Ryan Newman with Stewart Haas Racing in 2013 will drive for Richard Childress Racing in 2014.
Photo – John Harrelson/Getty Images
Richard Childress Racing announced today that Ryan Newman will drive the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starting in 2014. Newman is 35, and a 17-time Sprint Cup race winner with 50 pole awards. He is also a 2008 Daytona 500 winner and 2013 Brickyard 400 champion. Continue reading
Carl Edwards, driver of the #99 Kellogg’s / Cheez-It Ford, races to the checkered flag to win during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 56th Annual Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 7, 2013
Photo – Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Saturday night in Richmond was expected to be wild, but it turned out to be even crazier than thought possible. It truly came down to the last few laps and one caution changed everything. A Clint Bowyer spin with seven laps to go shook up the Chase positions along with conspiracy-theorists again. Carl Edwards managed to sneak out with the victory and three more bonus points heading into the Chase. This night was far more complicated than imaginable and it will have people talking for a long time. Continue reading
Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Clinch Scenarios for Richmond
10 Drivers Vie for Five Remaining Spots
Below are the 2013 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup clinch scenarios for Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway, the last race before the Chase field is set. Six drivers have clinched top-ten spots in the Chase: Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth. Kasey Kahne, on the strength of two wins, has clinched at least a Wild Card spot.
Four drivers control their top-ten clinching destiny. Regardless of the finishes of any other driver… Continue reading
The clock is ticking down on the last Race to the Chase at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night, September 7th – coming up this weekend. One last chance for eight drivers to grab a Wild Card spot for the 2013 ten-race Chase for a Sprint Cup championship.
After the race at Atlanta, six competitors have claimed their place in the Chase’s top-ten including, Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth. Seventh-place Dale Earnhardt Jr faces the least pressure among non-qualifiers, needing only a finish of 32nd or better in the 400-lap race at Richmond to enter the post season competition.
Joey Logano, Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch complete the provisional top-ten – 16, 14 and six points ahead of 11th place Jeff Gordon. Each with one victory, Logano and Biffle have some Chase insurance as potential Wild Cards if they should fall out of the top-ten.
This week’s Sprint Cup Chase tracker analyzes driver Race to the Chase average-finishes – Kentucky to Atlanta – and their more recent five-race average-finishes – Pocono to Atlanta. And as in previous Chase Tracker posts, there are a few surprises in store.
Wild Card Contenders
Richmond is all about which drivers will secure their place in the Chase by grabbing a Wild Card in the last race of the regular season. And it is certainly a tight competition this year and several drivers moving between the top-ten and chasing a Wild Card spot.
Kasey Kahne with two wins, holds the first Wild Card ticket into the post-race season and is just ten points away from tenth-place qualification. Will he race his way into tenth-place at Richmond, leaving another open Wild Card spot for those outside the top-ten? Kahne is definitely one to keep an eye on throughout Richmond’s night of racing on Saturday. If Kahne does move into the top-ten, his two wins will give him a better Chase starting spot at Chicagoland.
Martin Truex Jr holds the second Wild Card for the Chase and is only 15-points away from the top-ten. His third-place finish at Atlanta, after finishing 35th at Bristol certainly moves his team in the right direction heading into the last race of the regular season. Truex could also race his way into the top-ten at Richmond, leaving his Wild Card spot for another contender. Continue reading
This week’s Sprint Cup Chase Tracker after Bristol holds some interesting insight into the Race to the Chase with just one more race (Atlanta) before the series travels the Road to Richmond.
Bristol is a Wild Card race en route to qualifying to compete for the Sprint Cup championship trophy and interestingly, there are three previous champions on the outside still chasing a Wild Card ticket. An intriguing note, is that all three are winless this season.
It’s also worthy to note that last year at this time, the average-finish performance was at a higher level with eventual 2012 champion Brad Keselowski consistently running an average-finish in the top-five range. This year, with the new Gen 6 car, most are outside of top-ten performance, with only two drivers (neither is NASCAR’s five-time champion) at or slightly better than top-ten results since Kentucky. Reviewing the most recent five-races, there’s only one driver in the top-five average-finish range, and most will be amazed to discover which driver.
Similar to previous Chase Tracker analysis, this week’s review includes average-finish performance of top competitors from Kentucky through Bristol – Race to the Chase – as well as, the most recent five races from Indianapolis through Bristol. Also taken into consideration is the new point standings after all the action at Bristol. Continue reading