“The Road to Richmond” begins to shape up this weekend at Daytona

Fasten your seatbelts…it’s going to be a wild ride on “The Road to Richmond,” which begins to take shape this Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway. That stretch will prove pivotal in deciding the field for the 2012 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, which will be finalized on Saturday, September 8, at Richmond International Raceway’s Federated Auto Parts 400, which is “One Last Race to Make The Chase.”

After last year’s intense battle for the two wild card positions, this year’s “Road to Richmond” is sure to be exciting.  Wins are everything when fighting for one of the two wild card positions.  As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits Daytona this weekend, there are currently four drivers in positions 11-20, with one win; and six who desperately need a win for a chance at one of the wild card spots. 

Drivers who need to make a move this week on “The Road to Richmond”:

Kyle Busch          Owns the highest driver rating at Daytona (97.5). Currently 12th in points, Busch has one win, which means right now he has his hands on one of the two wild card spots. But a second win would make him feel a little more comfortable.  And while he may have the best driver rating for Daytona, his average finish is just 17.6.

Carl Edwards      Currently sits 11th in points with no wins, which means if the “One Last Race to Make The Chase” at RIR were to happen this weekend, Carl wouldn’t make this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. He has four top-five finishes and seven top-10 finishes at Daytona, but ranks 12th on the driver rating scale, and has only averaged a 17.3 finish.

Jeff Gordon        Knows his way to Gatorade Victory Lane at Daytona.  He has six Daytona wins, along with 12 top-fives and 19 top-10s.  He’s struggled this season and knows he needs to win to even have a chance at making the 2012 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship.

RIR PR