Joey Logano –
Joey has had an up-and-down 2013 season. He has had 4 top 5’s, but 3 finishes out of the top 25. In the standings he would be in 12th, 11 points from 10th, but because of the 25 point penalty he and his teammate suffered, he sits 18th, 36 points out. This is the lowest position of the 4 drivers, which means he’s going to have to make up a lot more points if he is going to get in the top 10. At the remaining tracks we are heading to before the Chase, Joey doesn’t have any outstanding stats, except for New Hampshire, his home track. He has had 3 top 15’s in the last 3 starts there. I know that’s not a stellar stat, but for a “B” driver, that’s pretty good, and with how much better Joey has been running with Penske, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a top 5 there this year. Chances are though, Joey is going to miss the top 10, but can he make a wild card (WC) spot? I think it’s very possible. Penske seems to be a way better fit for Joey, and when you look at this season, he’s been running noticeably better. He very well might get a win soon, which would make him eligible for a WC position. Who would be his completion though? I would say Tony Stewart, who hasn’t been running that well, although he just got a win in Dover; Kurt Busch, who is a possibility to win any week; and Jeff Gordon, who you can never count out. Another one to keep in mind is Kyle Busch. If he drops out of the top 10, you can almost guarantee he will take one of the WC spots with the two wins he has. I think Joey will be a contender during the battle, though, whoever clinches these two spots.
Aric Almirola –
Because I knew about Aric before he came to RPM (Richard Petty Motorsports), I picked him at the beginning of last season for one of my drivers in the NASCAR Fantasy Live game that I was playing. He only cost $4. By the end of the first segment I had racked up points because of how cheap I got him and how well he was doing on track! Everyone in my league was trying to figure out what I was doing different and saw I had Aric on my roster. For segment 2, about 5 other players had Aric Almirola, but they had to pay more because he was doing so well. It seems few people have paid attention to Aric even though he has been running well the last two years. Hopefully his silent status will go away eventually, because I think he’s going to continue to place better and better. Let’s focus on this year though. Aric has an average finish of 16.8, the 2nd best of the 4. In the standings, he places 12th, 17 points out of the top 10. Aric has few full time stats, so it’s hard to accurately predict his better tracks. From how he’s been running though, he’s got a great chance of making the top 10…especially when you consider the two drivers who are just ahead of him. Jeff Gordon, who isn’t having a consistent season, and Kyle who is going to drop like a rock if he keeps his bad luck streak. Getting past both would make Aric the 10th place driver, which I think is definitely do-able.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. –
Of the 4, Ricky has been Mr. Consistency this season. His has been placing in the middle with 11 finishes between 10th – 20th. He’s 15th in the standings, tied with Martin Truex Jr. They are 28 points behind 10th place. This is his 1st full time year in Sprint Cup, so he’s the unknown. He has good stats across most tracks on the Nationwide side, but Sprint, of course, has proved to be more of a challenge. He’ll have to really fight if he’s going to get in the top 10. His toughest competition will be going through Jeff Gordon and Aric Almirola. Despite his decent finishes, 28 points is hard to make up. His only other option would be battling for a WC spot. I don’t think that will happen, but you never know.
Paul Menard –
Paul has to be the most silent driver in the field. This is his 4th year at RCR (Richard Chilldress Racing) and, he's been silently getting better each year. He sit 9th in the standings, 2 points in. So far this season he has 4 top 10's and an average finish of 15.4, which is the best of the 4, and I don't think he will be slowing down. If you average his finishes at each track since he joined RCR 3 years ago, 9 tracks have a better average than 15th. At one of those tracks, Pocono, he has had 2 top 10's in the last 3 races there. His Bristol stats are also good. Three straight top 10's! Pretty impressive for a "B" driver and as I mentioned in Aric Almirola’s paragraph, if Kyle keeps having bad finishes, he going to drop in the standings quick, which would allow Paul to move up. Bottom line, though, if Paul keeps running like this, I don't think he needs to worry about missing his first Chase.
Joey has had an up-and-down 2013 season. He has had 4 top 5’s, but 3 finishes out of the top 25. In the standings he would be in 12th, 11 points from 10th, but because of the 25 point penalty he and his teammate suffered, he sits 18th, 36 points out. This is the lowest position of the 4 drivers, which means he’s going to have to make up a lot more points if he is going to get in the top 10. At the remaining tracks we are heading to before the Chase, Joey doesn’t have any outstanding stats, except for New Hampshire, his home track. He has had 3 top 15’s in the last 3 starts there. I know that’s not a stellar stat, but for a “B” driver, that’s pretty good, and with how much better Joey has been running with Penske, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a top 5 there this year. Chances are though, Joey is going to miss the top 10, but can he make a wild card (WC) spot? I think it’s very possible. Penske seems to be a way better fit for Joey, and when you look at this season, he’s been running noticeably better. He very well might get a win soon, which would make him eligible for a WC position. Who would be his completion though? I would say Tony Stewart, who hasn’t been running that well, although he just got a win in Dover; Kurt Busch, who is a possibility to win any week; and Jeff Gordon, who you can never count out. Another one to keep in mind is Kyle Busch. If he drops out of the top 10, you can almost guarantee he will take one of the WC spots with the two wins he has. I think Joey will be a contender during the battle, though, whoever clinches these two spots.
Aric Almirola –
Because I knew about Aric before he came to RPM (Richard Petty Motorsports), I picked him at the beginning of last season for one of my drivers in the NASCAR Fantasy Live game that I was playing. He only cost $4. By the end of the first segment I had racked up points because of how cheap I got him and how well he was doing on track! Everyone in my league was trying to figure out what I was doing different and saw I had Aric on my roster. For segment 2, about 5 other players had Aric Almirola, but they had to pay more because he was doing so well. It seems few people have paid attention to Aric even though he has been running well the last two years. Hopefully his silent status will go away eventually, because I think he’s going to continue to place better and better. Let’s focus on this year though. Aric has an average finish of 16.8, the 2nd best of the 4. In the standings, he places 12th, 17 points out of the top 10. Aric has few full time stats, so it’s hard to accurately predict his better tracks. From how he’s been running though, he’s got a great chance of making the top 10…especially when you consider the two drivers who are just ahead of him. Jeff Gordon, who isn’t having a consistent season, and Kyle who is going to drop like a rock if he keeps his bad luck streak. Getting past both would make Aric the 10th place driver, which I think is definitely do-able.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. –
Of the 4, Ricky has been Mr. Consistency this season. His has been placing in the middle with 11 finishes between 10th – 20th. He’s 15th in the standings, tied with Martin Truex Jr. They are 28 points behind 10th place. This is his 1st full time year in Sprint Cup, so he’s the unknown. He has good stats across most tracks on the Nationwide side, but Sprint, of course, has proved to be more of a challenge. He’ll have to really fight if he’s going to get in the top 10. His toughest competition will be going through Jeff Gordon and Aric Almirola. Despite his decent finishes, 28 points is hard to make up. His only other option would be battling for a WC spot. I don’t think that will happen, but you never know.
Paul Menard –
Paul has to be the most silent driver in the field. This is his 4th year at RCR (Richard Chilldress Racing) and, he's been silently getting better each year. He sit 9th in the standings, 2 points in. So far this season he has 4 top 10's and an average finish of 15.4, which is the best of the 4, and I don't think he will be slowing down. If you average his finishes at each track since he joined RCR 3 years ago, 9 tracks have a better average than 15th. At one of those tracks, Pocono, he has had 2 top 10's in the last 3 races there. His Bristol stats are also good. Three straight top 10's! Pretty impressive for a "B" driver and as I mentioned in Aric Almirola’s paragraph, if Kyle keeps having bad finishes, he going to drop in the standings quick, which would allow Paul to move up. Bottom line, though, if Paul keeps running like this, I don't think he needs to worry about missing his first Chase.
