Seven drivers are in and five spots remain as series heads to Richmond for regular-season finale
HAMPTON, Ga. -- A year after missing the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Kyle Busch is sailing into this year's 10-race title fight as an emerging championship favorite.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver emphatically clinched a Chase berth Sunday with a victory in the Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Fending off a late charge by runner-up Joey Logano, Busch held on for his 28th career victory in NASCAR's premier series and second at the 1.54-mile oval where he last won five years ago.
It also was the fourth win this season for Busch, tying him with Jimmie Johnson behind series leader Matt Kenseth for the second seed in the Chase (when the standings are reset by three points per victory).
Two of those triumphs have come at 1.5-mile tracks (Texas and Atlanta), and half of the Chase's 10 tracks will be contested at tracks of the same distance.
"A heck of a lot different than 365 days ago, I'll tell you that much," said Busch, who vaulted into the lead for the first time on a pit stop under caution with 36 laps left and stayed in first the rest of the way. "Man, I can't say enough about this team and their work tonight definitely helped me out a lot. I wasn't happy with the race car at all in the beginning of the race, but Dave (Rogers, crew chief) and the guys made some really good calls and got us some great adjustments.
"My boys on pit road, they're amazing. I would do anything for them."
Busch was followed to the finish by four drivers still trying to nail down Chase berths: Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman.
Logano, who is 16 points ahead of 10th and has a victory as a wild-card safeguard, is well positioned to make the Chase with six consecutive top 10s but still left Atlanta disappointed after leading a race-high 78 of 325 laps.
"It's just frustrating," said Logano, whose No. 22 Ford needed several laps after each restart to gain momentum. "But in the grand scheme of things, it's a big points day for us to get into the Chase going to Richmond. This helps us a lot. A win would've helped a lot more."
There was similar disenchantment for Truex, who placed third after breaking his right wrist at Bristol Motor Speedway last week and is five points ahead of Newman for the final wild-card spot heading into next week's regular-season finale at Richmond International Raceway.
"We really needed to win this thing to be honest with you," said Truex, whose cast partially melted "pretty much like goo" during the race and left his wrist unstabilized. "As bad as my wrist was hurting and as bad as the car was for a lot of the race, I was pretty excited there at the end and felt like I was giving it more than maybe I could have. Just came up a little bit short."
The 10th and final guaranteed spot in the points currently belongs to Kurt Busch, who moved up two spots in the standings. The Furniture Row Racing driver figures to be in a mad scramble for the final two Chase spots at Richmond with Jeff Gordon (11th in the standings, six points out of 10th), Truex, Brad Keselowski, Newman and Jamie McMurray.
Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch clinched Chase berths Sunday, joining Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer and Matt Kenseth in the 10-race title run that will begin Sept. 15 at Chicagoland Speedway. Logano, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (seventh in points after an eighth at Atlanta), and Greg Biffle (15th Sunday and ninth in points) have solid bids for the Chase.
Atlanta was rough on several Chase contenders, particularly those who were leading.
Bowyer was poised to leave Atlanta with his first victory of the season and the Sprint Cup points lead, but the engine in his No. 15 Toyota expired while in first on Lap 193. Bowyer, who led 48 laps, still was second in the standings and already had secured a Chase spot.
The prospects were much dimmer for another winless driver trying to shore up his Chase prospects. Keselowski was in first on Lap 244 when his No. 2 Ford also lost power after leading 31 laps. The defending series champion's engine finally gave out with 15 laps remaining, and the 35th dropped Keselowski to 15th in points, 28 points out of 10th. He almost certainly will need a victory at Richmond to earn a shot at defending his title.
"Some things you can't control, and this was one of those days of something we couldn't control," Keselowski said. "The positives are we were running well and doing all the right things, but we just didn't put all the pieces together. I feel like we'll be really strong next week, but obviously we don't dictate our own fate."
Though he maintained the points lead, Jimmie Johnson's recent slump continued. The five-time champion got caught in an early wreck involving Kahne, Mark Martin and Jeff Burton. Johnson spent virtually all of the rest of the race outside the top 10 and brought out a caution when he spun to avoid Burton on Lap 288.
Johnson has finished outside the top 25 in three consecutive races and had only one top 10 in the past five races since a second at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The 10th and final guaranteed spot in the points currently belongs to Kurt Busch, who moved up two spots in the standings. The Furniture Row Racing driver figures to be in a mad scramble for the final two Chase spots at Richmond with Jeff Gordon (11th in the standings, six points out of 10th), Truex, Brad Keselowski, Newman and Jamie McMurray.
Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch clinched Chase berths Sunday, joining Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer and Matt Kenseth in the 10-race title run that will begin Sept. 15 at Chicagoland Speedway. Logano, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (seventh in points after an eighth at Atlanta), and Greg Biffle (15th Sunday and ninth in points) have solid bids for the Chase.
Atlanta was rough on several Chase contenders, particularly those who were leading.
Bowyer was poised to leave Atlanta with his first victory of the season and the Sprint Cup points lead, but the engine in his No. 15 Toyota expired while in first on Lap 193. Bowyer, who led 48 laps, still was second in the standings and already had secured a Chase spot.
The prospects were much dimmer for another winless driver trying to shore up his Chase prospects. Keselowski was in first on Lap 244 when his No. 2 Ford also lost power after leading 31 laps. The defending series champion's engine finally gave out with 15 laps remaining, and the 35th dropped Keselowski to 15th in points, 28 points out of 10th. He almost certainly will need a victory at Richmond to earn a shot at defending his title.
"Some things you can't control, and this was one of those days of something we couldn't control," Keselowski said. "The positives are we were running well and doing all the right things, but we just didn't put all the pieces together. I feel like we'll be really strong next week, but obviously we don't dictate our own fate."
Though he maintained the points lead, Jimmie Johnson's recent slump continued. The five-time champion got caught in an early wreck involving Kahne, Mark Martin and Jeff Burton. Johnson spent virtually all of the rest of the race outside the top 10 and brought out a caution when he spun to avoid Burton on Lap 288.
Johnson has finished outside the top 25 in three consecutive races and had only one top 10 in the past five races since a second at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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