The Sprint Cup Series heads to Atlanta this week with just two races remaining before the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Last Saturday night, Joey Logano captured the checkered flag in the IRWIN Tools Night Race to earn his 3rd victory of the season. The win moved Logano into a logjam at the top of the Sprint Cup Standings with Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Brad Keselowski who all have 3 wins each. However at the far end of that logjam further down the standings, the race is heating up to capture the final few spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Currently 12 drivers have scored a win this season and are locked into the Chase for the Sprint Cup. With NASCAR’s 2014 rules changes, 16 drivers are eligible for NASCAR’s version of the playoffs which will start following the race at Richmond in two weeks. Currently Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, and Greg Biffle occupy positions 13-16 in the standings of the drivers that would currently be in without a victory. 17th place Kyle Larson trails Biffle by 26 points heading into Atlanta with Kasey Kahne in 18th place and 33 points back. Since the points gap is rather significant, those guys currently outside the top 16 desperately need a win to secure their spot in the Chase. The question heading into Atlanta is can a new face capture a victory in these final two races and shake up the points standings once again?
This week we go from Saturday night racing at Bristol to a Sunday night race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on the eve of Labor Day. Drivers like Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Kevin Harvick will be among the favorites this Sunday due to their impressive 2014 campaigns on the 1.5 mile tracks and overall impressive Atlanta Motor Speedway resumes. Still, we wanted to take a look at a few of the longshots that could potentially snag a win this week that are currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
For a large part of the season, Kyle Larson looked destined to make the Chase in his rookie season but things have not gone their way in recent weeks. Larson will be making his first Sprint Cup Series start this weekend at Atlanta. Larson did run well last year in the Nationwide Series race finishing 5th but the likelihood of him actually competing for a victory this Sunday appear slim. Drivers 19th through 23rd include Austin Dillon, Paul Menard, Jamie McMurray, Marcos Ambrose, and Brian Vickers. Truth be told, only McMurray and arguably Menard have shown the speed to win on ovals this year. McMurray may have let his golden opportunity slip last week at Bristol after losing the lead on the final round of pit stops. While Menard has carried the flag of inconsistency throughout the bulk of the summer months.
Ironically there is only 1 driver that is currently winless that has ever recorded a victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway and that is Kasey Kahne. Among those winless Atlanta drivers include the group of Kenseth, Biffle, Newman, and Bowyer who would currently make it in on points despite not having any wins in 2014. Kahne on the other hand is back in the 18th position and it is safe to say that a win would be the only thing that could save the #5 teams’ season. The #5 car has shown the capability of putting together a winning performance with strong runs at 1.5 mile tracks like Kansas and Kentucky. Of course Kahne was very close to a victory in the Brickyard 400 but was passed by teammate Jeff Gordon on the final restart. Heading into Atlanta, Kahne has two victories at Atlanta Motor Speedway coming in March of 2006 and September of 2009. However, Kahne has suffered nothing but bad luck in recent trips to Atlanta finishing outside the top 20 in each of his last 4 starts. This week Kahne still provides the best opportunity for a winless driver to shake up the Sprint Cup points standings but they are going to need some things to fall their way late Sunday to make it happen.
