Kansas begins the Contender Round of the Chase
Those drivers who advanced from the opening round in the Chase, known as the Challenger Round, are: Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne.
The Contender Round includes the races at Kansas, Charlotte (Oct. 11) and Talladega (Oct. 19). After Talladega, the Chase field will be trimmed to eight drivers for the Eliminator Round, which has the events at Martinsville (Oct. 26), Texas (Nov. 2) and Phoenix (Nov. 9).
The Nov. 16 season-finale at Homestead will feature just four drivers contending for the championship. The highest finishing driver among the final four in that race will win the title.
If a driver currently in the Chase field wins at either Kansas, Charlotte or Talladega, that person will automatically advance to the Eliminator Round. The remaining available positions 1-8 that have not been filled based upon wins will be determined by points following Talladega.
Talladega, the only restrictor-plate track in the Chase, is considered as a wild card race, but many drivers think of Kansas as a wild card event as well. Kansas, a 1.5-mile track, underwent a repave and had variable banking added in the turns in 2012.
“I think you look at this round, the Contender Round, with Kansas, and you’ve got Talladega at the end, Charlotte probably not so much, but two of the three races are as much of a wild card as you can get in NASCAR racing these days,” Keselowski said. “I think when we get all said and done, and it comes to Homestead and the championship’s crown, whoever wins it will have earned it.
“But one of the great teams that has a shot at winning this will probably be less at home after this series of events, because you don’t control your destiny as much as you do the other races of the season.”
Keselowski concluded the Challenger Round as the points leader. He won the Chase-opener at Chicagoland and then finished seventh at New Hampshire and second at Dover.
Logano, who is Keselowski’s teammate at Team Penske, has done very well in the Chase as well. He won at New Hampshire and finished fourth at both Chicagoland and Dover.
“We have confidence in not just myself but the road crew, the pit crew, everyone is feeling good about what we’ve done,” Logano said. “Last week (at Dover), we didn’t have the strongest car, but we were able to execute and get a nice, solid top-five out of it. That’s what we have to do the next round, get us some top-fives and get us into the next one. Hopefully, we’ll get a win in these first two races and not have to worry about Talladega.”
Gordon claimed his fourth win of the season at Dover. His first victory in 2014 occurred in the spring race at Kansas. This is the fourth year that Kansas has hosted two Sprint Cup events in a season. No driver has yet to score a season-sweep here.
“We won at Kansas earlier this year, so we’re excited about this weekend,” Gordon said. “We’d like to get another win to go ahead and clinch a spot in the Eliminator Round, but if we don’t solid finishes this weekend and at Charlotte hopefully put us in a good position before Talladega.”
Gordon leads all drivers with three victories at Kansas. He won the first two Cup races at this track (2001-02).
Tony Stewart, Biffle, Johnson and Kenseth have two wins each at Kansas.
Johnson is attempting to win his record-tying seventh championship in the series. He started the Chase with a 12th-place run at Chicagoland before finishing fifth at New Hampshire and third at Dover.
“I’m ready to get going,” Johnson said. “These three tracks should be a lot of fun. We feel like we have a really good chance of winning at all three tracks, but the first two would make the experience of the third race of the Contender Round that much more enjoyable.”
Johnson has three wins this season but has not been to victory lane since June 15 at Michigan (14 races ago).
Forty-three teams are on the entry list for the Hollywood Casino 400.
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Sunday, Oct. 5. Race: Hollywood Casino 400. Site: Kansas Speedway. Track: 1.5-mile oval. Start time: 2 p.m. ET. Laps: 267. Miles: 400.5. 2013 Winner: Kevin Harvick. Television: ESPN. Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.
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