NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
  • Peg It on GarageMonkey
CUP: Bowyer Nears Chase Slot
Clint Bowyer is in good shape to make it into the Chase...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted August 30, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Clint Bowyer (Pictured) leads Jamie McMurray by 100 points for the 12th and final Chase spot. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
With just two races left in NASCAR’s 26-race regular season, Clint Bowyer is in a commanding position, leading Jamie McMurray by 100 points and Mark Martin by 101 in the battle for the 12th and final spot in the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup.

There is still a chance that McMurray or Martin could make it into the Chase if Bowyer or one of the drivers ahead of him falters at Atlanta Motor Speedway next Sunday night or at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday, Sept. 11. But for that to happen would require both a Herculean effort on the part of McMurray or Martin, and bad luck for one of those currently in the top 12 in points.

Here’s how it breaks down:

If McMurray or Martin wins both of the next two races and leads the most laps both times, Bowyer would still make it into the Chase with an average finish of seventh or better in those two races.

Under that same scenario, 11th-place Greg Biffle makes it in with an average finish of 28th or better and 10th-place Kurt Busch qualifies for the Chase with an average finish of 31st or better.

If McMurray or Martin wins and leads the most laps in one race and finishes fifth without leading a lap in the other, Bowyer needs an average finish of 12th to make the Chase, while Biffle gets in with an average of 35th and Busch makes it in by finishing 38th or better in the final two races.

Not impossible, but not likely, either.

So for the next two weekends, Bowyer’s closest pursuers simply have to put the pedal down and go for it.

After finishing third at Bristol last weekend, McMurray said there isn’t much he can change at this point. His Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates team has been pretty much feast or famine this year: McMurray has two victories, three runner-up finishes and seven top-fives in 24 starts so far this season.
Inconsistency has all but doomed Jamie McMurray's Chase chances. (Photo: Getty Images)

Unfortunately for McMurray, he’s also finished 24th or worse nine times, which has decimated his title hopes for 2010.

“I want to make the Chase, but there's nothing you can do,” said McMurray. “ ... Two races left, a lot can happen, and certainly Atlanta is one of those tracks that, man, you can really have a good car there and you can really miss it and be three laps down. So we'll just have to wait and see. It certainly is a better position to be in right now for us because there only is one person we have to pass.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.

Play Fantasy Racing - Cup Edition!
tom_jensen's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Jensen

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2013

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.