RACING ** HELL ON WHEEL'S

Time Quickly Expiring For Chase Hopes Of Many

Sunday’s Pennsylvania 400 isn’t quite a must-win race for competitors in the Chase "wild card" derby. But it’s close to it. Just six races remain until the 12-driver field for this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™ is set following the Sept. 8 event at Richmond International Raceway.
Nothing changed at Indianapolis. Kasey Kahne, with two victories, continues to hold the first of two "wild cards" available to drivers ranked 11th through 20th in the standings with most wins. Kyle Busch follows, 11th in points – 55 out of the top 10 – with one win.
Ryan Newman (14th) and June Pocono winner Joey Logano (17th) each need another trip to Victory Lane.
Time is running out for two pre-season favorites who qualified for the Chase in 2011. Carl Edwards, who lost the 2011 title to Tony Stewart on a tiebreaker, finished 29th at Indianapolis and dropped to 12th in the points.
"We have to go race. We can do that, we can race like that," said Edwards, who has a pair of Pocono victories. "It will actually be a big relief in a way because there is no other choice. We just go race for wins."
 Five-time Pocono winner Jeff Gordon faces the same reality – ranked 15th and 79 points out of 10th Gordon finished 19th at Pocono in June after a litany of issues cost him track position.
Paul Menard, Marcos Ambrose, Jamie McMurray and Jeff Burton also remain "wild card" eligible based upon points. None have a Pocono win.