It’s hard to
believe we only have 10 more races till the Chase! With that, comes the talk of
the wildcard battle. This is the beginning of a showdown between a group of
drivers fighting for those two elusive spots that will get them in the Chase
for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Who will be the ones to just barely get in the top
10 and who will be the two to clinch the WC (Wildcard) spots, either by points
or by wins? Here are my thoughts about 6 possible contenders in current
position order.
10th – Martin Truex Jr.
I have to say, I thought that Martin
would just miss a WC spot because he wouldn’t get a win... not anymore! Currently,
he is 8 points inside the top 10, but I don’t think he will stay there. Luckily
for him, with the win at Sonoma, he just became one of the top contenders for
the WC. I think Martin will run strong enough to stay somewhere between 11th
– 14th, and will be one to watch.
11th – Kasey Kahne
Kasey stands 8 points outside of the
top 10, but I don’t think that will be for long. Kasey had a 3 race streak of
finishing outside of the top 20, but rallied back at Sonoma with a 6th.
If Kasey gets back to the way he usually runs, I don’t think he will have to
use his win to get in the Chase. I can see Kasey climbing back into the top 10,
and getting out of the WC talk completely.
13th – Jeff Gordon
Jeff, so far, has had another crazy
year, which makes it hard to predict how he might do. Jeff is 12 points outside
of the top 10, and because of his finishes, I think he will stay in that
vicinity. He did have a 2nd place finish, though, and if he finishes
decent this week at Kentucky, it might mark the start of an upswing. If that
proves true, I think he may be a contender for the wildcard. As we saw in 2012,
you can never count Jeff out. Because he won the fall Pocono race, he was able
to clinch a WC spot and finished 10th last season.
14th – Joey Logano
Joey is one of the four drivers I
highlighted in a previous article “The Silent Four”. Since then he has
continued to do well. He has gained 4 positions in the standings and is now in
14th, just 14 points outside the top 10! In the last 5 races he has
4 top 10’s and an 11th place finish. I think Joey could continue rising
all the way to 12th, but will probably need a WC spot to get in the
Chase. With how he has been running lately, I wouldn’t be surprised if a win is
just around the corner.
15th – Tony Stewart
Tony has been up and down in his
finishes all year, which makes him even more unpredictable. He sits 15th,
20 points out. The first part of the season, Tony did not do well at all.
Lately, he had a streak of 5 races in the top 15, but that was just stopped by
a 28th place finish at Sonoma. I can see Tony going down in the
standings as easily as I can see him going up! What will be in Tony’s favor,
though, is the very likely possibility of getting a 2nd win. Of these
six drivers, he is one of the few who I think can. If he does, he will almost
certainly clinch a WC spot.
17th – Kurt Busch
Kurt is definitely a contender for
the WC spot, despite being in 17th, 28 points out. That will be a
problem for Kurt, but as we have all seen, he has been running good. He has 3
top 10s in the last 5 races, and I think could win a race any week now. If he
does, he’s going to improve his rank in the standings. There are, however, too
many guys ahead of him that are primed for a win…so much so, that the two
wildcard takers will probably both be somewhere between 11th – 15th.
If he can make it into the top 15, he will probably be bigger threat.
The Wildcard spots were a great
addition that NASCAR added to the Chase. Because of it, we get to enjoy an
intense battle as the chase approaches. You could say it’s like an appetizer
right before the main course. I’m looking forward to it this year and with
that… Let the battle begin!
