CUP: Gordon, Kyle, Johnson Favorites In Chase?

Sprint Cup

CUP: Gordon, Kyle, Johnson Favorites In Chase?

The 10-race run to the championship is scheduled to begin Sunday at Chicagoland, with Jimmie Johnson seeking his sixth title…

Mike Hembree | Posted September 11, 2011 Charlotte, NC

The 12 drivers of the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup pose for a photograph after the regular season finale at Richmond. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

The race for the 2011 Sprint Cup championship might come down to two teammates and a rowdy intruder.

After a bizarre Saturday night race at Richmond, one in which everybody seemed prepared to hit everybody else, even after the race, the 12 drivers who advance to the “playoffs” have only a few days to prepare for Race One at Chicagoland Speedway.

It’s a new angle for the Chase, which in previous seasons has started at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. This year, NHMS has Race Two.

Beyond the different start, the Chase will feature many of the usual suspects. Jimmie Johnson will be chasing a sixth straight title, Kyle Busch will be trying to channel his aggressive nature into a first championship, and Jeff Gordon will try to end a decade-long title drought. But there also is new blood in Brad Keselowski, who turned a stirring summer run into a spot in the Chase.

Here’s a look at how the dozen stack up entering Race One and their odds of winning the championship:

1. Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, 2-1 – Gordon seems more inspired and better prepared for this championship run than any in recent history. To be able to join teammate Jimmie Johnson as “Five Time” would be a major step for Gordon, who recently turned 40.

2. Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, 3-1 – Busch, clearly one of the most talented drivers in the series over the past few years, hasn’t been able to put everything together in the Chase. This could be his year.

3. Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, 3-1 – This hasn’t been the best of years for the driver who has won the past five Sprint Cup championships, but observers know that the 48 contingent rises to the occasion when the Chase curtain is raised. Johnson will start the Chase as the sixth seed. The main thing he’ll be fighting is the law of averages.

4. Carl Edwards, Roush Fenway Racing Ford, 4-1 – Edwards appears to be spinning into championship shape at just the right time of the season. He has a second, third and fourth in previous years; many figured he would have a championship by now.

5. Kevin Harvick, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, 6-1 – Harvick called an end to what had been a frustrating stretch of the season with a solid victory Saturday night in Richmond. The team’s summer problems must be overcome if he is to be a solid challenger.

6. Matt Kenseth, Roush Fenway Racing Ford, 6-1 – Kenseth’s recent numbers have been outstanding. As has been his style, he is sneaky fast. Few would be surprised if he makes a strong run at a second championship.

Hendrick Motorsports drivers Jimmie Johnson (Left), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Center) and Jeff Gordon (Right) all made the Chase. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

7. Brad Keselowski, Penske Racing Dodge, 7-1 – Coming off a spectacular summer that followed a broken leg in a testing accident, Keselowski is the wild card – both literally and figuratively – in this Chase. With a couple of strong runs early, he could make some serious noise.

8. Kurt Busch, Penske Racing Dodge, 8-1 – Busch has had a wobbly sort of season filled with highlights and lowlights. How he reacts to his continuing feud with Jimmie Johnson could define the scope of his run in the Chase.

9. Tony Stewart, Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet, 10-1 – Stewart remains winless this season, a curious status for one of the circuit’s hardest chargers. He’ll need to burnish his cars – and his attitude – to have a real shot at the championship.

10. Ryan Newman, Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet, 10-1 – Newman has raced in the same territory as his boss, Tony Stewart, much of the season. A major step forward will be needed to challenge.

11. Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, 12-1 – Hamlin stumbled and fumbled much of the season and barely slid into the Chase via the wild card. He enters Race One of the championship run on the defensive.

12. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, 14-1 – Junior hasn’t won a race since June 2008. His struggles Saturday night at Richmond were emblematic of his season.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 29 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike Hembree

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