Matt Kenseth’s 42nd-place finish Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway will make it challenging for him to advance to the next round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
It’s not like all hope is lost, though. Kevin Harvick finished 42nd in the opening race of the first round and advanced to the second round after his Dover win. Kenseth likely will need to win either this weekend at Kansas Speedway or the week after at Talladega Superspeedway to advance to NASCAR’s version of the Elite Eight.
Kenseth, who is 32 points out of the eighth and final transfer spot, isn’t the only driver in trouble after one race in the second round. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 19 points out of the final transfer spot - held by Brad Keselowski - and Kyle Busch is 10 points out of it.
Joey Logano won’t have to worry what he does the next two races. His Bank of America 500 win advances him to the third round.
Here’s the Chase standings
1 - Joey Logano ... 3048 points*
2 - Kevin Harvick ... 3042 points
3 - Martin Truex Jr. ... 3041 points
4 - Denny Hamlin ... 3040 points
5 - Kurt Busch ... 3039 points
6 - Carl Edwards ... 3039 points
7 - Jeff Gordon ... 3037 points
8 - Brad Keselowski ... 3035 points
9 - Ryan Newman ... 3029 points
10 - Kyle Busch ... 3025 points
11 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. ... 3016 points
12 - Matt Kenseth ... 3003 points
Chase drivers eliminated from title contention
13 - Jamie McMurray ... 2130 points
14 - Jimmie Johnson ... 2092 points
15 - Paul Menard ... 2083 points
16 - Clint Bowyer ... 2082 points
* automatically advances to next round via win