Hellmann’s sponsoring Sprint Cup race at Talladega

Just a few days before Talladega Superspeedway hosts its second NASCAR weekend of the season, the track has announced a title sponsor for Sunday’s Sprint Cup race.

Originally called the Alabama 500, the 188-lap race is now labelled the Hellmann’s 500.

Hellmann’s, a long-time sponsor of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and JR Motorsports, produces Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise.

The Hellmann’s 500 is the second elimination race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup and whittle the Chase field from 12 to eight drivers.

The race can be seen at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Kurt Busch hopes to be the first and last ‘Sprint’ Cup champion

There are only five races left in the ‘Sprint’ era of NASCAR.

The cell phone company departs as the title sponsor of the Cup Series following the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 20. Clinching this particular title would have a little more meaning for Kurt Busch.

Busch, at 25 and in his fourth year in the series, kicked off Sprint’s 12-year relationship with NASCAR in 2004 when he won the inaugural title, then the Nextel Cup. A corporate merger made it the Sprint Cup in 2008.

Kurt Busch in New York City in December 2004 prior to the Nextel Cup Awards.

“That would be fun to be able to bookend the championship run with Sprint sponsorship of our series,” Busch said Tuesday during a test at Homestead-Miami Speedway  “It’s been an amazing run for them, a brand builder for both NASCAR and a cell phone company. When you’re the first champion with a new sponsor it came with some fun responsibilities and good promotions.”

Busch won the 2004 title, the first of the “Chase” era, while driving for Roush Fenway Racing.

“It’s neat to see what (Sprint) benefited from and here we are now, it’s at the end,” Busch said. “2004 was a long time ago. It’s time to upgrade the championship trophy to a 2016 one.”

If Busch can survive in the standings until the finale, he’ll have the chance to score the third Cup title for Stewart-Haas Racing – where he has been since 2014. Heading into the Alabama 500 at Talladega, Busch is sixth on the Chase grid, 17 points up on the bubble.

“Last year we came out of Kansas with a top-(six) finish and had 13 points as our cushion,” Busch said. “This year we have a 17-point cushion after we finished 13th (at Kansas). It’s a numbers game, and we feel comfortable where we sit.”

But the fates of Busch and nine other drivers hinge on their result at Talladega, the 2.66-mile track notorious for wrecks that threaten to eliminate half the field.

“All we have to do at Talladega is finish 16th or better, no matter what anybody else does,” said Busch of his best possible clinch scenario outside a win. “It’s the same as having sixth or better or 36th or better because you never know when you’ll get caught up in the big wreck and end up 36th or worse.”

In his 17 years competing in the Sprint Cup Series, Busch has never won a points paying restrictor-plate race. He’s finished third five times at Talladega but hasn’t earned a top five there since 2007.

His average finish at Talladega through 31 starts? Just on target at 16.3.

“It’s nice to have points in our pockets,” said Busch. “That’s the best feeling.”

NASCAR America:Does Brad Keselowski have what it takes to move on in Chase?

Brad Keselowski remains confident he can win at Talladega, but the NASCAR America crew is skeptical he can pull off the victory. However, finishing in the top five is manageable and should be enough for him to move on.

Keselowski won the May Talladega race and the Coke Zero 400. He’s the only repeat driver at Talladega in the last 11 visits there. Keselowski is currently out of the top eight after suffering his first DNFsince the 2015 Daytona 500 last weekend at Kansas.

Chase Elliott: ‘I don’t know what to do’ after poor Kansas finish, Talladega looming

For about 40 laps in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 the talk of Chase Elliottgetting his first Sprint Cup win once again intensified.

Then it – and possibly his championship hopes – disappeared in the smoke from a fender rub.

Elliott had chased down Kevin Harvick for about 30 laps when he caught the No. 4 and passed him for the lead on Lap 169.

Elliott led four laps and then gave it up as green flag pit stops began. But immediately after his pit stop, smoke began pouring from the left rear of his car as sheet metal rubbed against a tire. Elliott was forced to pit on Lap 175.

The No. 24 never returned to the top 20 and was plagued by multiple brushes with the wall the rest of the afternoon. Elliott finished 31st, three laps down.

As to the cause of initial tire rub, Elliott said: “We really don’t know. I don’t know if we got the left rear getting up on the race track, or something and it got into the fender and cut it down. I don’t know what to do man, we were trying as hard as we can. We had such a good car today again.”

Combined with his DNF last week at Charlotte, Elliott is last on the Chase grid among the 12 remaining drivers and 25 points out of eighth, the final transfer spot.

“I don’t know what to do,” Elliott said. “Just keep after it and try to move on.”

Moving on means going to Talladega Superspeedway, site of the last race of the second round.

“I just will go there, and race our hearts out and try to win, I guess,” said Elliott, who won the pole at Talladega in the spring and led 27 laps before finishing fifth. “That’s about all we can do, I guess. We have something to be proud of in the way we have been running. There are just some things we can’t control. I don’t know how to fix that stuff.”

Staff picks for the Sprint Cup’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas

NBC Sports’ NASCAR writers once again put their heads together to predict who will win today’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Here’s our picks and be sure to follow each of our staff members on Twitter.

Dustin Long (@dustinlong)

Matt Kenseth

He wins the race that got away from him last year.

Nate Ryan  (@nateryan)

Kyle Larson

His 2016 turnaround showed its first signs of life here and he always seems a factor on 1.5-mile tracks.

Daniel McFadin (@DanielMcFadin)

Martin Truex Jr.

After a nearly silent run up front at Charlotte, Truex will finally conquer a track that’s slipped from his grasp too many times to count.

Jerry Bonkowski (@jerrybonkowski)

Kyle Busch

My gut tells me Carl Edwards will finally win at Kansas, but my better judgment tells me Kyle Busch. In a sense and by his standards, the younger Busch brother is long overdue to reach victory lane. His last win was in July at the Brickyard 400, meaning he’s winless in  the last 10 races.

Kelly Crandall @kellycrandall

Matt Kenseth

I’d bet he hasn’t forgotten about last year and with starting on the pole, it wouldn’t surprise me if Kenseth doesn’t give anyone the chance to get close to him late on Sunday.

Consistency is a clearer path forward for some contenders after Charlotte chaos

CHARLOTTE – As the task of reaching the next round of the NASCAR playoffs got much rockier for five drivers Sunday, it got much easier for the seven drivers ranked ahead.

How much easier?

“If we could run top 10 the next two races, I’d say it’s an easy transfer,” Brad Keselowski told a small group of reporters Tuesday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

The Team Penske driver is ranked fourth in the standings, 25 points ahead of the ninth-place cutoff after the Round of 12 opener at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Denny Hamlin, who finished 30^th with an engine failure, is ranked in the eighth-place transfer spot, 19 points behindMartin Truex Jr. But Hamlin is only three points ahead of Austin Dillon and Chase Elliott, six in front of Joey Logano and eight ahead of Kevin Harvick.

Keselowski believes the four drivers eliminated after the next two races at Kansas Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway will come from those five because the top seven (aside fromJimmie Johnson, who is locked in with a win) can play it safe.

“I think it drastically changes the dynamic,” Keselowski said. “There’s really two ways to (advance), through consistency and winning. You look at the simple math, there are four cars that are going to be eliminated, and five cars in really rough shape that aren’t going to have the opportunity to be consistent and make their way in, so they’re pigeon-holed into the other half of the equation.

“Being one of the cars that’s in between and had a pretty good point gap, that all but guarantees that you can use consistency to get through this round. That certainly changes mindsets. A car with any gap is going to lay up at Kansas and try really hard not to put yourself in that situation. Certainly there are some situations you can’t avoid. The reality, is if you have a pretty good gap, you’re probably going to take a log off the fire.”

In the third year of the restructured Chase for the Sprint Cup featuring eliminations and points resets, Keselowski said drivers are becoming more cognizant of the risk-reward ratio. The 2012 champion still shakes his head at his run-in with Jeff Gordon while battling to take a lead at Texas Motor Speedway. Keselowski needed a win while Gordon could have been safe with a top five.

They collided, and Gordon suffered a cut tire that effectively eliminated him the following race at Phoenix.

“I knew he didn’t have to win,” Keselowski said. “All he had to do was run like fourth. Probably 10^th. When I made the move, I was shocked that he didn’t know the situation. How do you not know the situation? I’m behind you with newer tires, you’re not getting a good restart. All you need to do is run fifth. Know the situation.”

Crew chiefs and drivers seem much more attuned this season to the importance of points, which frequently were emphasized during the first round.

“The first year certainly demonstrated that there was less recognition to the situational awareness that defines those moments,” Keselowski said. “When you get into years two and three, and everybody learns the format, everybody is like, ‘Oh, I understand. This is what I need to do.’”

That decreases the likelihood of repeating last year’s finish at Kansas, where Joey Logano, who already was guaranteed to advance, spun Matt Kenseth, who was in desperate need of a win, from the lead in the closing laps.

After being eliminated, Kenseth intentionally wrecked Logano out of the lead at Martinsville Speedway to open the next round.

Keselowski expects more secure title contenders will yield more easily to those who are desperate.

“That’s definitely happening, yes,” he said. “And will continue to happen with this format. Without a doubt. Everyone saw what happened with Joey, and they’re not going to do that to themselves.

“It’s like basketball. You want to make sure you don’t have a bunch of fouls and aren’t worn out when the fourth quarter comes, because it seems like those are always five-point games in the fourth quarter, so don’t be in the spot to foul out. Make sure you’ve got your legs beneath you.”

Sprint Cup Chase grid: Harvick, Logano headline bottom fou

Sunday was not a good day to be a driver in the Chase for the Sprint Cup after five of the 12 remaining finished 30th or worse at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Chase Elliott and Austin Dillon are tied at three points behind Denny Hamlin in eighth, the cutoff spot for the third round. Following them are Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick.
But it was business as usual for Jimmie Johnson at Charlotte, who won his track record eight race. He advances to the third round for the first time since the elimination format was introduced.
Immediately behind Johnson is Matt Kenseth (+31) and Kyle Busch (+27).
Click here to see the full Sprint Cup Chase Grid.

Sprint Cup Chase grid: Truex, Harvick lead 12 drivers into second round

The Sprint Cup Chase grid has four fewer drivers now after the completion of the first round.
No longer eligible for the championship are Kyle Larson, Tony Stewart, Chris Buescher and Jamie McMurray.
Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick advanced to the second round off wins while the rest of the 12-driver field was based off points.
Round two will be made up of Truex, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Brad  Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson and Austin Dillon.
The second round will take place at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.
Click here for the full Chase grid following the first round.

Entry list for Sprint Cup’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte

There are 40 cars on the entry list for the Sprint Cup Series’ Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

After Jeff Gordon ran the No. 88 at Dover, Alex Bowman returns to continue as a substitute for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Martin Truex Jr. won the last visit to Charlotte when he led 392 laps and won the Coca-Cola 600. Joey Logano won the fall race last year to start a sweep of the second round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Click here for the Bank of America 500 entry list.

Austin Dillon: ‘A lot of guys in this don’t think we should be here, and I’m proud’

DOVER, Del. – Exchanging hugs with team members, Austin Dillon pumped a fist skyward and shouted what could be the mantra for his No. 3 Chevrolet.
“That’s all we want – another shot!” Dillon exclaimed. “Next round, baby!”
The Richard Childress Racing driver was the surprise qualifier for the Round of 12 in Sunday’s Citizen Solider 400 cutoff race, but the biggest surprise might have been how Dillon advanced in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
He finished eighth – his first top 10 in seven starts at the 1-mile oval where his previous best was 20th – and emphatically proved his championship bid was deserving of continuing after a 400-mile race in which several title rivals faltered.
The former Xfinity and Craftsman Truck series champion, who hadn’t finished higher than 20^th in the points during his first two seasons in Sprint Cup, said it simply ranked as the biggest moment of his career.
“It’s amazing,” said Dillon , who had entered the race five points out of the final transfer spot. “It’s huge for RCR. I want to keep upsetting these guys, man.
“There’s a lot of guys in this that don’t think that we should be here, and I’m proud to be that car that’s here.”
Dillon wrapped up the final transfer spot by comfortably finishing 11 points ahead of Tony Stewart, whose final shot at a championship ended with a nondescript 13^th.
Dillon’s two biggest threats for advancement seemed to be Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray, but the Chip Ganassi Racing Chevys both were out of contention before the midpoint. Larson, who had a five-point cushion on McMurray and Dillon entering the race, had a loss of power and hit the wall in a 25th-place finish. McMurray finished last with an engine failure.
Even if they’d been at full strength, though, Dillon still would have been a threat with a car that he said was good enough to finish in the top five. After a mediocre practices Friday and Saturday, his car “came to life in the race” – particularly after the second pit stop.
“That’s when we really made it all up,” he said. “We made the Chase through that run.”
It was a major turnaround from last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where Dillon crashed his primary car, stated in a backup and flirted with a disastrous finish until rallying for 16^th and setting up his impressive performance at Dover.
“We just stayed focused, and once again, God just blessed us because I’m still awestruck,” he said. “Things like this just don’t happen. I’m proud to be going on to the final 12 and having race cars that are capable of keep on moving on.”
It’ll get much tougher from here. Dillon will be an overwhelming underdog battling for one of eight spots in the next round against Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson.
It’s a formidable list.
But for Dillon, it’s another shot — and it’ll begin at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which Dillon says his is best track on the circuit.
“I’ve got three really solid tracks coming up,” he said of Charlotte, Kansas Speedway and Talladega Superpseedway (where he finished third in May). “I’m going to drive the wheels off it and have fun while we’re here.”

Jimmie Johnson the leader at the halfway point in Dover

Jimmie Johnson is the leader at the halfway point of the Citizen Soldier 400 at Dover International Speedway.
Johnson started eighth and has led 11 of 200 laps. He took the lead on a restart on Lap 190, passing Martin Truex Jr. Truex started second and has led 81 laps. He took the lead for the first time on Lap 6, passing pole-sitter Brad Keselowski.
Kyle Busch is the only other driver to lead during the first half of the event. Busch has led twice for 102 laps.
Chase drivers were eight of the top 10 at halfway with Johnson leading Truex, Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, Busch, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, and Jeff Gordon.
There have been four cautions in the first 200 laps. Chase driver Kevin Harvick, who already is locked into the Round of 12 after winning last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, brought out the first caution on Lap 33 when he suffered a broken track bar mount. Following repairs in the garage, Harvick returned to the race on Lap 77 and was running 39th, 44 laps down at halfway.
Under the same caution, Chase driver Kyle Larson lost power in his No. 42 Chevrolet and had to be pushed to pit road. Larson lost a lap while the team worked on the car and then was called for a pass-through penalty for having too many crew members over the wall.
The second caution was for Ryan Blaney, who blew a tire coming off Turn 2 on Lap 104. Larson then brought out the third caution when he blew a tire on Lap 182. The fourth caution was for Larson’s teammate, Jamie McMurray, who blew an engine on Lap 193.

Martin Truex Jr. dominates at Dover for his fourth win of the season

Martin Truex Jr. further established himself as championship favorite by dominating the Citizen Soldier 400 at Dover International Speedway.
Already locked into the Round of 12 following a victory in the Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway, Truex picked up his second win of in the first round after leading 187 of 400 laps Sunday afternoon. The victory is the second at Dover for Truex, a New Jersey native, who earned his first career win at his home track in June of 2007.
It is also his seventh career win and fourth of the season. Truex finished first, seventh, and first in the Chase’s first three races while leading a total of 360 laps.
“We’re not messing around, I guess,” Truex told NBC Sports of his first round performance. “I don’t know. What else can you say? We are here to get it done and golly, the best bunch of guys you could ever ask for and just amazing to drive their racecars and do what we’re able to do. I’m just ecstatic.”
MORE: Results and statistics from the Citizen Soldier 400 at Dover
MORE: Martin Truex Jr. takes point lead after Dover win
Truex took control of the race after Jimmie Johnson, who led 90 laps, was penalized for having too many crew members over the wall during a round of green flag pit stops on Lap 280. Johnson had been leading at the time but would finish seventh, the first car one lap down.
The No. 78 of Truex then took the lead for the final time on Lap 374 after the race’s final round of pit stops. His margin of victory was seven seconds over Toyota teammate, Kyle Busch.
The top five were Truex, Busch, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, and Matt Kenseth. The first four drivers eliminated from the Chase were Tony Stewart, Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, and Chris Buescher.
HOW TRUEX WON: Truex cycled to the race lead by seven seconds with 26 laps to go following the final round of pit stops.
WHO ELSE HAD A GOOD RACE: Chase Elliott earned his second top-five finish in the Chase with a third-place run … Team Penske put both cars in the top-10 with pole-sitter Brad Keselowski finishing fourth and Joey Logano finishing sixth … Jimmie Johnson recovered from a pit road penalty to finish seventh … Jeff Gordon earned his first top-10 finish in the No. 88 car with a 10th-place effort.
WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Kyle Larson finished 25th, six laps down after losing power in his Chevrolet, being issued a pit road penalty, and hitting the wall … Kevin Harvick broke a track bar mount and finished 37th … Ryan Blaney blew a tire and finished 38th … Jamie McMurray blew an engine and finished last, 40th.
NOTABLE: With his fourth win at Dover, Truex is now tied with Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch for the most in the series. Dover is also the first track where Truex has scored multiple race wins. Truex has also now led more laps in the last six races (588) than each of his prior seasons entering 2016.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It feels good. Now it’s time to knock some more of these guys out because we’ve got this opportunity and I’m going to say we’re going to be the underdog in this next round, so let’s go do it.” — Austin Dillon on advancing to the Round of 12 in the Chase.
WHAT’S NEXT: The Round of 12 begins at Charlotte Motor Speedway with the Bank of America 500 on Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.

NASCAR America: Which bubble driver will advance to Round of 12 after Dover?

Who has the best chance to advance to the next round of the Chase between Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart, and Chris Buescher?

Chase grid: Larson, Harvick among first four out with Stewart on edge of cutoff

One race is down in the Chase for the Sprint Cup with two races left in the first round.

Martin Truex Jr. locked himself into the second round with his win at Chicagoland Speedway.

Here is a look at the Chase grid ahead of expected points penalties for Truex and Jimmie Johnson failing post-race laser inspection on Sunday.

The first four drivers currently out of the top 12 would be Austin Dillon, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher.

Tony Stewart is in the 12th position, one point above the cutoff. Johnson is currently 10th on the grid, but a possible 10-point penalty would drop him to a three-way tie with Harvick and Dillon.

Here’s the full Chase grid.

Furniture Row Racing accepts NASCAR’s post-race inspection findings

Furniture Row Racing issued a statement Monday regarding the No. 78 of Martin Truex Jr. failing inspection following Sunday’s race at Chicagoland Speedway.

Following his win, NASCAR’s laser inspection found the left rear of Truex’ car was not within tolerated measurements. Furniture Row Racing president Joe Garone stated that the team accepted NASCAR’s ruling.

“The right rear of our car was well within the tolerance margin, which showed that we were trying to be conservative. However, the left rear wheel alignment was off by approximately 10-thousandths of an inch, which in high probability was due to damage in that area as a result of being hit by the No. 4 car. We believe the laser inspection numbers were correct and accept NASCAR’s decision that was made following Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.”

Both Truex and Jimmie Johnson failed laser inspection twice after the race. Any penalties are expected to be announced later this week. NASCAR stated Sunday that any penalty would not prevent Truex from advancing to the second round via the win.

Entry list for Sprint Cup’s New England 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

There are 40 cars entered into Sprint Cup Series’ New England 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The race is the second stop of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Matt Kenseth is the defending winner of the race.

Who’s Hot and Cold at the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup

Once the Chase for the Sprint Cup starts, only two tracks remain on the schedule that teams haven’t competed at yet – Chicagoland Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Homestead closes out the postseason while Chicagoland has kicked off the Chase since 2011.

At Chicagoland, one of five 1.5-mile tracks in the Chase, qualifying has had little bearing on who finishes the day in victory lane.

Fifteen race have been held at Chicagoland since 2001. Only once has a winner started in the top five (Kyle Busch, 2008). That year, qualifying was canceled. Just five Chicagoland winners have come from the top 10 and there’s only been one (Matt Kenseth, 10th in 2013) in the last five races.

In 2015, Denny Hamlin won from 29th. Brad Keselowski‘s two wins, in 2014 and 2012, came from 25th and 13th. Qualifying has been canceled the last two years.

Of the 16 drivers in the Chase, six have won at Chicagoland and two have won twice (Kevin Harvick and Keselowski). Tony Stewart is the all-time leader with three wins.

Here’s a look at who is hot and cold going into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400.

Who’s Hot

Denny Hamlin: Won at Richmond, third win of season (second in the last five races). Eighth straight top-10 finishes, the longest streak of his career. Won this race last year after leading just nine laps. Only two top fives in 10 Chicago starts.

Kevin Harvick: Finished fifth at Richmond, fourth consecutive top-five finish (matches longest streak of top-five finishes by a driver this season). Finished top 10 in 12 of the last 14 races. Has  21 top-10 finishes in 2016, most by three. Only three finishes in 2016 worst than 15th. Two-time Chicago winner (2001-2002). Top fives in two of the last three races at Chicago.

Brad Keselowski: Finished fourth at Richmond, finished in the top 10 in 13 of the last 17 races, including three wins. Top 10s in the last five races at Chicago, including two wins (2012 and 2014). Finished top 10 in 18 of the last 19 races on 1.5-mile tracks, including wins in two of the last five.

Kyle Larson: Finished second at Richmond, top-three three finishes in the last three races (longest streak of career), including a win at Michigan. Finished top six in five of the last seven races. Two starts at Chicago, finished third and seventh.

Who’s Cold

Matt Kenseth: Finished 38th, DNF accident while running in top five at Richmond last week. Has only five top-10 finishes in last 12 races. Two wins this season, Dover and New Hampshire (two of the three races in round one). Top-10 finishes including a win in three races at Chicago with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Carl Edwards: Finished in top 10 in only seven of the last 17 races after having eight top 10s and two wins in the first nine races of 2016. Five poles this season, most of 2016 and his most ever in a season. Last top-five finish was second at Kentucky in the lower downforce package for 2017. Best finish at Chicago in 11 starts is second, twice, including last year.

Tony Stewart: Finished 21st or worse in the last four races. Five top-five finishes this season, only had three total in the previous two seasons combined. Three-time Chicago winner with top-10 finishes in 10 of his 14 starts. Finished 18th and 25th in the last two Chicago races.

Kurt Busch: Finished eighth at Richmond, only third top-10 finish in the last 10 races; finished top 10 in 14 of the first 16 races of 2016. Top-10 finishes in the last three races at Chicago, including his best finish of third last year.

Other notes of interesting entering Sunday’s races

The driver leading the most laps won only one of the last six races at Chicagoland (Matt Kenseth in 2013).
Chicagoland is one of three active tracks that Roush Fenway Racing has not won at (Indianapolis and Kentucky are the other two).
Four drivers have won the six races on 1.5-mile tracks in 2016: Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski have two wins
each; Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr have one win each.
Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick are the only drivers that have finished in the top 10 in all six races at 1.5-mile tracks in 2016.
Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher are only Chase drivers without a top-10 finish at a 1.5-mile track this season.

New digital video series will reenact drama of Chase with Hollywood homage

NASCAR released the first clip Tuesday in a five-part digital video series designed to promote the Chase for the Sprint Cup in real time with an action-film motif.

In the debut of the “Ready. Set. Chase!” digital video push, defending series champion Kyle Busch is chased by his peers in a scene inspired by Hollywood franchises James Bond and Jason Bourne (the clip can be viewed above). The video (featured above) is directed by Jonathan Taylor of Feel Flims, a veteran of several action films (Mission: Impossible 5, Iron Man 2, Point Break).

The clips, which can be viewed on http://www.nascar.com/TheChase, will be released within days of each cutoff race across the four rounds of the playoffs and reflect what happened on track. Drivers will be featured in firesuits and helmets, re-enacting the storylines through foot chases.

“All season long NASCAR fans have been treated to some incredible racing on the track, but even still there’s nothing quite like The Chase,” NASCAR senior vice president and chief marketing officer Jill Gregory said in a release. “’Ready. Set. Chase!’ plays off the passion, drama and tension that underscores these next 10 weeks, while creating multiple ways for fans to engage and be part of the fun.”

NASCAR’s marketing campaign for the Chase also will include sweepstakes giveaways involving manufacturers Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota as part of a Chase Grid Game on NASCAR.com. Fans also will be engaged through several social media platforms, including custom emojis for using #TheChase and a Snapchat live story for the Oct. 8 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Will past success at next four tracks help still-winless drivers make Chase?

While the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series enjoys its final in-season off-weekend, it seems everyone from drivers to crew chiefs to team owners and fans are breaking out their calculators.

They’re all trying to figure out who has the best chance of still making the upcoming 10 race Chase for the Sprint Cup – particularly those drivers who have yet to win a race thus far in 2016.

A total of 16 drivers will qualify for the Chase. As it stands now, 11 drivers are already qualified by virtue of winning at least one race already this season, plus they’re above 30th place, which is the cutoff for Chase eligibility.

A 12th winning driver, Chris Buescher, is not yet qualified for the Chase because he remains three points shy of the 30th place cutoff. If Buescher can leave Richmond in the top-30, he will make the Chase.

One of the most interesting stats is that of the four races remaining before the Chase, several drivers that remain winless this season have enjoyed past victories at those same tracks, particularly Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who both have won in the past at three of the next four tracks.

Can lightning strike again for them?

Here’s how it breaks down:

Bristol: Earnhardt, Kahne

Michigan: Greg Biffle,  Earnhardt, Ryan Newman, Kahne

Darlington: Biffle, Regan Smith

Richmond: Earnhardt, Clint Bowyer, Kahne, Newman

For each of those past winners that might triumph again at those tracks, or for other first-time winners in 2016, it would further reduce the number of drivers who make the Chase solely on points.

It remains uncertain whether Earnhardt will be able to make the Chase after having missed the last several races due to a concussion – and remains sidelined.

Given that Earnhardt is ranked 21st in the standings, 51 points behind 16th ranked Trevor Bayne, it would appear the only way he would make the Chase is to win one of the last four – provided he’s cleared to even race at some point during that period.

Right now, drivers who have yet to win a race this year that appear the safest to make the Chase are Newman (50 points ahead of Bayne on the cutoff line), Chase Elliott (+49), Austin Dillon (+47) and Jamie McMurray (+38).

Kyle Larson is also above the cutoff line, but with only an eight-point edge over Bayne, is the driver in the riskiest position.

Larson is still simmering at how AJ Allmendinger wrecked him on the final lap of Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen. It cost Larson what appeared to be a likely top-five finish and left him with a disappointing 29th-place result – which greatly impacted his Chase chances and ranking.

“Pretty dumb move right there,” Larson said of Allmendinger. “I was the smarter one racing for points, lifted, could have wrecked him, but didn’t.”

Instead, it was Larson who was wrecked by Allmendinger.

“He has run me hard, but we always race pretty well, but today was flat out stupid,” Larson said.

The drivers outside the top 16 with the best chance of still sneaking into the Chase on points are Kahne (three points behind Bayne), Ryan Blaney (-8), Allmendinger (-26), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (-37) and Earnhardt (-51).

Chase Grid: Ryan Blaney on bubble with 11 races left before playoffs begin

Joey Logano‘s win last weekend at Michigan International Speedway made him the 10th different winner this season, leaving six playoffs spots based on points. Ryan Blaney fell one spot to 16th — the final transfer spot — after finishing 17th in Sunday’s race. Blaney leads Kasey Kahne by 11 points for 16th.

Tony Stewart, who finished seventh on Sunday, is 45 points out of 30th place with 11 races to go before the playoffs start. He must be in the top 30 in points and win a race to make the Chase.

Here’s a look at the Chase Grid after 15 races: