The Inside Line: Preview of the 2014 NASCAR Chase

(SportsNetwork.com) – This year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup championship will likely be more intense and pressure-filled than ever for those drivers competing in it, thanks to NASCAR’s new playoff format for its premier series.

Prior to the start of this season, NASCAR made radical changes to the Chase, expanding the field of drivers from 12 to 16 and including a series of elimination rounds to determine the champion in the Sprint Cup Series. The Chase field was set following last Saturday’s regular-season-ending event at Richmond. Thirteen of the 16 drivers who qualified for the playoffs have won at least one race during regular season.

The 10-race Chase for the championship begins on Sunday at Chicagoland. Each driver in the playoffs had his points reset to 2,000, plus three bonus points for each win that driver had during the season.

Here’s a look at the four rounds in the Chase as well as the driver field based on their seed and points total adjusted to start the playoffs:

CHASE ROUNDS

The number of drivers in contention for the Sprint Cup championship will decrease every three Chase races.

The opening round, known as the “Challenger Round,” will include the first three races — Chicagoland, New Hampshire (Sept. 21) and Dover (Sept. 28).

After Dover, the Chase field will be trimmed to 12 for the next round, referred to as the “Contender Round.” If a driver in the field wins at either Chicagoland, New Hampshire or Dover, that person will automatically advance to the second round. The remaining available positions 1-12 that have not been filled based upon wins will be determined by points. Each driver will then have his points reset to 3,000.

The Contender Round will include the events at Kansas (Oct. 5), Charlotte (Oct. 11) and Talladega (Oct. 19). Again, if a driver in the top 12 in points wins at any one of these three racetracks during this round, then he will be guaranteed one of the eight positions available for Round 3, known as the “Eliminator Round.” The rest of the top eight will be decided by points, and each driver will have his points readjusted to 4,000.

Martinsville (Oct. 26), Texas (Nov. 2) and Phoenix (Nov. 9) are those races in the Eliminator Round. After Phoenix, the Chase field will be cut to just four drivers who will contend for the Sprint Cup championship in the Nov. 16 season finale at Homestead. Any driver in the top eight who wins at Martinsville, Texas or Phoenix will automatically advance into the “final four.” The remaining positions for the championship round at Homestead that were not filled based upon wins will be determined by points. The final four drivers will have their points reset to 5,000.

The highest finishing driver among the final four at Homestead will win the series championship. Bonus points for laps led will not apply for the season- ending race only, so the official finishing position alone will decide the champion.

“If you make it to Homestead, you’ve really had to be on top of your game and have things go your way at the right times,” said Jeff Gordon, who is a member of this year’s Chase and a four-time series champion. “No matter what the structure (Chase format) is, I still believe the best team wins. I’ve always believed that, and I still believe that. If it’s meant to be because you’ve prepared and you have the strong cars, the best team, I think you’re going to make it to Homestead and you’re going to win the championship. But it’s going to be intense. Oh, yeah, it’s going to be really, really intense.”

CHASE FIELD

Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske have all of their drivers in the Chase field this year. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne and Gordon drive for Hendrick. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth are with Gibbs, and Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano are representing Penske.

Stewart-Haas Racing has two drivers in the Chase — Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick. Roush Fenway Racing teammates Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards are in the playoffs as well. Ryan Newman is the only driver from Richard Childress Racing in it. Richard Petty Motorsports’ Aric Almirola and A.J. Allmendinger from JTG Daugherty Racing are making their inaugural Chase appearances.

1. Brad Keselowski (2,012 points)

After winning his series-leading fourth race of the season this past weekend at Richmond, Keselowski earned the top seed for the Chase. He won the Sprint Cup championship in 2012 but failed to qualify for the playoffs last year.

When Keselowski won the title two years ago, he began the Chase from the fourth seed by virtue of his three wins during the regular season. The driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford thinks his team is a better contender for the championship this year than they were at the start of the ’12 Chase.

“I think we’re a lot stronger right now,” Keselowski said. “I think we’ve been a threat to win more races. We have one more race win than what we did entering the Chase in 2012. I feel more experienced and more confident.”

Keselowski competed in the Chase for the first time in 2011, finishing fifth in points.

2. Jeff Gordon (2,009)

At 43, Gordon is having perhaps his best season since his most recent championship in 2011. He won at Kansas, Indianapolis and the August race at Michigan. It’s the first time he’s had three or more wins during a season since 2011.

Gordon ended the regular season as the points leader. He also has the most top-10 finishes in the series with 17.

Since NASCAR instituted a playoff format for its top series in 2004, Gordon has been in the Chase each year with the exception of 2005, ending that season 11th in points. Last year, he was added as a 13th member of the Chase due to the Michael Waltrip Racing cheating scandal at Richmond.

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2,009)

Earnhardt became the first driver to all but guarantee himself a spot in this year’s Chase when he won the Feb. 23 season-opening Daytona 500. He also scored a season sweep at Pocono. It was the first time Earnhardt won both races at a racetrack in the same season since Talladega in 2002.

This will be his seventh time in the Chase, including his third straight appearance. It also will be his last time in the playoffs with crew chief Steve Letarte.

After this season concludes, Letarte will head to NBC Sports, where he will serve as an analyst for the television network’s coverage of NASCAR, starting in 2015. Letarte has guided Earnhardt’s efforts since the start of the ’11 season.

Earnhardt has finished fifth or better 11 times this season, which has him in a tie with Keselowski for most top-fives in the series.

4. Jimmie Johnson (2,009)

Johnson will attempt to win his seventh championship, which would tie him with Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt for most Cup titles. Johnson won five championships in a row from 2006-10 and then claimed his sixth last year.

It’s been an up-and-down year for Johnson. He was winless in the first 11 races this season and then posted three victories in four events (Charlotte, Dover and June race at Michigan). Johnson struggled during the month of July and the first part of August but has bounced back nicely with four consecutive top-10 finishes.

If Johnson advances through the Chase rounds and makes it into the final four at Homestead, he will certainly be the center of attention.

“I don’t think I’ll feel the pressure to try to tie our two greats in our sport (Petty and Earnhardt) until it’s right there in front of me,” Johnson said. “Right now, it’s just the championship. If I get to Homestead and have a chance and I’m one of the four, as much as I want to push that out of my mind that I’m racing for history, it will be there, and I won’t be able to hide from it at that point.”

Johnson is the only driver who has made the Chase every year since its inception.

5. Joey Logano (2,009)

Logano is having his best season in Sprint Cup competition. Three of his six career wins in the series have occurred this year — Texas, Richmond (spring event) and Bristol (night race). Logano made the Chase for the first time last year, his maiden season with Penske. He finished the 2013 season eighth in points.

“I feel a lot more confident going into it this year than I did last year,” Logano said. “My team can do this. I think we’re all fired up and ready to go here. We’ve had the last few months to prepare for it and get ready for this next week coming up, so we’re ready.”

Logano and teammate Keselowski have both qualified very well since NASCAR began its new knockout-style qualifying format earlier this year.

6. Kevin Harvick (2,006)

Harvick is in his first season with Stewart-Haas Racing after spending the past 13 years with Richard Childress Racing in Cup competition. He has two wins this year — Phoenix and Darlington — but could’ve had more victories if it were not for numerous mishaps on pit road.

“It’s probably the biggest thing that we have to fix in order to contend for the championship,” Harvick said. “I think our cars are as fast as they need to be. The guys (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team) do a great job of bringing fast cars every week. It’s just one mistake after another every week on pit road.”

Harvick leads the series with six poles.

This will be Harvick’s eighth Chase appearance in nine years. He has finished a career-best third in points in three of the past four seasons.

7. Carl Edwards (2,006)

With this being his 11th and final Cup season with Roush Fenway, Edwards qualified for the Chase by winning the spring race at Bristol and on the road course in Sonoma, California. He will move over to JGR to drive a fourth entry for the team next year.

Edwards will be in the Chase for the eighth time. In 2011, he ended the season tied with Tony Stewart atop the point standings, but Stewart won the championship with five wins (all of them in the playoffs) compared to Edwards’ one victory. Edwards finished last in Chase points this past season.

8. Kyle Busch (2,003)

Busch virtually guaranteed himself a spot in the Chase when he won in Fontana, California. It’s the seventh time he will be in the playoffs. He finished a career-best fourth in points last year.

Since the beginning of August, Busch has struggled. He finished 36th or worse in four straight races but has placed 14th and 16th in the past two events.

9. Denny Hamlin (2,003)

After missing the Chase for the first time in his Cup career this past year due to a back injury, Hamlin is back in the playoffs, and he secured a position in it with a win at Talladega.

Hamlin’s crew chief, Darian Grubb, and car chief, Wesley Sherrill, will return to competition at Chicagoland after both were suspended for six races following a rules violation that occurred on July 27 at Indianapolis. Hamlin’s car failed post-race inspection when officials discovered illegal rear firewall block-off plates on it.

10. Kurt Busch (2,003)

Busch won the inaugural Chase in 2004 and has been in the playoffs six other times, including last year with Furniture Row Racing.

This season, Busch is driving for Stewart-Haas, and a victory at Martinsville earned him a spot in the Chase. He concluded the regular season 20th in the point standings.

11. Kasey Kahne (2,003)

Kahne clinched his position in the playoffs when he won the penultimate race of the regular season at Atlanta. He has now made the Chase in each of his three seasons with Hendrick. Kahne also qualified for the Chase in 2006 and ’09.

His best points finish is fourth, which came in 2012.

12. Aric Almirola (2,003)

Even though it was rain-shortened, Almirola claimed his first career Sprint Cup victory in the July race at Daytona. He’s in his third season with Petty’s team.

Almirola has just two top-five finishes to his credit this season — his win at Daytona and a third-place finish in the Bristol spring race.

13. A.J. Allmendinger (2,003)

Allmendinger also became a first-time winner in the series this year, doing so on the road-course in Watkins Glen, New York. He outran road course expert Marcos Ambrose to take the checkered flag and therefore assure himself a position the Chase. It will be JTG Daugherty’s first appearance in the playoffs. The team began competing in the series full-time in 2009.

Like Almirola, Allmendinger has two top-five finishes this year — the win at Watkins Glen and a fifth-place run at Talladega.

14. Matt Kenseth (2,000)

Surprisingly, Kenseth has yet to win a race this season after scoring a series-high seven victories last year. He has been consistent, though, finishing the regular season sixth in points.

Kenseth clinched his spot in the Chase at Atlanta, having accumulated enough points at the time.

He has been in the playoffs every year except 2009 when he finished 14th in points. Kenseth won the series championship in 2003, the year before the Chase began. He placed second in points this past season.

15. Greg Biffle (2,000)

Biffle barely squeaked into the Chase, beating Clint Bowyer for the final spot by just seven points. Biffle has not won a race since June 2013 at Michigan (47 races ago).

It will be his seventh appearance in the Chase. He finished a career-best second in points in 2005.

16. Ryan Newman (2,000)

Newman, who’s in his first season driving for Richard Childress’ team, made it into the Chase with enough points as well. He hasn’t been to victory lane since July 2013 at Indianapolis (42 races ago) when he drove for Stewart-Haas.

This is the sixth time Newman has made the playoffs. He has finished no better than sixth in Chase points.

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