2008 RACE TO THE CHASE

After Race #18 of 26:  Daytona #2

Races Left to the Chase:  8

 

                                                Out of     LstRace                Lst 5       Finishes                Top         Top         Bottom

08/LW/07              Pts          13^th         Fin/Pts   Gain        Pts          1—2—3                 5s           10s         10s-MR

1/1/8-Ky Busch    2686       +543       1/190      +48         636/E      6—1—2                 11           12           2

2/3/12-Dale Jr      2504       +361       8/152      +10         710/+1   1—1—1                 7              12           2

3/2/5-J Burton      2484       +341       37/52      -90          576/-1    1—0—1                 4              10           1

4/4/6-C Edwards 2437       +294       2/175      +33         724/E      3—3—0                 7              13           2

5/5/4-J Johnson  2319       +176       23/99      -43          665/+2   1—2—0                 4              8              1

6/6/1-J Gordon     2249       +106       30/78      -64          613/E      0—1—3                 7              8              3

7/7/2-D Hamlin     2240       +97         26/90      -52          610/+2   1—0—3                 5              9              2

8/10/26-Kahne     2177       +34         7/146      +4           653/+4   2—1—0                 3              9              1

9/13/3-Kenseth    2166       +23         3/165      +23         738/+7   0—0—2                 4              11           4

10/11/11-Bowyer2159       +16         9/138      -4            522/-2    1—1—1                 4              9              2

11/8/16-G Biffle    2153       +10         43/34      -108        495/-6    0—1—2                 5              7              3

12/9/7-Stewart    2145       +2           20/103   -39          573/-1    0—1—1                 5              8              4

                                                Out of

                                                12^th

13/12/9-Harvick   2143       -2            12/127   -2            580/-3    0—1—0                 2              5              2

14/17/23-Ragan   2043       -102        5/155      +26         521/-2    0—0—0                 3              5              2

15/16/39-Vickers2033       -112        11/130   +1           700/+3   0—1—0                 3              4              2

16/15/14-Newmn1960       -185        36/55      -74          465/-3    1—0—0                 2              6              4

17/18/15-KuBsh  1954       -191        4/160      +31         659/+3   1—1—0                 3              4              3

18/14/10-Truex    1907       -238        17/-38    -167        466/-3    0—0—0                 2              5              3

19/21/20-Labnte  1829       -316        13/124   -5            504/E      0—0—0                 0              1              3

20/19/NA-Kvapil   1801       -344        31/70      -59          425/-2    0—0—0                 0              3              2

 

 

CHASE SEEDING

 

1   Kyle Busch                      5060      

2   Carl Edwards                 5020       -40

3   Kasey Kahne                  5020       -40

4  Jimmie Johnson            5010       -50

5   Dale Jr                             5010       -50

6  Clint Bowyer                    5010       -50

7   Denny Hamlin                 5010       -50

8   Jeff Burton                      5010       -50

9   Jeff Gordon                     5000       -60

10 Greg Biffle                       5000       -60

11 Tony Stewart                 5000       -60

12 Matt Kenseth                 5000       -60

 

 

NOTES

 

·          BIFFLE DROPS TO THE “DANGER ZONE:”  Greg Biffle’s last place finish at DIS dropped him three more spots, now in 11^th only 10 points ahead of Kevin Harvick in 13^th.  Biffle has dropped six spots over the last five races, managing only 495 points in that period. What once looked like a waltz into his second Chase now looks like a struggle. Biff doesn’t have a top 10 in his last four starts at Chicago.

·          GIVE A CALL TO MATT:  Biffle’s teammate, Matt Kenseth, dodged all the carnage at DIS to finish 3^rd and climb all the way from 13^th to 9^th.  The #17 will be hard to dislodge from the T12 down the stretch, starting at Chicago where he finished 2^nd last year.

·          THIS “RACE TO THE CHASE” ONE OF THE CLOSEST SO FAR:  If you measure it by number of drivers within a one-race margin of either dropping out or getting in The Chase, 2008 ranks second only to 2005.  With Truex’s penalty knocking him out, there are still 10 drivers inside that margin, including a record seven inside The Chase at the present time, but within one race of dropping out.

·          CHICAGO A CHALLENGE FOR KAHNE:  The last four races at Chicago, Kasey Kahne has finishes of 36^th, 41^st, 23^rd and 32^nd place.

 

 

 

RACE TO THE CHASE COMPARISON CHARTS

                                      Out of                                              Out of                                              Out of

2007                       Pts/13^th                 2006                       Pts/11^th                 2005                       Pts/11th

1-JGORDON       2773/+782               1-J JOHNSON      2651/+479            1-J JOHNSON      2548/+409

2-D HAMLIN          2496/+505            2-M KENSETH      2600/+428            2-G BIFFLE            2440/+301

3-M KENSETH      2390/+399            3-DALE JR            2394/+222            3-T STEWART      2397/+258

4-J JOHNSON      2366/+375            4-J BURTON         2327/+155            4-R WALLACE      2300/+161

5-J BURTON         2345/+354            5-K KAHNE            2303/+131            5-E Sadler             2230/+91

6-C EDWARDS     2308/+317            6-M MARTIN         2291/+119            6-M MARTIN         2202/+63

7-T STEWART      2234/+243            7-T Stewart          2274/+102            7-R NEWMAN       2196/+57

8-KY BUSCH         2190/+199            8-KY BUSCH         2265/+93               8-J McMurray      2190/+51

9-K HARVICK        2172/+181            9-K HARVICK        2253/+81               9-J MAYFIELD      2179/+40

10-M TRUEX         2157/+166            10-J GORDON      2219/+47               10-KU BUSCH      2172/+33

11-C BOWYER     2142/+151            Out of 10^th                                            Out of 10^th

12-Dale Jr             2040/+49               11-G Biffle             2172/-47                11-D Jarrett         2139/-33

                                Out of 12^th            12-D HAMLIN        2169/-50                12-C EDWARDS   2073/-99

13-J McMurray    1991/-49                13-Ku Busch        2087/-132             13-Dale Jr             2057/-115

14-R Newman      1979/-61                14-C Edwards      2026/-193             14-K Harvick        2052/-120

15-KU BUSCH      1919/-121             15-C Mears          1991/-228             15-J Gordon         2046/-126

16-G Biffle             1836/-204             16-C Bowyer        1937/-282             16-M KENSETH    1970/-202

17-JJ Yeley          1804/-236             17-J McMurray    1921/-298             17-J Burton          1964/-208

18-M Martin          1774/-266             18-R Newman      1915/-304             18-J Nemchek     1958/-214

19-C Mears          1761/-279             19-E Sadler          1870/-349             19-M Waltrip        1925/-247

20-B Labonte       1743/-297             20-B Vickers        1857/-362             20-Ky Busch        1886/-286

 

                                Out of

2004                       Pts/11^th

1-J JOHNSON      2720/+612

2-DALE JR            2615/+507

3-J GORDON        2478/+370

4-T STEWART      2393/+285

5-M KENSETH      2321/+213

6-B Labonte         2278+170

7-E SADLER          2252/+144

8-K Harvick          2229/+121

9-KU BUSCH         2211/+103

10-R NEWMAN     2173/+65

                                Out of 10^th

11-J MAYFIELD    2108/-65

12-D Jarrett         2083/-90

13-J McMurray    2068/-105

14-K Kahne          2044/-129

15-M MARTIN       2035/-138

16-C Mears          1998/-175

17-R Wallace       1965/-208

18-M Waltrip        1960/-213

19-S Marlin           1941/-232

20-B Vickers        1913/-260

 

Names in ALL CAPS made the Chase in that year