again at Darlington, leading 45 laps before
finishing third.
In
his last six races, Larson claims four top-six finishes: fifth at
Indianapolis; sixth at Pocono; first at Michigan and third at
Darlington. Over that stretch, he was running third
at Watkins Glen before he wrecked out of the race on the last lap. He
was also running in the top 10 at Bristol before sustaining damage to
his car that hurt his finishing position.
Virginia’s Finest: Hamlin Hunts For Another Win In The Old Dominion State
Denny
Hamlin – the winningest driver from Virginia in NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series history with 28 victories – goes for his eighth triumph in the
Old Dominion State on Sunday at Richmond
International Raceway. The list of drivers from Virginia includes
NASCAR Hall of Famers Joe Weatherly, Curtis Turner, Glen Wood and
Wendell Scott, as well as former NASCAR iron man Ricky Rudd.
Of
his seven wins in Virginia, two have occurred at Richmond, located less
than a half hour drive from Hamlin’s hometown of Chesterfield. He also
has seven top fives, 11 top 10s
and a 10.6 average finish there. Furthermore, the No. 11 Toyota driver
ranks third among active drivers in average running position (8.0) and
driver rating (108.5) at the .75-mile track. Hamlin’s 1,405 laps led at
Richmond lead active full-time drivers.
Edwards Eyes Repeat At Richmond; Busch Goes For Redemption
In
one of the many dramatic finishes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this
season, Carl Edwards bumped leader Kyle Busch on the last lap and passed
him to win the April Richmond race.
Adding to the drama of the aggressive finish was the fact that Edwards
and Busch are Joe Gibbs Racing teammates.
“So,
yeah, awesome win for us,” Edwards said after the race. “Like Coach
(Joe Gibbs) said, I wish it was anybody but my teammate that we had to
race
like that with. Big picture to me, we both got wins (already) and we're
both in the Chase and it's fun to race your teammate for the win.”
The
No. 19 Toyota driver will attempt to become the first Sprint Cup driver
to sweep a track this season in Saturday’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at
Richmond
International Raceway. In 24 career starts at Richmond International
Raceway, Edwards has two wins, five top-five and 12 top-10 finishes.
Busch,
who counts Richmond among his top tracks will try to defeat his
teammate this time. He leads active drivers at the Virginia short track
in wins
(4), top fives (16), average finish (6.9) and driver rating (111.1).
His 7.83 average running position there ranks second.
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
Race To The Chase: Two More Chances To Win Before The Playoffs
The
regular season for the NASCAR XFINITY Series is near its close, and
with just two races left for drivers to secure a win before the
playoffs, time is of the essence.
Richmond
International Raceway (Friday, Sept. 9 on NBCSN at 7:30 p.m. ET) and
Chicagoland Speedway (Saturday, Sept. 17 on NBC at 3:30 p.m. ET) are the
next two venues hosting the
series’ final two regular season events, and the two are quite
different.
Richmond
International Raceway (RIR) is a 0.75-mile short track located in
Richmond, Virginia. RIR has hosted 65 NASCAR XFINITY Series races (tied
with Dover for third-most all-time)
and has produced 32 different winners and 34 different pole winners
since joining the schedule in 1982. Kevin Harvick leads the series in
wins at Richmond with seven. None of the current drivers inside the top
12 in series points have won at Richmond.
Following
Richmond is Chicagoland Speedway, a 1.5-mile intermediate track located
in Joliet, Illinois. Chicagoland has hosted 20 NASCAR XFINITY Series
races and has seen 14 different
winners and 14 different poles winners since joining the schedule in
2001. Kyle Busch leads the series in wins at Chicago with four. Three
Chase contenders this season are former Chicago winners – Erik Jones
(2015), Elliott Sadler (2012) and Justin Allgaier
(2011).
Locking It In: More Names Added To The Chase List
The
2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase is starting to take shape with all but
three drivers locking themselves into the first Round of 12.
Erik
Jones (Bristol, Dover and Iowa), Elliott Sadler (Talladega and
Darlington) and Daniel Suárez (Michigan) all locked themselves into the
Chase on wins this season.
Justin
Allgaier, Ty Dillon and Brendan Gaughan locked themselves into the
Chase on points following the race at Road America. Three new drivers
added their names to the locked-in
Chase list following the race at Darlington this past weekend – Brennan
Poole, Brendan Jones and Darrell Wallace Jr. – by accumulating enough
points that no matter what happens these next two races they are in.
As
of right now, the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase will be
represented by seven organizations (Joe Gibbs Racing, JR Motorsports,
Richard Childress Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing,
Roush Fenway Racing, Kaulig Racing and RSS Racing) that could
potentially field the 12-driver Chase. Three of the eligible Chase
contenders this season are 2016 Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates:
Erik Jones, Brennan Poole and Brendan Jones. Also, three
of the eligible 12 Chase contenders are former NASCAR Next alumni: Erik
Jones, Daniel Suárez and Darrell Wallace Jr. Suárez and Wallace are
also Drive for Diversity graduates as well.
Final XFINITY Chase Spots Still Up For Grabs
With
nine drivers locked into the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase, three spots
remain up for grabs. Ryan Reed, Blake Koch and Ryan Sieg are currently
inside the Chase bubble, but anything
can happen these next two races.
Of
the three drivers inside the top 12 still looking to lock up a Chase
spot, Roush Fenway Racing’s Ryan Reed has the largest cushion of points
(+74) ahead of the Chase cutoff. Without
any big mistakes, all indications are pointing to Reed making the
Chase. Reed has seven starts at Richmond where he’s posted an average
finish of 14.0, including an 11th-place showing at RIR earlier this
season.
Kaulig
Racing’s Blake Koch is currently on the Chase Grid, sitting 22 points
ahead of 13th-place Dakoda Armstrong heading into Richmond. Koch has
made 10 starts at Richmond, posting
an average finish of 26.5. Koch registered one his best finishes of the
season at RIR back in April when he finished in the top 10 (eighth).
The
driver in the hottest water these next two weeks is RSS Racing driver
Ryan Sieg. Sieg is currently 18 points ahead of 13th-place Dakoda
Armstrong. Sieg has made five starts at
Richmond, posting an average finish of 23.6.
Outsiders Looking In: Armstrong And Clements Try To Catch Sieg
The
two drivers on the outside looking in with the best shot to still make
the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase without a win are drivers Dakoda
Armstrong (-18 points outside the Chase)
and Jeremy Clements (-26 points outside the Chase). Both have pretty
large margins to overcome to catch Ryan Sieg for the 12th and final
Chase spot, but a DNF by one of the three drivers not locked in or two
great finishes by Armstrong and Clements and they’re
in the mix.
JGL
Racing’s Dakoda Armstrong is currently 13th in the championship
standings, 18 points outside the Chase. Armstrong is having one of the
best seasons of his NXS career. In 24 starts
this season, he has posted one top five and an average finish of 19.2.
Armstrong has made five series starts at RIR, posting one top five and
an average finish of 17.2, including a 14th-place finish earlier this
season.
Jeremy
Clements is currently 14th in the series standings, 26 points behind
the Chase cutoff. In 24 starts this season, Clements has logged one top
five, three top 10s and an average
finish of 19.6. Clements has made 12 series starts at Richmond, posting
an average finish of 25.3.
Virginia Is For Lovers … And Drivers Too
The
state of Virginia has a slogan that says, “Virginia is for lovers,” but
with how many competitive drivers that call Virginia home in NASCAR you
could argue it’s for drivers too.
A
total of 176 drivers who have made at least one start in a NASCAR
national series race have their home state recorded as Virginia. Of the
176 Virginian NASCAR drivers only 51 have
competed in the NASCAR XFINITY Series; led by Elton Sawyer with 392
starts. Of the 51 drivers from Virginia who have competed in the XFINITY
Series, only 10 have won; led by Jeff Burton (South Boston) with 27
series victories. Of the 10 Virginian NASCAR XFINITY
Series winners, six won in their home state – Tommy Ellis, Jimmy
Hensley, Rick Mast, Jeff Burton, Ward Burton and Denny Hamlin.
This
season, nine Virginians have competed in at least one NASCAR XFINITY
Series race: Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield), Elliott Sadler (Emporia), Jeb
Burton (Halifax), Ryan Ellis (Ashburn),
Brandon Gdovic (Yorktown), Matt Waltz (Newport News), Eric McClure
(Chilhowie), Gray Gaulding (Colonial Heights) and Hermie Sadler
(Emporia).
NASCAR XFINITY Series Etc.:
NASCAR in Virginia –
A total of 493 NASCAR national series races have been run
in the state of Virginia (NSCS 292, NXS 152 and NCWTS 49). The very
first NASCAR national series race in the state of Virginia was a NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series race on Sept. 25, 1949 at Martinsville Speedway – the
race was won by Red Byron. The first NASCAR
XFINITY Series race held in the state of Virginia was on Feb. 20, 1982
at Richmond International Raceway – the race was won by Tommy Houston.
The NASCAR XFINITY Series has held 152 races among five tracks in the
state of Virginia: Richmond International Raceway-65,
South Boston Speedway-35, Martinsville Speedway-34, Langley Field
Speedway-14 and New River Valley Speedway-four.
Double Dipping –
Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Matt DiBenedetto and Austin Dillon
are the four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship contenders who will
compete in the Virginia529 College Savings 250 this weekend at RIR. Kyle
Busch, Brad Keselowski and Austin Dillon are all currently eligible for
the 2016 Chase.
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
One More Shot To Earn Berth In NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase
NASCAR
Camping World Truck Series drivers have one more opportunity to seize a
spot in the inaugural Chase – the American Ethanol E15 225 at
Chicagoland Speedway on Friday, Sept.
16 (8:30 p.m. ET on FS1).
Right
now, six drivers are locked in because they’ve won a race: William
Byron (five victories), Matt Crafton (two), John Hunter Nemechek (2),
Johnny Sauter, Ben Kennedy and Christopher
Bell.
Daniel
Hemric (56 points ahead of Cole Custer on the cutoff line) and Timothy
Peters (+32) hold the final two spots on the eight-driver grid due to
points.
Since
Hemric and Peters have such large points leads, any driver outside the
current top eight essentially needs to win in order to make the Chase.
Nemechek Notches Third Career Victory, Second Of The Season
John
Hunter Nemechek captured his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
victory of 2016, and the third win of his career, in last Sunday’s
Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian
Tire Motorsport Park.
The
19-year-old Mooresville, North Carolina, native beat Cole Custer to the
finish by .034 seconds in a wild, frenzied, off-road finish. Custer was
followed by Daniel Hemric, Matt
Crafton and Christopher Bell. Tyler Reddick, Johnny Sauter, Ben
Kennedy, Cameron Hayley and William Byron rounded out the top 10.
Nemechek
is the defending winner at Chicagoland Speedway where the NASCAR
Camping World Truck Series will race next. As part of the weekend’s
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sponsorship
activation, he’ll be driving the TeamTurtle/TeamFoot Chevrolet.
Hemric Hauls To Third Straight Third-Place Finish
Daniel
Hemric is quietly having one of the best seasons in the NASCAR Camping
World Truck Series. He ranks second in points (28 behind William Byron)
and leads the series with 12
top-10 finishes. On Sunday, he logged his third consecutive third-place
finish in the Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
His
seven top-five showings are tied with Johnny Sauter for second in the
series (Byron ranks first with eight). Currently seventh on the Chase
Grid, a hefty 56 points ahead of second-place
Cole Custer, Hemric will attempt to cement his spot in the playoffs at
Chicagoland Speedway where he finished 25th last season.
Custer Collects Another Strong Finish, Falls Short Of Chase Berth
Cole
Custer came up just short of his first NASCAR Camping World Truck
Series victory of the season and the ensuing Chase berth that would’ve
come with it in last Sunday’s Chevrolet
Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motosport Park.
The 18-year-old Californian led a race-high 39 laps before collecting his his second runner-up of the season (Iowa).
Custer
has been running strong lately with five top-six finishes in his las
five starts, but it might be too little too late. He is 32 points behind
Timothy Peters for the final
Chase berth and essentially has to win to make the NASCAR Camping World
Truck Series playoffs.
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