Chase bubble: Tight standings heading to Phoenix

Joey Logano spent much of the afternoon in the top 10 but had to overcome a lengthy pit stop (26 seconds) due to an issue with lugnuts. The extended pit stop dropped Logano back to 22nd place, and he later spun out, bringing out a caution on Lap 305. He rebounded to finish 12th and is now tied for the Chase points lead with Denny Hamlin.

Polesitter Matt Kenseth looked strong early on and led 59 laps on the day. However, a mishap on a Lap 254 pit stop in which a lugnut fell off and was then wedged in the hub cost him an 18.3 second stop that dropped the Joe Gibbs Racing driver from fourth to 18th. He worked his way back up to first thanks to some strong pit work and a decision to stay out on a Lap 297 caution. But then some contact on a late restart on Lap 309 left him with some damage and he had to pit, restarting in 25th place with nine laps to go. Kenseth finished in 25th place and is now one point behind Gordon for the final transfer spot.

Here's how the day went for the other Chase drivers at Texas:

Denny Hamlin: The Joe Gibbs Racing driver had a quiet day and gambled on a two-tire stop to take the lead on a pit stop under caution on Lap 224. That didn't work out too well for him as he dropped to 13th by Lap 232. Overall, he stayed out of trouble, which as we saw late was important, and placed 10th.

Ryan Newman: The quiet contender had a tire rub late that forced him to pit on Lap 322. He restarted in 21st place but was able to score a 15th place finish and is in a good spot heading to Phoenix.

Carl Edwards: Edwards struggled all day to find speed and was two laps down in the race several times. Somehow, when the dust settled Edwards finished the race in ninth place and heads to Phoenix one point out of the final transfer spot.

Brad Keselowski: A gutsy pit call to stay out during the sixth caution of the race led to Keselowski taking the lead. He led 22 laps on the afternoon and finished third; his contact with Gordon set off a post-race melee between the two drivers, their crews and others.

Kevin Harvick: Making his 500th career Sprint Cup start, Harvick ran in the top five for much of the day but only led two laps. He was right there at the end, though, trying to find a way to get closer to Johnson for the win but ultimately couldn't get by. He was also involved in the skirmish with Keselowski on pit road.

The four drivers that would advance to Homestead as of now would be: Logano, Hamlin, Newman and Gordon.

The four drivers that would be eliminated would be: Kenseth, Edwards, Keselowski and Harvick.

The final race of the Eliminator Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup will be the Quicken Loans Race For Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway (Nov. 9, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN). For the drivers in a big hole on points, they need to look no further than what Keselowski did in the final race of the Contender Round at Talladega Superspeedway. Keselowski won the GEICO 500 to advance to the next round when a win was the only way he could advance in the Chase.



Following the Phoenix race, four drivers will advance to the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway (Nov. 16, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN). Each advancing driver will see their point total reset to 5,000 and the driver that finishes the highest among the four finalists will win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.

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