More and more, the 2012 run up to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is looking a lot like the season past.
* Eight of the current top 10 following last weekend’s Richmond race were 2011 Chase qualifiers. A year ago, nine of the top 10 exiting the season’s ninth race made the Chase.
* The only newcomers, with 17 races remaining until the post-season cut-off, is points leader #16-Greg Biffle and #56-Martin Truex Jr., whose Michael Waltrip Racing organization continues to seek its first Chase qualifier.
* Drivers highest ranked for a Wild Card berth – Richmond winner #18-Kyle Busch (11th) and #2-Brad Keselowski (13th) – qualified for last year’s playoffs.
Busch and Keselowski aren ‘t safe by any stretch of the imagination, but they do have wins. So does 10th-place #39-Ryan Newman, who could qualify via Wild Card if displaced from the top 10.
Busch and #15-Clint Bowyer, who finished a solid seventh in Richmond, trail Newman by 13 and 14 points, respectively. Keselowski, stung by mechanical failures during several recent races, rebounded with a top-10 performance (ninth) in the Capital City 400 and stands 26 points behind Newman.
Every driver ranked 14th through 20th has scored a win at some point of their careers, including four-time champion #24-Jeff Gordon, who easily qualified for last year’s Chase with three victories but stands 17th. Gordon is in better shape than Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne, who nailed his first top-five (fifth) since joining HMS. Kahne, however, is 23rd and lacks top-20 standing to qualify for a Wild Card.(NASCAR)(5-2-2012)
