Joe Gibbs Racing Returns to Pull 2015 Sweep at Chicagoland
Joe Gibbs and the No. 54 Toyota team relished the spoils of Victory Lane thanks to the skills of Erik Jones back in June when the NASCAR XFINITY Series made its first stop at Chicagoland Speedway. This weekend, the Joe Gibbs Racing camp looks to sweep both XFINITY Series races at Chicagoland Speedway in 2015 and has tapped Daniel Suarez, Matt Kenseth and the series’ all-time winningest driver Kyle Busch to carry out the feat.
Joe Gibbs Racing is now tied with Richard Childress Racing for the most series wins at Chicago with four victories each. Continue reading →
All photos in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup are from Getty Images
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway is in the books and the 2015 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field is now set.
On the subject of the Sprint Cup Chase field at Richmond, there were no surprises and no drama as the field looks the same after the Federated Auto Parts 400 as it did before the race began.
Matt Kenseth securely put his team in the top-three Chase contenders with his fourth win of the season at Richmond on Saturday night. Also at the top of the field with four wins are first-place seeded Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch in second-place.
The only driver with three wins is Joey Logano, who is also the only non-Joe Gibbs Racing driver with a victory over the last ten races and he sits fourth in the Chase standings.
Four drivers with two victories include Kevin Harvick in fifth-place, Dale Earnhardt Jr in sixth-place, Kurt Busch in seventh-place and Carl Edwards in eighth-place.
Three drivers with one win for the season are Brad Keselowski in ninth, Martin Truex Jr in tenth and Denny Hamlin is 11th in the Chase point standings.
The five drivers without a win this season – Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer and Paul Menard take the last five spots – are all now part of the 16-driver field chasing a championship title over the next ten races.
This is where all the serious speculation begins as fans complete their Chase Grid and name their choice for the Sprint Cup Series champion at Homestead Miami Speedway in November.
The drivers will race the next ten tracks to decide the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champ and it all begins at Chicagoland Speedway on September 20th.
Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Dollar General Toyota, Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, and Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Crispy/American Heritage Chocolate Toyota, lead a pack of cars into turn one during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 12, 2015 Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Dollar General Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 12, 2015 Photo – Ranier Ehrhardt/Getty Images
Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Dollar General Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 12, 2015 Photo – Ranier Ehrhardt/Getty Images
Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Dollar General Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 12, 2015 Photo – Jonathan Moore/Getty Images
Joe Gibbs Racing brought guns to a knife fight on Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.
But Joe Gibbs Racing’s Matt Kenseth did his teammates one better — he brought a howitzer.
Leading 352 of 400 laps in a race he owned from the outset, Kenseth pulled away from Kyle Busch after a restart with 18 laps left and won the Federated Auto Parts 400 by 0.951 seconds over his teammate.
Kenseth’s fourth victory of the season, tying him for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series lead with Jimmie Johnson and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch, meant the 16 drivers who started the race in playoff-eligible positions stayed there. Continue reading →
Jamie McMurray will lock up his first career Chase berth simply by starting the race on Saturday night. For three others, it’s a little tougher – but certainly doable. Ryan Newman clinches by finishing 31st or better; Jeff Gordon by finishing 17th or better; and Paul Menard by finishing ninth or better – and that’s all regardless of who wins the race. If there’s a repeat winner, the scenarios become less daunting. For winless drivers beyond Menard, there will be some frayed nerves. If there’s a repeat winner, Clint Bowyer is in good shape, needing only a finish of 28th or better. For those winless drivers lower in points than Bowyer, a Richmond win is realistically the only path to the Chase.
Here’s a full look at the Chase clinch scenarios for Saturday night’s race:
Regardless of Who Wins at Richmond…
Jamie McMurray clinches by starting the race.
Ryan Newman clinches by finishing 31st or better; 32nd with at least one lap led; or 33rd with the most laps led.
Jeff Gordon clinches by finishing 17th or better; 18th with at least one lap led; or 19th with the most laps led.
Paul Menard clinches by finishing ninth or better; tenth with at least one lap led; or 11th with the most laps led. Continue reading →
