Bowyer, Biffle, Larson On Chase Hot Seats With Two To Go

Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle and Kyle Larson are playing a high stakes musical chairs game of sorts. At the moment, Bowyer and Biffle sit in the last two seats to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with Larson standing on the outside looking in at 17th on the current Chase Grid.

All three drivers need a victory to assure themselves spots in the Chase – and avoid being bumped down from their respective perches with a win by a competitor currently ranked lower.

With the music still playing a mere two races left before NASCAR’s postseason, it’s not necessarily a win or go home situation, but it’s close to it.

Entering this Sunday’s Oral-B USA 500 at Atlanta, Larson trails Biffle by a hefty 26 points for the last seed on the grid, while Biffle looms only five points behind Bowyer for the minimal breathing room given by the 15th spot.

“I hope we can go there and get a win and stop worrying about points,” Larson said.  “I think 26 behind Biffle is a long way to go for two races.  Hope for some bad luck for him, but we will see.”

The last two races had some of the bad luck Larson wished on Biffle. The 22-year-old – attempting to become the second rookie to ever qualify for the Chase – finished 43rd at Michigan after a wreck and managed an impressive 12th-place finish at Bristol after starting the field from the rear after crashing his primary car in qualifying.

Potential good news for Biffle and Bowyer? Many of the recent winners at Atlanta have already locked up a Chase spot – and are favorites heading into the weekend. A repeat winner this weekend would guarantee that at least three winless drivers earn a spot on the Chase Grid.

Although they’re in comfortable, yet not reassuring situations, Biffle and Bowyer still both feel they need wins.

“You take chances, make passes, do all the things you can do,” said Biffle prior to Bristol. “But at the same time, we know we’re on the bubble in points. I feel it’s going to take a win still to get in this thing, and that’s what we’re going for.”

Bowyer’s crew chief, Brian Pattie, spoke about the team before Bristol, emphasizing racing to win, but also mentioning not taking reckless chances.

“We go to the track every weekend looking to win,” he said. “That doesn’t change. But we’re not going to be stupid. If we have a chance to win we will go for it, of course, but we aren’t going to do something to jeopardize a good finish. We just need to stay focused on what we need to do to get a finish and if a win is in reach we will go for it.”

For the winless drivers, here are the clinch scenarios for Atlanta:

If there is a repeat winner, the top-three winless drivers would clinch if they are at least 45 points ahead of the fourth highest winless driver.

If there is a new winner at Atlanta, two winless drivers remain guaranteed to make the Chase. In this scenario, the new winner would clinch, if he/she finishes the race at least 49 points ahead of 31st. The top-two winless drivers would clinch if they are at least 45 points ahead of the third-highest winless driver.

Matt Kenseth controls his own destiny.  A seventh-place finish locks him in no matter who wins at Atlanta.

Logano Fires Championship Warning Shot

Joey Logano has evolved from one of NASCAR’s most promising young drivers into a legitimate championship contender right before our eyes in 2014.

The 24-year-old’s victory at Bristol tied him for the series lead with three wins, matching the total from his entire career.

With two races left before the chase, Logano arguably has more momentum than any other driver. In fact his Bristol checkered flag placed an exclamation point on a torrid five-week stretch marked by four top fives and a sixth-place finish. Statistically, he ranks among the best drivers in the sport, leading the series in average running position (9.460) and boasting its second-best driver rating (106.4).

“It’s definitely the best shot I’ve ever had at winning the championship,” Logano said about his Chase chances.  “I can promise you that, so I feel very confident going into it.”

This Sunday, Logano returns to Atlanta Motor Speedway, a place where he made a name for himself as 12-year-old by winning a track-record 14-consecutive Legends car races, for the Oral-B USA 500 (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN).

Already locked into the Chase, Logano can help his championship chances in the last two events of the regular season by gaining the three bonus points that come with each win. He can also solidify himself as a driver the veteran contenders can’t underestimate.

“I don’t care what they think of us,” Logano said. “We’re going to do what we’ve got to do. They can underestimate us. They can overestimate us.  I don’t really care.  We’re going to go out there and do the best we can, do what we’ve been doing.”

As a Cup driver, Logano experienced little success on his childhood track until a second-place breakthrough there last year.

“I do feel like Atlanta is a good race track for us, a place we were very, very fast, probably the best race car I ever had was last year in Atlanta, so I’m very, very excited about going back over there,” Logano said.

Back-To-Back Busch?

Kyle Busch will try to score a victory in Atlanta’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race for the second consecutive season, following a rough weekend in Bristol.

Hopes were high last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway for the driver known as “Rowdy,” who was a favorite to potentially sweep the weekend as the defending champion there in both the NASCAR Camping World Truck and NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Those hopes did not come to fruition though, as a frustrating night that included an accident resulted in a 36th-place finish.

Luckily for Busch, he starts this weekend with a blank state.

And a return to a track where he has two victories, including last year’s when he seized the top spot on Lap 288 and held off a charging Joey Logano on his way to the checkered flag.

With just two races left before the Chase, Busch could use some momentum. Since posting a pair of second-place performances at New Hampshire and Indy, he has not finished higher than 36th in his last four Sprint Cup races.

Even more importantly, he can aid his Chase contention by capturing the three bonus points that go with a victory. Busch could find himself in a hole entering the Chase if 2014 event winners continue to take checkered flags, thus further accruing bonus points.

Busch will battle a group of past Atlanta winners already locked into the Chase vying for precious bonus points, including: his brother Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Johnson, Earnhardt and Gordon could garner their 12th Chase bonus point of the season putting that much more pressure on the field when the Chase begins.

Milestone Man: Gordon Hopes To Rebound In Atlanta

Jeff Gordon did something he hasn’t done much of this year at Sunday’s race in Bristol.

He struggled.

After starting second, the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet posted an uncharacteristic 16th-place finish – especially considering the momentum he carried into the race. Prior to Bristol, Gordon had won two of the previous four races.

Gordon still has a commanding 27-point lead over teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the point standings and is part of a five-way tie for wins with three.

And this weekend, he celebrates a career milestone. At Atlanta, he’ll start his 750th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, good for 11th on the all-time list. He leads all active drivers with five wins and a 105.6 driver rating at the track. Additionally, he boasts the most starts (40), top fives (16) and top 10s (26) there.

Also Noteworthy in the Sprint Cup Series

Testing, Testing: A number of team tests will take place next week. Stewart-Haas Racing and Front Row Motorsports will test at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 2-3.

Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske will test at Charlotte Motor Speedway, also on Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 2-3.

Ty Dillon will attempt to make his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start this weekend at Atlanta, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet. If he does start, he’ll be the tenth driver to run in all three of NASCAR’s national series in 2014.