This is the week we’ve ALL been waiting for. The Road to Richmond is in the final stretch, with the Federated Auto Parts 400 – “One Last Race to Make The Chase” – set for this Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. Find your seats today by clicking here!
Before the drivers strapped in at Daytona in February, they circled their calendars for Saturday, September 7. Judgment day is here, and America’s Premier Short Track is the stage that will set the 2013 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Seven drivers – Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne – have clinched Chase spots, leaving five spots to fill among 10 drivers. Whoa!
This is exactly what NASCAR had in mind when it implemented the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and, later, the two Wild Card positions. Here’s a look at who is looking to race their way into The Chase this Saturday at RIR:
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 7th in the point standings with zero wins this season. With a 37-point cushion over 11th-place Jeff Gordon, Junior can finish 32nd or higher (33rd with at least one lap led or 34th with the most laps led) and earn a spot in the Chase.
Joey Logano: 8th in the point standings with one win this season. He’s maintaining a 16-point lead over Gordon and a 25-point lead over Martin Truex Jr., who is – for now – the second Wild Card holder. Logano would need to stay in the top 10 or maintain a point lead ahead of any Wild Card holders with a win. He can clinch by finishing 11th or higher (12th with at least one lap led or 13th with the most laps led).
Greg Biffle: 9th in the point standings with one win this season. His lead is 14 points over Gordon and 23 over Truex Jr. His scenario is similar to Logano’s. Biffle can clinch a top-10 spot with a finish of ninth or better (10th with at least one lap led or 11th with the most laps led).
Kurt Busch: After moving up two spots, he is 10th in the point standings with zero wins this season. It’s pretty simple for Busch. Maintain a top-10 position or win the Federated Auto Parts 400.
Jeff Gordon: 11th in the point standings with zero wins this season. The four-time champion is six points behind Busch. Gordon’s task: finish at least six spots ahead of Busch (assuming neither leads a lap for a bonus point) or win the Federated Auto Parts 400.
Martin Truex Jr: 13th in the point standings with one win this season and the second Wild Card holder. Here’s where it gets complicated. Truex Jr. can stay in the Chase if he wins the Federated Auto Parts 400; or he maintains his lead over Ryan Newman, who is five points back, and Jeff Gordon does not win the Federated Auto Parts 400, and Logano and Biffle do not drop out of the top-10 and stay ahead of Truex in points, and neither Brad Keselowski nor Jamie McMurray win the race and move ahead of him in the point standings.
Ryan Newman: 14th in the point standings with one win this season. One of these must happen: win the Federated Auto Parts 400; or move ahead of Truex Jr. in the point standings, and Logano and Biffle do not drop out of the top-10, and stay ahead of Newman in points, and neither Keselowski nor McMurray win the race and move ahead of him.
Brad Keselowski: 15th in the point standings with zero wins this season. The defending champ has his work cut out for him and must: win the Federated Auto Parts 400 and gain 13 points on Truex Jr. and eight points on Newman; or gain more points than Kurt Busch, Gordon, Kahne, Truex Jr. and Newman, miraculously leapfrogging each of those drivers and vaulting into the top-10.
Jamie McMurray: 16th in the point standings with zero wins this season. He must win the Federated Auto Parts 400 and gain 25 points on Truex Jr. and 19 points on Newman.
Paul Menard: 17th in the point standings with zero wins this season. As the longest of the long shots, he must win the Federated Auto Parts 400 and gain 47 points on Truex Jr. and 42 on Newman (or just one of them if Kahne reaches the top-10). If Truex Jr. or Newman knocks out Kurt Busch from the top-10, Menard would need to outpoint the other one-win driver remaining outside the top-10.
RIR PR
