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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Chase Spots Still Wide Open
Kasey Kahne’s victory in Atlanta vaulted him to sixth in points...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted September 07, 2009   Hampton, GA
Kasey Kahne’s second victory of the season moved up him to sixth in points. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

PEP BOYS 500 RESULTS

What’s the best way to help your chances of making the Chase for the Sprint Cup? Just win, baby. If you don’t believe it, ask Kasey Kahne, who went all the way from 11th to sixth in points on the strength of his victory in Sunday night’s Pep Boys 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

“We're on the border every single year it seems like,” said Kahne, who took his second victory of the season and 11th of his NASCAR Sprint Cup career. “It's tough. But that's the sport. That's what we're in right now. And the competition is fierce. It's close.”

Indeed it is.

As expected, Sunday night’s race jumbled the points standings considerably. Here’s how the points break down heading into Richmond International Raceway and the last race before the Chase field is set:

• The top four drivers — Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin — have clinched Chase spots already.

• Fifth-place Carl Edwards has a 105-point margin over 13th-place Brian Vickers. Edwards will clinch a spot in the Chase if he finishes 24th or better at Richmond, finishes 25th and leads at least one lap or finishes 27th and leads the most laps.

• Sixth-place Kahne is 96 points up on 13th. He gets in by finishing 21st at RIR, or by finishing 23rd and leading a lap or 24th and leading the most laps.

• Seventh-place Kurt Busch is 95 points ahead of 13th place. He needs to finish 20th or better, 22nd and leads at least one lap, or comes home 24th and leads most laps.

• Eighth-place Juan Pablo Montoya has an 88-point Chase margin. He will lock up his first Chase spot by finishing 18th or better at Richmond. He can also get by finishing 20th and leading a lap or 21st and leading the most laps.

• Ninth-place Ryan Newman has an 81-point Chase margin. He needs to finish at least 16th at RIR, 17th and lead a lap or 19th and lead the most laps.

• 10th-place Mark Martin is 69 points ahead of Vickers. If Martin finishes 12th on Saturday, he’s in. He can also make it in by finishing 14th and leading a lap, or 15th with the most laps led.

• 11th-place Greg Biffle is 68 points ahead of 13th. His formula to lock in a Chase spot is to finish 11th or better at Richmond, 13th with a lap led or 15th with the most laps led.

• 12th-place Matt Kenseth has just a 20-point margin over 13th. To lock himself into the Chase, he needs to either win at Richmond or finish second and lead a lap.

• 13th-place Brian Vickers needs to gain 21 points on Kenseth and stay ahead of Kyle Busch to clinch a Chase spot.

• 14th-place Busch is 37 points behind 12th. He needs to gain 17 points on Vickers and 37 points on Kenseth to make the Chase.

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of ?Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,? and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to



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