Kurt Busch became the fourth driver to clinch a Chase for the Sprint Cup spot this season - as long as he starts the remaining six races.
Busch’s eighth-place finish in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 was good enough to clinch a Chase spot. He joins Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who previously clinched Chase spots.
The 16-driver Chase will be set after the Sept. 12 race at Richmond International Raceway. There are 10 drivers who have won a race this season and are Chase eligible. Kyle Busch also has won but is not yet Chase eligible.
Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth each clinched a spot in the top 30 in points, fulfilling a requirement to be Chase eligible. They have yet to officially clinch a Chase spot because they have only one win this season and there could be six different first-time winners in the remaining six races before the Chase field is set. If that unlikely scenario happened and Kyle Busch became Chase eligible, there would be 17 eligible winners for 16 spots, meaning one winner would miss the Chase.
Joey Logano clinched a top 30 spot last week.