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Kyle Busch is on the verge of qualifying for his fourth straight Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
He’s also on the verge of missing out by the slightest of margins.
Heading into the final two races before the start of this year’s Chase, Busch is in 13th place in the Sprint Cup championship points standings, just 34 points behind 12th-place Matt Kenseth and just 84 points behind seventh-place Ryan Newman, which means he’s still very much involved in the Chase conversation.
But he’s also still very much involved in the conversation about what if, as in what if the driver with the most wins so far this season (four, which ties him with Mark Martin for the lead) doesn’t make the Chase.
Tony Stewart had five wins during the 2006 season and missed the Chase in 2006 when NASCAR’s format for setting the field included only taking the top 10 drivers. At the start of the Chase, though, Stewart only had two wins. He went on to win three races during the final 10 race Chase.
Only one other driver has led the Sprint Cup in wins leading up to the Chase and not qualified for the field since NASCAR began its version of the postseason in 2004. Newman was tied with Jeff Gordon with five wins apiece leading up to the 2007 Chase and missed the field.
Newman, just like Busch, was in 13th place when all was said and done.
The pressure on Busch to make this year’s Chase field is great, and for good reason, too.
First, Busch is a competitor in every sense of the word. It is what makes him a strong, young driver on the series, and it is what makes him one of the more hated drivers among fans as he plays the role of villain with gusto.
Second, making the Chase field at this time is important for the almighty sponsorship dollar, and making the field gives sponsors some prime advertising for at least 10 more weeks, while everyone outside the top 12 is nothing more than product placement.
Most important, though, the fans need to see the strongest drivers in the field. Sure, the Chase is all about rewarding those guys who have consistently gotten it done throughout the year and worked their way into the field. But Busch is one of those guys who’s not afraid to balance the risk with the reward. This season, the risk has just been a little much at times.
With two weeks left, anything can happen, but it’s safe to say Busch will have a vision quest-like focus as he looks to reel in a spot.
ON THE VERGE
Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Gordon have all clinched spots in the Chase field, and three more are in position to do the same this weekend at Atlanta in Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch.
From seventh place down, though, an end is nowhere near in sight for Newman (seventh), Greg Biffle (eighth), Juan Montoya (ninth), Martin (10th), Kasey Kahne (11th) and Kenseth (12th) who are still within the striking distance of Kyle Busch, as well as Brian Vickers, who is just 39 points out of 12th place and just 89 out of seventh.
Clint Bowyer (15th) and David Reutimann (16th) still have an outside shot of making the Chase, but they need to race extremely well and get a decent amount of help along the way.
Everyone else has been eliminated from the Chase field.
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2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Points Standings
Rank…Driver
…
Points
…
Behind
1.
…
Tony Stewart
…
3564
…
0
2.
…
Jimmie Johnson
…
3344
…
220
3.
…
Jeff Gordon
…
3310
…
254
4.
…
Denny Hamlin
…
3141
…
423
5.
…
Carl Edwards
…
3110
…
454
6.
…
Kurt Busch
…
3103
…
461
7.
…
Ryan Newman
…
2995
…
569
8.
…
Greg Biffle
…
2966
…
578
9.
…
Juan Montoya
…
2975
…
589
10.
…
Mark Martin
…
2971
…
593
11.
…
Kasey Kahne
…
2963
…
601
12.
…
Matt Kenseth
…
2945
…
619