Fasten your seatbelts…it’s going to be a wild, 10-week ride on “The Road to Richmond,” which begins this Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway. That stretch will prove pivotal in deciding the field for the 2011 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, which will be finalized on Saturday, September 10, at Richmond International Raceway’s “One Last Race to Make The Chase.”
While the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format has provided plenty of excitement since its inception in 2004, this year may be the most intense after a few new-for-2011 tweaks. The top 10 in driver point standings will earn a berth in the championship field and two “wild card” drivers will also earn a spot. The “wild card” positions go to the two drivers with the most wins who are ranked 11-20 in the point standings, which means there could be an abundance of drivers battling it out for the win “under the lights” at Richmond International Raceway.
Keep an eye on these drivers for Week 1 on “The Road to Richmond”:
Tony Stewart Owns the second-best driver rating* at Daytona (100.6). His 16.9 average finish there includes three wins, seven top-fives and 12 top-10s. He is hungry for his first win of 2011 and would like to plant his stake firmly into Chase consideration – Stewart is currently 12th in points.
Clint Bowyer Has the best average finish at Daytona among the current top 12 drivers in the 2011 point standings. Although he hasn’t won there, he has two top-fives and six top-10s. Bowyer is another driver looking for his first win of the season. Currently 8th in the point standings, Bowyer is just a handful of points away from being outside the Chase cutoff.
Jeff Gordon Knows his way to Gatorade Victory Lane in Daytona. In 37 career races, he has six Daytona wins, along with 12 top-fives and 18 top-10s. With two wins on the season, Gordon figures to be atop the catbird seat for a “wild card” spot if he doesn’t have a top-10 standing after Richmond, but you never know.
“Outsiders” Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, AJ Allmendinger, Juan Montoya, Paul Menard, Martin Truex Jr., Kasey Kahne and David Ragan make up spots 13-20 in the driver point standings. Of those listed, none have won this season. But, anything can happen at Daytona, and one win would probably vault them into 12th place, depending on how several other drivers finish.
RIR PR
