If there is a repeat victor in the Sprint Cup series at Richmond, Elliott can clinch a Chase spot with a finish of 39th or better (40th if he leads a lap). Hamlin will enter the Chase for the Sprint Cup in third place behind Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. As usual, it is the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway, which is always full of action.
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The next big race coming up is the Federated Auto Parts 400, and there are a few NASCAR drivers who still have a legitimate shot at the Chase.
Between the four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers and Truex, who drives for the affiliated Furniture Row Racing team, Toyotas won 13 of the 26 regular-season races and led more than half of all laps.
Newman seemed to be alluding to an August 2014 incident where Stewart’s sprint vehicle hit and killed Kevin Ward Jr. during a dirt track race in NY.
“I guess he thought he was in a Sprint Car again; did not know how to control his anger, ” Newman said after the two made contact three times before finally wrecking. David Ragan, Carl Edwards, Brian Scott and AJ Allmendinger also were involved, along with Dylan Lupton, whose No. 83 Toyota ended up on top of the roof of Newman’s No. 31 Chevrolet.
Stewart admitted to wrecking Newman.
The wreckage caused a stoppage of just over 20 minutes and sent Newman’s temperature soaring. When Newman was wrecked by Tony Stewart on Lap 364, that might have opened things up for McMurray, who ran near the front for much of the race. Newman said on television that Stewart was “bipolar” and had “anger issues”. Look it up. YouTube and everything else.
Stewart is retiring at the end of the season and already had his spot in the Chase secure headed into Richmond.
“He’ll get his wish in 10 weeks”.
“You’ve got to stay focused and race like you would normally race”, Dillon said. Busch can cement his spot in first place to begin the Chase if he gets another win tonight, so expect a strong run from him. He’s made the final round of qualifying for every race in 2016 and has started in the top 10 in every race since the third race of the season.
Four others were poised to make the Chase, which starts next Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway.
A race-record 16 cautions slowed the average speed to 85.778 miles per hour, the kind of pace I’m hoping to achieve for the drive back home to Indianapolis on Sunday.
Chris Buescher, No. 34 Ford, 2,003: The rookie is probably the unlikeliest Chase entrant ever, but what a boost for underfunded Front Row Motorsports. Truex’s 193 laps were the most led among the seven drivers who shared time in the lead.
Jimmie Johnson reported debris to NASCAR officials just before midway, then hit the Turn 1 wall after running over something and cutting a tire on Lap 201. The two combined to lead most of the laps in the first half of the race. He was baffled because he thought he was clear of Bayne, but figured Bayne thought otherwise and neither driver would yield.
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Hamlin said his average starting position, 6.1, is the best since Jeff Gordon had a 5.0 average in 1995. “We have to go in with the mentality that we can give ourselves a chance at Homestead, and if not then we should have let the next one in”. Versteeg, 30, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks, split last season with Carolina and Los Angeles, finishing with 15 goals and 23 assists.
