Watching NASCAR: The Chase Begins at Chicagoland

Richmond delivered on the promise of a wild race with racers dropping as much as 5 positions in the standings or rising as much as seven spots as a wild end to the regular season and now onto the race to the crown.

The culmination of the 26 races that comprise the qualifying round for the Chase seems like it went by in a flash, and no doubt that the drivers on the cusp that did not make the final cut as well as the ones that squeaked in will look back at the little things that either cost them or benefited them.

The final race prior to the Chase featured Jeff Gordon in a poorly handling car, falling a lap down and yet managing to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship by finishing second, edging out Kyle Busch for the last wild card sport. Busch finished 16th.

Clint Boyer, in a rain plagued race, and the field trailed Denny Hamlin for much of the race as he seemed to have the dominate ride vying with Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the lead. Late in the race there was some jockeying for the lead but Boyer bulled his way to the front and as they say, never looked back for the win. The top five was filled out with Mark Martin in third followed by Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth.

Other interesting news is that NASCAR is considering providing a bonus for the regular season point’s leader. The reasoning can be seen quite clearly in the standings chart below where Greg Biffle finished first in points and yet is ranked fifth in the Chase.

This Week: Geico 400
Now the Chase begins with the Geico 400 at the 1.5 mile, tri-oval Chicagoland Speedway. As the Chase begins I am always interested in watching the drivers that are not involved because it often seems that they have as big an impact, intentionally or not, in the standings as everybody tries for the championship. Will somebody seek revenge on a earlier mixup harm a drivers chances in the next few races? I guess we will see.

Broadcast: Sept 16, 1 pm ET ESPN

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Sprint Cup Standings
1) Denny Hamlin
2) Jimmie Johnson -3
3) Tony Stewart -3
4) Brad Keselowski -3
5) Greg Biffle -6
6) Clint Bowyer -6
7) Dale Earnhardt Jr. -9
8 ) Matt Kenseth -9
9) Kevin Harvick -12
10) Martin Truex Jr. -12
11) Kasey Kahne -12
12) Jeff Gordon -12

Nationwide Series

Kevin Harvick has gotten the monkey off his back by breaking a 30 race losing streak by winning at Richmond, a track that he obviously likes as it is his sixth career win there. With a powerful car and some smooth driving he was a dominate car on the track for the bulk of the race only occasionally being challenged.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. tried to take a few shots but failed and then engaged in his own battle for second, edging out Kurt Busch for that position, with Busch taking third. The last two positions were taken by Denny Hamlin and Michael Annett.

This Week: Dollar General 300 powered by Coca-Cola

Broadcast: Sept. 15, 3 pm ET ESPN

Nationwide Standing
1) Elliott Sadler
2) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -1
3) Austin Dillon -30
4) Sam Hornish Jr. -50
5) Justin Allgaier -95