Jeff Gordon has been added to the list of drivers who have clinched a spot in NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase.
The latest recalculation is due to the advent of the Wild Card which was introduced to the series in January.
The original Chase was limited to the top ten drivers in the points. Then two more drivers were added. Along comes 2010 and Jamie McMurray wins the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400 and the fall race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The problem was that he didn’t have enough point to be in the top twelve, and didn’t make the Chase.
Here was a star performer, a three-time winner, and he still under the old rules he had no shot at the Championship. That may have been part of the reason to add a wild card.
After Saturday night’s race at Bristol fans were told that there were four drivers locked in, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, and Matt Kenseth because they could not fall out of the top ten in points.
This week the number crunchers in Daytona waved a yellow flag on that. Kevin Harvick could be a wild card if he fell out of the top ten in points.
Now the clinch scenario is like a green-white-checkered finish when we learned from NASCAR that Jeff Gordon has locked himself in the Chase for a run at his fifth Sprint Cup title.
As NASCAR explained:
“For Gordon, with two wins, to fall out of the top 10, either Brad Keselowski or Clint Bowyer would have to win each of the remaining two races. If that happened, and Gordon fell outside the top 10, he would at least take the first wild card spot (if it were Keselowski winning each race) or the second (if it were Bowyer). In the latter instance, Keselowski would have three wins, Gordon two. Everyone else outside the top 10 would have one victory.”
All clear? Sure.
The latest recalculation is due to the advent of the Wild Card which was introduced to the series in January.
The original Chase was limited to the top ten drivers in the points. Then two more drivers were added. Along comes 2010 and Jamie McMurray wins the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400 and the fall race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The problem was that he didn’t have enough point to be in the top twelve, and didn’t make the Chase.
Here was a star performer, a three-time winner, and he still under the old rules he had no shot at the Championship. That may have been part of the reason to add a wild card.
After Saturday night’s race at Bristol fans were told that there were four drivers locked in, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, and Matt Kenseth because they could not fall out of the top ten in points.
This week the number crunchers in Daytona waved a yellow flag on that. Kevin Harvick could be a wild card if he fell out of the top ten in points.
Now the clinch scenario is like a green-white-checkered finish when we learned from NASCAR that Jeff Gordon has locked himself in the Chase for a run at his fifth Sprint Cup title.
As NASCAR explained:
“For Gordon, with two wins, to fall out of the top 10, either Brad Keselowski or Clint Bowyer would have to win each of the remaining two races. If that happened, and Gordon fell outside the top 10, he would at least take the first wild card spot (if it were Keselowski winning each race) or the second (if it were Bowyer). In the latter instance, Keselowski would have three wins, Gordon two. Everyone else outside the top 10 would have one victory.”
All clear? Sure.