Chase Hot Seats With Two To Go

Bowyer, Biffle, Larson On Chase Hot Seats With Two To Go

Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle and Kyle Larson are playing a high stakes musical chairs game of sorts. At the moment, Bowyer and Biffle sit in the final two seats to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with Larson standing on the outside looking in at 17th on the current Chase Grid.

All three drivers need a victory to assure themselves spots in the Chase – and avoid being bumped down from their respective perches with a win by a competitor currently ranked lower.

With the music still playing a mere two races left before NASCAR’s postseason, it’s not necessarily a win or go home situation, but it’s close to it.

Entering this Sunday’s Oral-B USA 500 at Atlanta (7:30 p.m. on ESPN), Larson trails Biffle by a hefty 26 points for the final seed on the grid, while Biffle looms only five points behind Bowyer for the minimal breathing room afforded by the 15th spot.

“I hope we can go there and get a win and stop worrying about points,” Larson said.  “I think 26 behind Biffle is a long way to go for two races.  Hope for some bad luck for him, but we will see.”

The last two races, Larson has been plagued by some of the bad luck he wished on Biffle. The 22-year-old – attempting to become the second rookie to ever qualify for the Chase – finished 43rd at Michigan after a wreck and managed an impressive 12th-place finish at Bristol after starting the field from the rear after crashing his primary car in qualifying.

Potential good news for Biffle and Bowyer? Many of the recent winners at Atlanta have already locked up a Chase spot – and are favorites heading into the weekend. A repeat winner this weekend would guarantee that at least three winless drivers earn a spot on the Chase Grid.

Although they’re in comfortable, yet not reassuring situations, Biffle and Bowyer still both feel they need wins.

“You take chances, make passes, do all the things you can do,” said Biffle prior to Bristol. “But at the same time, we know we’re on the bubble in points. I feel it’s going to take a win still to get in this thing, and that’s what we’re going for.”

Bowyer’s crew chief, Brian Pattie, spoke about the team in advance of Bristol, emphasizing racing to win, but also mentioning not taking reckless chances.

“We go to the track every weekend looking to win,” he said. “That doesn’t change. But we’re not going to be stupid. If we have a chance to win we will go for it, of course, but we aren’t going to do something to jeopardize a good finish. We just need to stay focused on what we need to do to get a finish and if a win is in reach we will go for it.”

For the winless drivers, here are the clinch scenarios for Atlanta:

If there is a repeat winner, the top-three winless drivers would clinch if they are at least 45 points ahead of the fourth highest winless driver.

If there is a new winner at Atlanta, two winless drivers remain guaranteed to make the Chase. In this scenario, the new winner would clinch, if he/she finishes the race at least 49 points ahead of 31st. The top-two winless drivers would clinch if they are at least 45 points ahead of the third-highest winless driver.

Matt Kenseth controls his own destiny.  A seventh-place finish locks him in no matter who wins at Atlanta.

Time Is Running Out For Kahne

Kasey Kahne desperately needs a win.

After qualifying for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup the last two seasons, the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver finds himself on the outside looking in. Currently 18th on the Chase Grid Outlook with just two races left, Kahne sits 33 points behind Greg Biffle for the final spot.

The gap is such, a win may be Kahne’s only means to a Chase berth.

A victory at Atlanta by Kahne is no pipe dream. But it’s not a slam dunk either. Kahne’s career performance at the track defines the phrase “all or nothing.” The Hendrick Motorsports driver owns two checkered flags and two poles at Atlanta, but also has seven finishes of 32nd or worse, including three DNFs. Kahne’s performances on both ends of the spectrum at Atlanta combine for an average finish of 19.6.

A mere nine points out of the final Chase spot entering the race at Bristol, Kahne’s chances seemed good as he led for 40 laps. Then, a mechanical issue arose forcing him to pit and eventually head to the garage to address the problem. Kahne returned to the track to finish 35th, a performance that could eventually be looked at as the dagger to his Chase hopes.

Kahne understands his Chase outlook entering Sunday’s Oral B USA 500 (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN), but maintains his team is making the right moves.

“We’re in a tough spot still because we need maximum points every week and we also need a win to secure our spot in the Chase, but we’ve had pretty fast cars and the team has been doing a much better job,” Kahne said. “I think all of us communicating and working together, it’s been better for the last month, month-and-a-half than what it was earlier in the season. We just have to do the same thing, but we need to max our points each weekend and go for wins. Hopefully between one of those we can work our way in.”

Logano Fires Championship Warning Shot

Joey Logano has evolved from one of NASCAR’s most promising young drivers into a legitimate championship contender right before our eyes in 2014.

The 24-year-old’s victory at Bristol tied him for the series lead with three wins, matching the total from his entire career previously.

With two races left before the chase, Logano arguably has more momentum than any other driver. In fact his Bristol checkered flag placed an exclamation point on a torrid five-week stretch marked by four top fives and a sixth-place finish. Statistically, he ranks among the best drivers in the sport, leading the series in average running position (9.460) and boasting its second-best driver rating (106.4).

“It's definitely the best shot I've ever had at winning the championship,” Logano said about his Chase chances.  “I can promise you that, so I feel very confident going into it.”

This Sunday, Logano returns to Atlanta Motor Speedway, a place where he made a name for himself as 12-year-old by winning a track-record 14-consecutive Legends car races, for the Oral-B USA 500 (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN).

Already locked into the Chase, Logano can help his championship chances in the final two events of the regular season by gaining the three bonus points that come with each win. He can also solidify himself as a driver the veteran contenders can’t underestimate.

“I don’t care what they think of us,” Logano said. “We're going to do what we've got to do. They can underestimate us. They can overestimate us.  I don't really care.  We're going to go out there and do the best we can, do what we've been doing.”

As a Cup driver, Logano experienced little success on his childhood track until a second-place breakthrough there last year. 

“I do feel like Atlanta is a good race track for us, a place we were very, very fast, probably the best race car I ever had was last year in Atlanta, so I’m very, very excited about going back over there,” Logano said.

Back-To-Back Busch?

Kyle Busch will try to score a victory in Atlanta’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race for the second consecutive season, following a rough weekend in Bristol.

Hopes were high last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway for the driver known as “Rowdy,” who was a favorite to potentially sweep the weekend as the defending champion there in both the NASCAR Camping World Truck and NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Those hopes did not come to fruition though, as a frustrating night that included an accident resulted in a 36th-place finish.

Luckily for Busch, he starts this weekend with a blank state.

And a return to a track where he has two victories, including last year’s when he seized the top spot on Lap 288 and held off a charging Joey Logano on his way to the checkered flag.

With just two races left before the Chase, Busch could use some momentum. Since posting a pair of second-place performances at New Hampshire and Indy, he has not finished higher than 36th in his last four Sprint Cup races.

Even more importantly, he can aid his Chase contention by capturing the three bonus points that go with a victory. Busch could find himself in a hole entering the Chase if 2014 event winners continue to take checkered flags, thus further accruing bonus points.

Busch will battle a group of past Atlanta winners already locked into the Chase vying for precious bonus points, including: his brother Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr.