The Chase : It's Time

There are clinch scenarios.
There are bonus points.
There are bubbles ready to burst.
With two races remaining before the Chase for the
NASCAR Sprint Cup, all focus is on NASCAR’s playoffs.”
If you’re already in — how do you get a better seed?
If you’re not locked in — how do you make that happen?
If you’re outside looking in — it’s go-time.
First up, clinch scenarios. Two drivers have locked up Chase berths: Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/
Pennzoil Chevrolet) and Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet).
The “magic number” for Atlanta: 196. Any driver 196 points ahead of 13th place after next week’s Emory Healthcare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway will officially clinch a spot in the Chase.
The most likely candidate: Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota). Currently 350 points ahead of 13thplace
Jamie McMurray (No. 1 Bass Pro Shots Chevrolet),Busch is a pretty safe bet.
Those with a comfortable top-12 spot are now chasing potential bonus points, which will likely lead to some “all-or-nothing” strategies.
After race No. 26 at Richmond, the top 12 drivers will have their points re-set to 5,000, with an additional
10 bonus points tacked on for each victory over the first 26 races.
Currently, Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)
and Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota) hold the bonus points lead, with 50 apiece.
Busch and Harvick each have three wins, translating to 30 potential bonus points.
A quick note about seedings: If two drivers have the same bonus points totals,
the tiebreaker is nextbest finish (seconds, thirds, etc).
But some spots are too close to call. Those on the Chase bubbles: Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Cheerios/
Hamburger Helper Chevrolet) in 12th, McMurray in 13th, Mark Martin (No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet)
in 14th and Ryan Newman (No. 39 U.S. ARMY Chevrolet) in 15th.
Bowyer currently has a 100-point cushion over McMurray. That might seem safe, but it’s anything but.
Just ask Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet).
In 2006, after race No. 24, Stewart was in eighth place and enjoyed a 97-point lead over
Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser Ford), in 11th (The Chase field was 10 drivers then).
Two races later, Stewart’s lead evaporated, and Kahne had made the Chase.
Of course, a comeback will take some stellar results from McMurray.
 As a guideline, in the two races prior to the Chase in 2006, Kahne won at Auto Club Speedway and finished third at Richmond