NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Beyond The Big Three
Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon could challenge if top three Chase drivers falter…
Mike Hembree  |  Posted October 12, 2012   Concord, NC
Kasey Kahne, (Left) and Jeff Gordon, (Right) talk in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)
It’s easy to make the argument that the Chase for the Sprint Cup is now a race involving three drivers.

Brad Keselowski has the lead. Jimmie Johnson is 14 points back in second, and Denny Hamlin is 23 behind in third.

Chances are good – with only six races remaining – that one of those drivers will win the title. The championship would be Johnson’s sixth and the first for Keselowski or Hamlin.

But most of the rest of the Chase pack sits within reasonable striking distance of the Big Three, and, if trouble visits Keselowski, Johnson and Hamlin in one or more races, someone down the points list could rise up and become a challenger.

Is there a most likely candidate?

History – both recent and long-term – suggests that Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon might fit the mold of Most Likely To Challenge.

Gordon has been on a roll in the past three Chase races, finishing third, second and second since a disastrous start at Chicagoland. And his record over the six tracks to come is excellent – five wins at Charlotte, two at Kansas, seven at Martinsville, one at Texas and two at Phoenix. He totals 73 top-five runs at the Chase tracks still to come.

“It’s been a pretty crazy season for us – up and down,” Gordon said. “Not too many things have gone our way, but we’ve found a way to carve our way into the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Of course, it started the way it did in Chicago. But, other than that, we’ve been on quite a roll, quite a streak.

“I’m really proud of this team. It’s got me excited to go to each and every race. We’ve just really improved our cars, and it has me driving with more confidence, giving better information back to them. I give so much credit to the team, and how hard they have worked. From the beginning of the season when we were good, but could have been a little bit better, to also just fighting through so much adversity and frustration at times.”

Gordon is fifth in points, 42 behind Keselowski.

Then there is Kahne, who rides fourth, 36 behind the lead. The biggest plus about his Chase to date is that he has avoided any flavor of bad finish with a worst result of 15th at Dover.

Kahne could reinject himself into championship talk with a big run at Saturday night at Charlotte, where he has four wins and nine top 10s in 17 races.

Kahne won the Coca-Cola 600 in May at CMS.

“The win in May was a total team effort, and it was really big for us to get that victory,” Kahne said. “I think we’ve only gotten stronger since then. I hope we can be back out front and sweep the season here.”

Kahne also has good records at Texas and Phoenix but hasn’t performed well at Martinsville and Homestead. He has the best average finish (9.25) in the first four Chase races among the group of drivers chasing Keselowski, Johnson and Hamlin.

The only driver in that group who has won at least one race at the remaining six tracks is Tony Stewart, who is 46 points behind but could become a factor if he suddenly started a run like his Chase explosion last year, when he won five races.

Stewart has one win at Charlotte, two at Kansas, three at Martinsville, two at Texas, one at Phoenix and three at Homestead.

But the ball is in the court of the Big Three. If they continue to perform well, it’s going to be difficult for others to surge toward the front.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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