The time has come again. The Chase for the Sprint Cup field will be whittled down to eight drivers from the 12 that enter Talladega Superspeedway this weekend
Two of those, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick, are in the clear with their Round of 12 wins. The rest? They’ll be racing on a hope and a prayer that they can survive Talladega for 188 laps to either win their way in the next round or just simply last longer than everyone else.
Here’s all the clinch scenarios for the 10 Chase drivers who are still in play.
Matt Kenseth (0 wins, 3074 points) - Would clinch on points with 13 points (28th and no laps led, 29th and leads at least one lap, 30th and leads most laps) and a new winner. If there is a repeat winner, would clinch on points with 11 points (30th and no laps led, 31st and leads at least one lap, 32nd and leads most laps). With a win, would clinch a next round spot on wins.
Kyle Busch (0 wins, 3072 points) - Would clinch on points with 15 points (26th and no laps led, 27th and leads at least one lap, 28th and leads most laps) and a new winner. If there is a repeat winner, would clinch on points with 14 points (27th and no laps led, 28th and leads at least one lap, 29th and leads most laps). With a win, would clinch a next round spot on wins.
Carl Edwards (0 wins, 3069 points) - Would clinch on points with 18 points (23rd and no laps led, 24th and leads at least one lap, 25th and leads most laps) and a new winner. If there is a repeat winner, would clinch on points with 16 points (25th and no laps lead, 26th and leads at least one lap, 27th and leads most laps). With a win, would clinch a next round spot on wins.
Kurt Busch (0 wins, 3062 points) - Would clinch on points with 25 points (16th and no laps led, 17th and leads at least one lap, 18th and leads most laps) and a new winner. If there is a repeat winner, would clinch on points with 24 points (17th and no laps led, 18th and leads at least one lap, 19th and leads most laps). With a win, would clinch a next round spot on wins.
Martin Truex Jr (0 wins, 3058 points) - Would clinch on points with 29 points (12th and no laps led, 13th and leads at least one lap, 14th and leads most laps) and a new winner. If there is a repeat winner, would clinch on points with 28 points (13th and no laps led, 14th and leads at least one lap, 15th and leads most laps). With a win, would clinch a next round spot on wins.
Joey Logano (0 wins, 3045 points) - If there is a repeat winner, would clinch on points with 41 points (second and leads most laps). With a win, would clinch a next round spot on wins. Could clinch on points with a new winner and help.
Austin Dillon (0 wins, 3045 points) - If there is a repeat winner, would clinch on points with 41 points (second and leads most laps). With a win, would clinch a next round spot on wins. Could clinch on points with a new winner and help.
Denny Hamlin (0 wins, 3039 points) - With a win, would clinch a next round spot on wins. Could clinch on points with help.
Brad Keselowski (0 wins, 3038 points) - With a win, would clinch a next round spot on wins. Could clinch on points with help.
Chase Elliott (0 wins, 3020 points) - With a win, would clinch a next round spot on wins. Could clinch on points with help.