Urgency for Cup drivers trying to make the chase
8 Comments Published July 19th, 2007 in NASCAR News
Those drivers on the outside of the top 12 have raced with a sense of urgency over the past three races. At least that’s what the stats say.
Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray — currently vying for a spot in the top 12 — sit 13th through 15th, respectively. But since the Race to the Chase (the 10 events leading up to the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup) began three races ago at New Hampshire International Speedway, all three have cut their points deficits.
Prior to the New Hampshire race, Kurt Busch was in 16th place, 171 points behind 12th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. Two top 10s later, Busch is 14th, just 77 points out.
Ryan Newman began the Race to the Chase in 13th position. He’s still there, but is now only 30 points behind Earnhardt — he started with a 96-point deficit.
Jamie McMurray, with his Pepsi 400 win, also has closed the gap. McMurray started the Race to the Chase 129 points out of the top 12. He’s now 111 points out.
Busch and Newman, especially, have excelled over the first three races of the Race to the Chase. Below are some of the stats of drivers who were targeting the 12th-place cutoff prior to New Hampshire.
In the cases of Kurt Busch and Newman, the finishes also have favored those outside the top 12.
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As for the remaining seven tracks in the Race to the Chase, Kurt Busch seems like a driver who could make a major move. Busch has nine career wins at the upcoming seven tracks — only Jeff Gordon (24) and Tony Stewart (10) have more. Over the past two years at the seven tracks, he has a solid Driver Rating of 97.0 and an Average Running Position of 13.4.
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My ‘precious’ kenseth doesn’t have to worry, he is the second coming of Mark Martin. Mr. Consistant!
Go Casey Mears
If one of these guys makes the chase and cranks out 10 good races , then everyone will be crying the points arent fair.
how ridiculous that any drivers standing 12th-14th in points could even be considered for the title. the chase still makes me just as angry as it did in 2004. there are three, maybe four, drivers who have had a season worthy of a title shot. 12? i mean 12? i don’t think so, sorry, but newan, busch and mac have not had championship seasons, period. if someone other than gordon, hamlin, or kenseth wins the title, nascar(read brian ‘the dumb one’ france) will be seen as a total joke. hell why not just raffle off the cup after the race in homestead? reset the points for all 43 drivers with 5 laps to go, that would be awesome! then give the most points to some random position, like 27th! how exciting. and heres your 2007 cup champion, aj allmendinger! his last name is just hilarious.
I agree, doesn’t someone who kicks ass all year deserve to win the championship?
I agree as well. The chase makes me sad. Especially the unscientific top 12…. That, I think, is Gordon’s and Tony’s fault…
Nope no sense at all, just because you’ve had a few bad races doesnt mean at the end of the year you shouldnt be allowed at the championship if you’ve finally pulled it together, why not just let the top 12 race by themselves for the last 10 races see how well that would go over with the fans and sponsers
I guess next year it will be the top 35.