As the Sprint Cup Series drivers left Atlanta Motor Speedway following Sunday’s AdvoCare 500 and headed to Richmond International Raceway for Saturday’s night’s regular-season finale, several drivers appeared poised to make strong runs in the 10-race, championship-deciding Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Among them were race winner Kyle Busch, who took advantage of a quick pit stop by his crew with 33 laps to go and grabbed a lead he would not relinquish en route to his fourth win of the season. And former Alpharetta resident Joey Logano, who finished second, showed yet again that he’s coming into his own as a driver in NASCAR’s elite division.
Others, despite having their Chase berths secure, had lackluster runs at AMS at a time when they needed to build momentum for a title run.
Points leader Jimmie Johnson has four wins this season, but his 28th-place finish at AMS came on the heels of a 36th-place finish at Bristol and a 40th at Michigan.
Clint Bowyer, second in the standings but winless for the season, tried an experimental Toyota engine in the AdvoCare 500, but it blew while he was leading and left him with a 39th-place finish on the heels of a six-race stretch that has seen him score only one top-five finish, a fifth at Michigan.
Carl Edwards led 68 laps, but faded to 18th after contact with Jeff Gordon. It was his eighth finish outside the top five in the past nine races.
On the other hand, Logano leaves Atlanta riding a wave of momentum.
His No. 22 Ford was the fastest car for most of Sunday’s race, leading seven times for a race-high 78 laps before finishing second.
Since finishing 40th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 14, Logano hasn’t finished worse than eighth and has risen from 18th in the points standings to eighth.
He said that assuming he keeps his Chase spot through Saturday night’s race at Richmond, he considers himself one of the favorites to take the title.
“I feel like with three straight top-fives right now, we have a really good shot at it,” Logano said. “This team is super strong, and it looks like we’re hitting our stride at the right time right here. …
“I do feel like right now we do have a shot at it, but one step at a time right now.”
Busch said that just like his victory Sunday, winning his first Sprint Cup championship will be an uphill climb. But he’s encouraged by his team’s rebound from a bad start to win the AdvoCare 500 and cruise into the Chase just a year after he missed the cut for the championship run.
“What I’m most proud of (from Atlanta) is not necessarily what I did, but just what these (crew) guys were able to do,” he said. “It all comes full circle sometimes, but we were in a whole different situation 365 days ago and not being able to make the Chase, and (Sunday) was a night where we needed to prove to ourselves that we’re championship contenders.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch head to Richmond in the top 10 but not assured of Chase berths, while Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Newman, who finished third and fifth respectively at AMS, and Truex are 13th and 14th respectively in the standings with a win apiece, giving them chances to secure wild-card Chase berths.
Defending Cup champion Brad Keselowski will need a dramatic turn of events at Richmond to even have a chance to try to defend his title. He blew an engine after leading 31 laps, finished 35th and dropped four spots in the standings to 15th, 28 points out of the top 10.
Keselowski said that to say he’s frustrated with his season is an understatement, but he said it’s not because his cars aren’t fast.
“We ran up front, and we continue to show that we at least have the pieces of what it takes every week to be a title threat and to be in the Chase,” he said. “But we just haven’t put together all those pieces every week, and that’s what it takes.”
