USA TODAY International Edition
Star drivers in danger of missing Chase
HAMPTON, GA. The demoralizing prospect of missing the Chase for the Sprint Cup is looming for several of NASCAR’s big names, especially the star who won the championship last year.
Of Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr., only three likely will qualify for the Chase when the smoke has cleared after Saturday’s cutoff race at Richmond International Raceway.
But the winner of Sunday night’s Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway provided a modicum of solace that all hope isn’t lost for a driver left out of contention.
“Last year I felt like we learned a lot ( when) we missed the Chase, but we didn’t give up,” Kyle Busch said after punctuating a 2013 turnaround with his fourth win of the season. “We didn’t just lame duck the rest of the year and ride around, we actually worked hard and pushed ourselves to be better. I think that we did a good job of learning how we can contend and compete.”
Busch led only the final 36 of 325 laps, overcoming an ill- handling No. 18 Toyota early in the 500- mile event and capitalizing on swift pit
work that vaulted him into first after his last stop. The resilience stamped Busch as among the championship favorites.
He clinched a spot in the 10- race title run with his 28th career victory, joining Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne. If he can win again at Richmond ( a 0.75mile oval where he has four victories), Busch will tie Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kenseth for most victories and enter the Chase as a top seed seeking to fill the championship void on his résumé.
“I think if you can pin a championship night on one race, tonight was the night,” said Busch, who hasn’t finished higher than fifth in five Chase appearances. “We certainly had a lot to overcome.”
So does everyone in his rearview mirror at the finish line.
Completing the top five were Logano, Truex, Kurt Busch and Newman — all of whom were desperate to shore up their chances of earning a berth in the 12- driver field for the Chase, which will begin Sept. 15 at Chicagoland Speedway.
With an early wreck at Atlanta knocking Kahne to 12th in the standings, the Chase picture remained a morass for those on the bubble. Kahne’s two wins ensure him at least a wild card, but he is 10 points from climbing into a guaranteed spot in the top 10 ( and has motivation because the victories then would be worth bonus points).
If that happens, it becomes likely Gordon, Kurt Busch and Keselowski would need to win at Richmond and get help to secure a wild card.
Among the wild- card- eligible driv- ers with wins, Kahne holds the top spot and Truex is five points ahead of Newman for the final slot.
“Five points doesn’t make any difference,” Truex said. “We were hoping Kasey would stay up in that top 10. It is what it is. We had a good night when we needed it.”
The Atlanta race was a courageous performance for the Michael Waltrip Racing driver, who gritted through nearly four hours of pain from a broken right wrist to finish third.
“It feels good now,” he said. “It hurts like hell when you’re in there just steering the car. It felt like every time I moved it somebody was hitting it with a hammer. I don’t know what I can do to change that; probably just going to have to deal with it ( at Richmond).”
Not having clinched but in a more comfortable position are seventhranked Dale Earnhardt Jr. ( who is 37 points ahead of 10th and can clinch with a 32nd or better), as well as Logano and Greg Biffle, each of whom can clinch with a top- 10 and has a victory for wild- card protection.
Logano, who led a race- high 78 laps at Atlanta, is the hottest driver in NASCAR with six consecutive top- 10s and has emerged as a championship dark horse.
Meanwhile, his Penske Racing teammate is stumbling. An engine failure at Atlanta produced the second consecutive finish outside the top 30 for Keselowski, who fell four spots to 15th in the standings and is in serious jeopardy of becoming the first defending champion to miss the Chase since Tony Stewart in 2006.
Because he is 28 points behind 10th, a win at Richmond ( for the first time) virtually is imperative, but Keselowski still would need help in out- scoring Truex or Newman to make the Chase.
“This must be some kind of test to prove how strong we are and what our character is, because I believe in the people I’m around,” Keselowski said. “I think they’re doing the right things, but it’s just not working. I love challenges, and this is going to be one hell of a challenge.”
Kyle Busch, whose team squandered an opportunity to make the 2012 Chase with a 16th at Richmond last year, can relate to it.
“Certainly when the pressure is on the line you’ve got to be able to perform, and we messed up ( last year), there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “This is a humbling sport. You look at last year’s champion and what he’s going through, it’s the same scenario.
“You’ve got to be able to take the highs and the lows, and certainly I am not very good at taking the lows. But when the highs come your way you’ve got to treasure them, because you never know how many more you’ll get.”