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Chase Moving Into Second Round

The 2016 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup rolls on from Delaware to North Carolina for Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  It’s the opening race in the Round of Twelve, with the remaining drivers on The Chase Grid hoping to avoid elimination when the field is further reduced to eight in three weeks.  All twelve drivers have had their championship points reset to three thousand, and any one of the twelve that wins a race in the next three weeks will automatically advance to the Round of Eight that opens October 30th at Martinsville Speedway … Chase drivers have won the fall race at Charlotte in ten of the twelve years the post-season title format has been in place.  The only two non-chase drivers to win during that stretch are Jamie McMurray in 2010 and Brad Keselowski in 2013 … Kyle Busch, the top seed in this year’s Chase, has never won a points-paying Cup Series race in Charlotte.  He’s been to Victory Lane there a combined fourteen times in the X-FINITY and Camping World Truck Series … Of the drivers still in contention for the 2016 Sprint Cup championship, Jimmie Johnson has the most wins at C-M-S: seven … Martin Truex Junior will roll into Charlotte with a full head of steam, having won two of the three post-season races so far.  And, oh by the way … earlier this season, he won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway after leading all but eight of the four hundred laps run … Truex entered this year’s Chase as the Number-6 seed but ended the first round Number-1.

On The Track, Next Stop is Dover International Speedway

On The Track, Next Stop is Dover International Speedway for the third race of the post-season Chase, Sunday’s Citizen Soldier 400.  The Sixteen Challengers are traveling along a path that will ultimately lead to a championship for one with 2,877.58 “Miles-2-Miami” left before Ford Championship Weekend in November.  Four of the sixteen competitors on The Chase Grid will be dropped from title contention before the series heads to Charlotte next week.  Drivers currently occupying positions thirteen through sixteen are Jamie McMurray, Austin Dillon, three-time champion Tony Stewart and rookie Chris Buescher.  Kyle Larson holds the final provisional spot to transfer into the Round of Twelve, five points clear of the cutoff.

Chase Moves To Dover

The 2016 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup rolls on from New England to the Mid-Atlantic region for Sunday’s Citizen Soldier 400 at Dover International Speedway.  It’s the final race in the opening round.  Four of the sixteen competitors on The Chase Grid will be dropped from title contention before the series heads to Charlotte for the October 8th Bank of America 500.  Drivers currently occupying positions thirteen through sixteen are Jamie McMurray, Austin Dillon, three-time champion Tony Stewart and rookie Chris Buescher.  Kyle Larson holds the final provisional spot to transfer into the Round of Twelve, five points clear of the cutoff … Stewart is the only one of those five drivers with a win on “The Monster Mile.”  In fact, he has three victories there, winning in 2013 and sweeping both races in 2000.  Larson finished second (to Matt Kenseth) in this year’s first stop at Dover back on May 15th.  Buescher was eighteenth, McMurray twenty-first and Dillon placed thirty-third … Martin Truex Junior of Furniture Row Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick have locked themselves into the twelve-man field for the next round with victories in the two opening races of this year’s post-season Chase.

Denny Hamlin Grabs The Number 3 Seed With Weekend Victory

Denny Hamlin took his final lead of the night with seventy-nine laps remaining Saturday at Richmond International Raceway and kept the Number-11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in front through six subsequent restarts, closing the regular season with his third victory of the year and securing the Number-3 seed in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup that opens next weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.  Hamlin’s margin of victory over runner-up Kyle Larson was six-tenths of a second.  Martin Truex Junior led a race-high 193 laps and nabbed third place with Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick completing the top five.  Hamlin started from the pole and led 189 laps to give J-G-R a season sweep on the three-quarter-mile Fairgrounds oval.  Carl Edwards was victorious in April but finished thirty-second in his bid for back-to-back wins there … With The Chase Grid now filled, championship points have been reset.  Keselowski and Kyle Busch are tied at the top by virtue of their four victories during the regular season.  Busch gets the Number-1 seed by winning the tiebreaker, which is based on second-place finishes.  He has three, Keselowski one.  With two wins this year, Harvick – the regular-season points leader – holds the Number-4 seed … The four drivers who went into the weekend holding the final four provisional spots in the Chase – Chris Buescher, rookie Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon and Jamie McMurray – came out of the weekend with their post-season tickets punched after finishing among the top twenty-five in the forty-car field.

Next Stop Richmond International Speedway

Next Stop… Richmond International Raceway for the Sprint Cup Series’ final race of the regular season, Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400.  Thirteen drivers have won races this season, led by Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski – who have four victories apiece.  Rookie Chase Elliott and Austin Dillon currently hold provisional Chase berths based on the regular-season standings with Jamie McMurray leading Ryan Newman by twenty-two points in the fight for the final “playoff” spot.  The Chase opens September 18th at Chicagoland Speedway … Roush Fenway Racing’s Greg Biffle will be making his five hundredth career start in Saturday’s race.  He’s winless in 2016 and needs a victory at Richmond to qualify for the post-season Chase … And Furniture Row Racing, expanding to two Sprint Cup teams in 2017, has named Chris Gayle crew chief for Erik Jones’ Number-77 Toyota.  Gayle joins F-R-R after spending fourteen years as an engineer and crew chief at Joe Gibbs Racing.  Jones will join Martin Truex Junior in the organization’s Sprint Cup lineup for next season.

Newman, Larson Lose Points

Sprint Cup Series drivers Ryan Newman and Kyle Larson have each been penalized with the loss of fifteen championship points after their cars failed post-race laser inspection last weekend at Darlington Raceway.  The infraction is particularly costly to Newman, who’s locked in a battle with Jamie McMurray for the final spot in the Chase with just one race remaining in the regular season.  With the penalty factored in, Newman (winless this year) now trails McMurray by twenty-two points heading into Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway.  Richard Childress, owner of Newman’s Number-31 Chevrolet, also was docked fifteen points and crew chief Luke Lambert was fined twenty-five thousand dollars.  Likewise, Chip Ganassi – Larson’s car owner – drew a fifteen-point penalty and crew chief Chad Johnston has been fined $22,500.  Larson is already locked into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup by virtue of his victory eleven days ago at Michigan International Speedway.  Larson and Newman finished third and eighth, respectively, in Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington … In addition, five Sprint Cup Series teams were issued written warnings for failing pre-race inspection numerous times.  Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski were penalized with the loss of fifteen minutes of practice time … In the X-FINITY Series, rookie Ryan Preece’s No. 01 J-D Motorsports team was given a written warning for twice failing pre-race inspection at Darlington … In the Camping World Truck Series, the teams of Tyler Young and eventual race winner John Hunter Nemechek drew written warnings.  Truck trailing arms on their respective vehicles did not meet specifications during opening-day inspection at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on September 2nd.

Race For The Chase Wraps Up At Richmond International Raceway

With the final weekend of the regular season now looming at Richmond International Raceway, there are three spots still open on The Chase Grid for non-race winners to fill heading into Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 Sprint Cup Series race.  Thirteen drivers have been victorious in 2016: Kyle Larson, Matt Kenseth, Kyle and Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Junior, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart and Chris Buescher.  All are within the requisite top thirty of the standings, which currently leaves a maximum of three post-season spots available based on the point standings.  Four drivers are in the mix for those final three spots: rookie Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, Jamie McMurray and Ryan Newman – who trails McMurray by seven points in the fight for the final “playoff” spot … Any driver who hasn’t yet won but reaches Victory Lane at Richmond would qualify for the post-season, provided that driver is among the top thirty in points, and would reduce the number of spots available based on the regular-season standings … With the post-season now right around the corner, the race for the Number-1 seed on The Chase Grid is coming down to a two-man battle between Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing) and Brad Keselowski (Team Penske).  Each has four victories in 2016.  Busch is a four-time winner in the Sprint Cup Series at R-I-R while Keselowski has one victory there.  They finished second and eleventh, respectively, in this year’s first race at Richmond on April 24th.

Bojangles’ Southern 500 Is The Next-To-Last Stop For The Sprint Cup

SUNDAY NIGHT’S BOJANGLES’ SOUTHERN 500 … is the next-to-last Sprint Cup race of the regular season.  It’s Darlington’s second annual throwback weekend that honors the history and heritage of the sport, and features vintage paint schemes made famous years ago by drivers such as David Pearson, Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough.  With just two races left before The Chase Grid is set, Jamie McMurray leads Ryan Newman by fifteen points in the fight for the final “playoff” spot.

Race For The Chase Now Head To Darlington Raceway

With just two weeks left in the regular season, there are three spots still open on The Chase Grid for non-race winners to fill heading into Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.  With Kyle Larson’s win two days ago at Michigan International Speedway, thirteen drivers have been victorious thus far in 2016 including Matt Kenseth, Kyle and Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Junior, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart and Chris Buescher.  All are within the requisite top thirty of the standings, which currently leaves a maximum of three post-season spots available based on the point standings.  Jamie McMurray, Larson’s teammate at Chip Ganassi Racing, holds a fifteen-point lead over Richard Childress Racing’s Ryan Newman in the fight for what would be the final “playoff” spot … If the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup began today, Austin Dillon and rookie Chase Elliott would hold the two other berths.  Any driver who hasn’t yet won but reaches Victory Lane in either of the next two races would qualify for the post-season, provided that driver was among the top thirty in points, and would reduce the number of spots available based on the regular-season standings … With the post-season now right around the corner, the race for the Number-1 seed on The Chase Grid seems to be coming down to a two-man battle between Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski.  Each has four wins.  Busch has one Cup Series victory at Darlington, in 2008.  Keselowski is winless at the track “Too Tough to Tame.”  He finished second to Carl Edwards there last summer.

Race For The Chase Rols On To Michigan International Speedway

Just three Sprint Cup Series races remain in the regular season and four spots are still open on The Chase Grid for non-race winners to fill heading into Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400.  Twelve drivers have been victorious thus far in 2016: Matt Kenseth, Kyle and Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Junior, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart and Chris Buescher.  All are within the requisite top thirty of the standings, which currently leaves a maximum of four post-season spots available based on the point standings.  Ryan Newman holds a thirty-five-point lead over Trevor Bayne in the fight for what would be the final “playoff” spot.  In this year’s first race at Michigan on June 12th, Newman finished eleventh and Bayne placed fifteenth … If the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup began today, Austin Dillon, rookie Chase Elliott and Jamie McMurray would hold the three other spots.  Any driver who hasn’t yet won but reaches Victory Lane in one of the next three races would qualify for the post-season, provided that driver was among the top thirty in points, and would reduce the number of spots available based on the regular-season standings.

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