In just 17 races the 2014 Sprint Cup Champion will be crowned with this year’s Chase for the Cup set to kick off at Chicagoland Speedway in just 8 races time. This week the Sprint Cup drivers are having a vacation so what better time for us to take a look at how the Chase Grid is looking so far:
1. Brad Keselowski (3 wins)
2. Jimmie Johnson (3 wins)
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2 wins)
4. Carl Edwards (2 wins)
5. Joey Logano (2 wins)
6. Kevin Harvick (2 wins)
7. Jeff Gordon (1 win)
8. Kyle Busch (1 win)
9. Denny Hamlin (1 win)
10. Aric Almirola (1 win)
11. Kurt Busch (1 win)
12. Matt Kenseth (no win)
13. Ryan Newman (no win)
14. Clint Bowyer (no win)
15. Paul Menard (no win)
16. Kyle Larson (no win)
After the Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire Speedway, confusion arose amongst fans when it was announced that only Keselowski and Earnhardt Jr. had 100% secured their places in the Chase field. It was strange to note that Jimmie Johnson, who sits above Earnhardt in the Chase standings hadn’t yet done so. At NH and the previous week’s race at Daytona, Jimmie Johnson came away with two non finishes, leaving himself at risk of still mathematically tumbling out of the also mandatory top 30 in the points standings necessary to secure his chase slot. This shouldn’t be an issue for the #42 car though, and we should expect Johnson to secure a spot shortly.
Jeff Gordon currently sits 12 points clear at the top of the traditional standings leaving him as the next driver more than likely to finalize his slot in the chase field. This will be especially true if he secures his much awaited second win of the year sooner rather than later.
One car that should have already secured it’s slot is the #4 of Kevin Harvick. Harvick currently has two wins but surely no fan would argue when we say that he could, and should have double that tally. The #4 car has undoubtedly been the fastest this year but has lost out on a number of wins mainly due to a series of mistakes that can be pinned down to his pit crew.
One surprise name on the list? Aric Almirola. It can be argued that the RPM driver was lucky in that the usual top runners were taken out in the ‘big one’ and the even ‘bigger one’. The early termination of the race due to the weather also helped him make his way to the winner’s circle. The big thing though is that he made it to that winner’s circle and that’s what really matters this year with the new Chase Format.
Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle and Kasey Kahne are the most notable names missing from the provisional Chase grid with all three sitting outside the top 15 in the points standings. These three big names will more than likely need to get a win in one of these next 8 races to secure a slot in the Chase grid.
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