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Year of discovery with new team, son has put Kenseth in prime position entering Chase

RICHMOND, Va. — Matt Kenseth typically isn’t very comfortable in new environments.

In a sport where change is constant, the 2003 champion of NASCAR’s top series has been a testament to steadiness. Before this season Kenseth had made only one major career move over the course of his 16 years at the national level, that when he jumped from Robbie Reiser’s small Nationwide Series operation to Jack Roush’s powerhouse. And even then, Reiser went along as crew chief.

So it was no small matter when Kenseth left Roush Fenway Racing after last season for a ride at Joe Gibbs Racing. The anxiety was natural, especially on the Monday after last year’s finale at Homestead when he first entered a JGR lobby decorated with championship mementos from both NASCAR and the NFL. His new crew chief, Jason Ratcliff, worked in another building, but Kenseth didn’t yet have a key card for the facility. So he walked up to the receptionist, asked to see Ratcliff, and was welcomed to his new home with a question.

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"And you are?"

These days, the often self-effacing Kenseth laughs about it. "She probably doesn’t like me telling that story over and over," he said. "And I’m not real recognizable anyway. That was the start of it."

That was the start of perhaps Kenseth’s best chance at a championship since he won his first title a decade ago, the start of a season that’s seen him match or exceed personal bests in a number of statistical categories, the start of an assimilation into a new organization that’s appeared so seamless, it feels like Kenseth has been with JGR for far longer than one regular season. Drivers thrive on comfort, and Kenseth has found it in a new place in a short period of time, and it’s translated into a level of performance that has the mild-mannered Wisconsin native as the top seed entering the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

"I’ve worked with a lot of different crew chiefs and crew guys and stuff, but never really switched organizations," Kenseth said. "I actually think of myself as a person that’s not very comfortable in new surroundings, talking in front of new people. That’s kind of the way I view myself more so than other ways. I just think it’s the right people, place and organization for me."

Things clicked almost immediately, plain to see on a team that was the class of the field in the Daytona 500 until suffering a blown engine, and then rebounded to win the third race of the season. Kenseth matched well with Ratcliff, who showed him around the JGR shop that first day after everyone figured out who the new driver was, introducing him to new procedures and personnel. Winter tests of the Generation-6 car helped Kenseth bond with his crew, even if a missed shift required an engine change his first time on the track in his No. 20.

There was no one moment when it all fell into place — there was just a feeling that this was the right move to make, one that’s only grown stronger as the season has progressed. Teammate Kyle Busch said Kenseth was able to quickly get the feeling he was looking for in JGR’s cars, which save for one lull in the early summer have been among the most consistent on the circuit.

"It all starts with that," Kenseth said. "You can be as confident as you want, but if you’re running 22nd and you can’t get your car to work and nothing’s going right, that confidence wanes after a while, no matter who you are. You’re like, ‘Oh, man, maybe I can’t do what I thought I could.’ Obviously, the better you run, that instills more confidence in the whole group, myself included. But that starts with fast cars."

No question, Kenseth has one. And so does one more member of the Kenseth family, requiring the NASCAR champion to find his comfort level in another environment that’s familiar yet different all at the same time.

Just be Dad

Kenseth remembers what it was like to be a kid, a young driver just beginning his climb up the career ladder. He remembers what it was like when his father Roy, himself a racer on the short tracks of Wisconsin, tried to offer unsolicited advice. And he keeps all that in mind these days, as his 20-year-old son Ross progresses deeper into a promising career that included a sixth-place finish in his ARCA debut a month ago.

It all requires a balance. Kenseth may have won over two dozen events at NASCAR’s top level, and he may have started on many of the same tracks his son has, and he may have been a hands-on driver who built his own cars and arranged his own setups back in the day. But now, he’s discovered there are times when he should just be Dad.

"I pretty much learned somewhat the hard way that you should just be Dad. And if he wants any help he can come and find and ask you," Kenseth said. "It’s hard to not give advice, because you see things. But I can remember being a kid, too, and my dad trying to help me with my racing, and being like, ‘OK, Dad, whatever.’ Not that Ross gets like that, but I remember that. I used to race with my dad all the time, so he would always be in my ear, and I’d be like, ‘I’m fine. I know what I’m doing.’

"So some of it is, you’ve got to let them learn for themselves. I see things and I just want to get on the radio so bad and say do this, do that. But some things you just have to learn yourself. And Ross is really fast learner. … I would talk to him for hours about racing and help with anything he wants to be helped with, but I have found at times you’re better off to just step back and let him do it. If he wants some help, he’ll call and ask for it. And if he doesn’t, sometime I don’t give him any. So that seems to work better. I seem to be less of an irritant to him that way."

Also an engineering student at Clemson University, the younger Kenseth has shown some flashes of his old man. He won the All-American 400, a prominent late model event, last year at the Nashville fairgrounds. Driving a car owned by Ken Schrader, Ross won the pole for his ARCA debut at Madison, Wis., and finished sixth as Matt looked on. His father believes Ross is ready for the next step should an opportunity arise.

For Matt, watching Ross progress brings a mixture of pride and anxiety. Kenseth admits he’s gotten nervous a few times watching his son compete, like when Ross is leading in the final laps and another car is catching up, or dueling with a driver he might have had an issue with earlier in the race.  And then there’s the shop, and the high standards of a champion driver who can admittedly be a little uptight about the way things are done. Kenseth is, after all, someone who ran his No. 17 team at Roush as if he were the car owner himself.

In the case of Ross, he often is.

"Nobody does things exactly how you want them done, and I’m pretty anal when it comes to a lot of different things," Matt said. "… When I raced short track stuff before I moved up, I basically did my own stuff. Had a little volunteer help, but I would build my own cars and I’d do them how I want. I’d build my own shocks and set my own cars up and do all that stuff. So I’m used to having my hands on everything."

Which is why he sometimes has to make himself take a step back, and let Ross develop on his own. As with so much this year regarding Kenseth, it’s all about finding that comfort zone.

"It is fun. It is a nice diversion to go up there and watch him," he said. "But it’s still racing."

Pieces in place

When Kyle Busch joined Joe Gibbs Racing before the 2008 season, he and new teammate Denny Hamlin spent the following campaign trying to top one another on the race track. New blood brought with it a new level of competitive intensity, and it’s happened again this year since Kenseth has joined the fold.

"I think he’s everything I hoped for in a teammate," said Hamlin, whose season was marred by a broken vertebra that  forced him to miss most of five races, and scuttled his Chase hopes. "Anything I ever ask him, he’s so open-book about, and he studies hard on data and really works with his crew chief well. So far, it’s been all I could ask for."

It’s certainly seemed to spark Busch, who used a strong surge late in the regular season to emerge as a serious championship contender in his own right. Busch joined JGR and immediately flourished, enjoying what still stands as the best season of his career. The driver of the No. 18 car looks at his first-year teammate, and sees a little of the same thing.

"I think Matt’s been a great asset," Busch said. "I think he’s done a tremendous job of being able to get acclimated to the program quite easily and quickly. … Matt has certainly been on his game so far this year. He likes the way the cars feel, and he’s been able to get the feeling that he’s looking for more often than we have so far. But that’s sort of what I did in 2008 — I came into a fresh program and won eight races, and this looks quite similar to that."

Although Hamlin’s season can be judged only as an incomplete due to the back injury, it seems clear that Kenseth has had as large an impact on JGR as the team has had on him. For an organization once loaded with younger drivers, the 41-year-old brought immediate leadership. JGR has historically had its issues in the Chase, where quality-control problems have hampered championship efforts on behalf of Busch in 2008 and Hamlin last year.

The next 10 races will tell if Kenseth’s hands-on nature will have an effect on that. But everything else seems in place.

"I feel like we’re where we need to be," Kenseth said. "Hopefully, our stuff will run good and we’ll have mechanical reliability and not get in accidents, that kind of thing. If we have all that, I feel like we’re competitive enough to race with them just on speed. Pit road, we’re as good as anybody. If we have all that, if I don’t make mistakes, if we don’t break parts and crash … I feel confident that we can go race with anybody."

Although he won the title a decade ago, Kenseth was also a factor in the 2006 race that resulted in Jimmie Johnson’s first championship. That year Kenseth led the Chase with two races remaining, eventually finishing 56 points back in the runner-up position. With the top Chase seed in hand, he’s in position to make his most serious title run since.

"This is the most wins I’ve ever had in a season, especially to this point," he said. "Probably the most laps we’ve ever led in a season, and best qualifying position. The speed has been there. So if it’s just on speed and there are no other issues, I feel like for sure it is our best shot."


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Faces, places and races that made the first nine Chases special

Entering its 10th edition this season, the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup has become as entrenched in NASCAR as tires and fuel. The playoff has created a second season of its own, one so successful in heightening drama and raising the competitive stakes that other sports like golf and drag racing have copied the concept. What once were often coronations have become white-knuckle dogfights down to the last race — and sometimes, to the last lap.

Over that span, the Chase has written a history of its own — creating moments that have become bigger, mistakes that have become magnified, triumphs that can resonate well beyond a single afternoon. The playoff may be a 10-race competition contested among 12 drivers, but individual snapshots stand out like the gleam off the sterling silver trophy each driver is pursuing. These are the 10 most memorable from the Chase’s first 10 years.

10. Thunder on the prairie: Kansas, 2007

Tony Stewart a four-time champion? Jimmie Johnson’s run interrupted before it had really begun? That’s certainly what seemed to be taking shape at Kansas Speedway in October of 2007 — until weather intervened. Everyone knew the rain was coming, and when it came, there would be a lot of it. That much was evident by the green, yellow and red blobs sweeping across the radar, the kind of thunderstorm only the plains could produce.

Stewart gambled on fuel and stayed out, thinking the rest of the race might be washed out. When the storm did come, it halted the race for more than two hours — with Stewart both out front, and with a healthy points lead. But when the rain stopped, NASCAR dried the track and got in as much of the race as daylight allowed. When one of the strangest days in Chase history finally ended with Greg Biffle coasting across the finish line on fumes, Stewart was 35th after being caught in a late accident, and Johnson had reclaimed the points lead by finishing third — another step toward a second straight title.

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9. Out of tolerance: New Hampshire, 2010

Clint Bowyer was all smiles after the 2010 Chase opener at New Hampshire, and with good reason. He had dominated the field, leading 177 laps and taking the checkered flag after his closest pursuer, Stewart, ran out of fuel on the final lap. It had been quite an opening statement for the driver from Kansas, who held up a big lobster in Victory Lane and moved up to second in the Chase standings, 35 points behind leader Denny Hamlin.

Any celebration was short-lived, though. The next week, inspectors at the NASCAR Research and Development Center determined the rear end of Bowyer’s vehicle had been manipulated. The team had been warned about cutting it close the week before, and the penalty was severe — 150 points, which was ultimately upheld on appeal and dropped Bowyer to the bottom of the standings, 185 off the lead. Bowyer would go on to win one more race in that Chase, but his championship hopes had been effectively dashed.

8. Crisis and celebration: Homestead, 2012

All Brad Keselowski needed was to finish 16th, which seemed simple enough for a driver who had been on cruise control for much of the second half of last year’s Chase. But the pressure of winning a first title is a strange thing, and it showed in the finale at Homestead, when Keselowski uncharacteristically found himself mired in the middle of the pack. Even worse — Johnson, bent on winning his sixth title, was coming.

The five-time champ was on the brink of making up a difference that had seemed insurmountable. Suddenly, Keselowski seemed on the wrong side of the fuel-mileage game and in danger of having to make an extra pit stop. Suddenly, Johnson was at the front. Suddenly, the title was in doubt — until Johnson’s team missed a lug nut, and then the No. 48 car suffered a punctured drive line and had to go to the garage. Keselowski, meanwhile, finished 15th to secure his first title, and then kicked off a crazy beer-fueled celebration that was every bit as memorable as the event itself.

7. For want of a heim joint: New Hampshire, 2008

It had been the summer of Kyle Busch. He had won eight times, four of them coming in one torrid six-week stretch that cemented Busch as the favorite for the championship. He entered the Chase as the playoff’s No 1 seed, won the Coors Light Pole for the opener at New Hampshire, and looked every bit as if he was ready to keep the roll going.

And he might have — if not for a rear suspension piece called a heim joint that came unhooked during the race, and made Busch’s No. 18 car impossible to drive. Joe Gibbs Racing would later find that in the rush to get the car through inspection, a nut hadn’t been properly tightened. Busch finished 34th, dropped to eighth in the Chase standings, and lost all the mojo he had built over the summer. The next week, his engine failed. The week after that, he had a fuel-pump problem. That season became emblematic of quality-control issues at JGR, and Busch became a footnote as Johnson wrapped up title No. 3.

6. “He’s not going to sleep for three weeks”: Martinsville, 2011

Simply winning at Martinsville late in the 2011 season would have been enough for Stewart to add spark to that season’s championship race. But no, he went a step further and issued a verbal challenge to the driver who had become his biggest rival in that Chase. “He better be worried. That’s all I’ve got to say,” Stewart said of Carl Edwards in Victory Lane. “He’s not going to sleep for the next three weeks.”

And just like that, it was on. If we thought this championship race had been a testy one before, the intensity level had just been turned all the way up to 11. Stewart kept it going: “We’ve been nice all year to a lot of guys,” he said later. “… We’re cashing tickets over these next three weeks.” Edwards took it all in stride, and Stewart admitted later it was all one big mind game. But it was also riveting, and it continued all the way to Homestead, and a contender’s press conference that featured enough verbal sparring to make Don King proud.

5. The streak: Martinsville-Phoenix, 2007

The 2007 season was shaping up as one of Jeff Gordon’s best. The four-time champion would net six race victories and 21 top-five finishes over the course of that campaign, harkening back to the glory days of his career. The 30 top-10 finishes he netted still stand as a personal best. He won back-to-back races midway through the Chase and owned a 68-point lead in the standings. But there was one thing he couldn’t stop: Jimmie Johnson.

What very well could have been a fifth championship season for Gordon instead became a mesmerizing display of strength for Johnson, who was beginning to appear unstoppable. After Gordon’s wins at Talladega and Charlotte, Johnson reeled off four straight victories that left his Hendrick Motorsports teammate waving a white flag. By the time the streak was over, Johnson held an 86-point lead and was on his way to recording back-to-back titles for the first time since Gordon did it in the late 1990s.

4. Johnson’s run: Charlotte-Phoenix, 2006

That 2007 effort wasn’t the first time Johnson used an unrelenting run to subdue the competition. He had put on an even more impressive display one year earlier, and under much more dire circumstances. By 2006, relationships were becoming strained on a No. 48 team that thought it was overdue to win a title. The pressure was tangible. And then at Talladega in the Chase, disaster — Johnson was headed for victory when he was inadvertently spun by Brian Vickers on the final lap, and he left Alabama eighth in points, 156 back with just six events to go.

What a six events they were. Beginning with a runner-up finish the next week at Charlotte, it was as if a switch had been flipped. Over five races Johnson placed second, first, second, second and second. By the time that stretch ended at Phoenix, he led the standings by 63 points. Looking back, there seems no way it should have happened. But it did, allowing Johnson to claim his first title, and fling open the door to more.

3. Out of gas. Phoenix, 2010

If there was one moment when Johnson’s five-year reign seemed most in jeopardy, it was at Phoenix in the penultimate race of the 2010 campaign. Top Chase seed Denny Hamlin entered with a 33-point lead and all kinds of momentum after winning the previous week at Texas, where crew chief Mike Ford had talked as big as his new black cowboy hat. On the desert mile, the No. 11 team appeared on the verge of essentially clinching the title by virtue of a fuel strategy that threatened to put Hamlin out of the reach of anyone else.

But the plan backfired, forcing Hamlin to make a late stop for gas and relegating him to a 12th-place finish in a race where he could have effectively clinched the crown. Johnson finished fifth and 15 points behind, but left with newfound confidence and momentum that allowed him to secure a fifth the following week at Homestead. Hamlin was so devastated by the collapse that he spent nearly the entire next season in a funk.

2. Lose a tire, win a title: Homestead, 2004

The Chase set a very high bar from the beginning, in producing a championship battle between Gordon, Johnson, and then-26-year-old Kurt Busch that would become the closest ever. The finale at Homestead was mesmerizing, with the drivers leap-frogging one another in the standings on almost every lap. Busch had entered the race with an 18-point lead over Johnson and a 21-point edge over Gordon, but it all was nearly lost on lap 93 when Busch felt his right-front tire losing air pressure.

What happened next is impossible to forget — Busch swerving low to pit, the right-front wheel on his No. 97 car snapping loose, the vehicle bottoming out and throwing sparks. Somehow he held on, and as the wheel rolled away, Busch maneuvered his disabled vehicle onto pit road, barely missing water barriers at the entrance. Had the incident occurred anywhere else on the track, Busch would have almost certainly lost a lap. But he hung on, finished fifth and won the title by eight points over Johnson.

1. Fit to be tied: Homestead, 2011

The smack talk that had begun three weeks earlier at Martinsville reached its climax at Homestead, where Stewart and Edwards staged what may go down as the greatest NASCAR championship battle of all time. After doing all he could to get into his opponents’ head, Stewart backed it up on the race track. In a Chase this close, there was only one way to assure the title — by reaching Victory Lane. Which is exactly what Stewart did.

From beginning to end, it was electric. Stewart weathered an early pit stop miscue, damage to the front end of his race car, and an iffy fuel strategy that was bailed out by a rain delay. By almost force of will, he made it happen, passing 118 cars on the track and becoming the first driver to come from behind in the standings and take the title by winning the final race. Edwards gave it everything and finished second, knotting Stewart in the standings. It wasn’t enough — Stewart’s five wins proved the tiebreaker, his third career championship assured by a victory in the race of his life.

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Matt Kenseth holds the top seed in the Chase standings

Updated standings | Full coverage

Three up

Three down

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STANDINGS *Wild Card

Pos. Driver Pts back +/-
1. Matt Kenseth — +5
2. Jimmie Johnson -3 -1
3. Kyle Busch -3 +2
4. Kevin Harvick -9 -1
5. Carl Edwards -9 -1
6. Joey Logano -12 -1
7. Greg Biffle -12 +2
8. Clint Bowyer -15 -6
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -15 -2
10. Kurt Busch -15 0
11. Kasey Kahne* -15 +1
12. Martin Truex Jr.* -15 +1

 

IN THE GREEN

Matt Kenseth (Change: 6th to 1st)
Starting in the fifth position at Richmond, Matt Kenseth looked to establish himself as the “favorite” in the Chase. He led for five laps, but was overtaken by the No. 78 of Kurt Busch. Kenseth went on to finish sixth, just outside the top five, but will start the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup as the No. 1 seed by virtue of his five victories this season. 

Kyle Busch (Change: 5th to 3rd)
With four wins at Richmond, Kyle Busch knows what it takes to run well at the 0.75-mile oval. Busch had already clinched a spot in the Chase no matter how Richmond panned out. Following Saturday’s race, Busch climbed to third in the Chase standings with 2,012 points, tying with Jimmie Johnson. Johnson owns the tiebreaker over Busch, however. 

Joey Logano (Change: 8th to 6th)
After having issues early, Joey Logano thought his chance at the Chase was ending at Richmond. Dropping to 25th after starting eighth, Logano complained of having tire issues. Hoping to at least make the Wild Card with Kasey Kahne, Logano finished 22nd, and clinched the final top-10 spot in the Chase, kicking Jeff Gordon out of the top 10 by just one point. 

IN THE RED

Jimmie Johnson (Change: 1st to 2nd)
Saturday just wasn’t Jimmie Johnson’s night. Days after the birth of his second child, Johnson lost his top spot in the standings to Matt Kenseth. Having to serve an early penalty for exiting pit road too fast, the series of unfortunate events didn’t stop there for Johnson. Two laps behind and running in 34th place, Johnson had battery issues and went to the garage. Returning 24 laps down, he later suffered a loose right front tire and finished 40th. Despite Johnson’s mishaps, he holds the second Chase position, in front of Kyle Busch. 

Kevin Harvick (Change: 3rd to 4th)
Starting off 17th, Harvick made his way to second place at one point after close racing with Brad Keselowski, but was eventually overtaken by Kurt Busch after a restart. It seemed as if the short track sparked short tempers, as Keselowski and Harvick made contact. Eventually, Harvick finished 11th and will hold the fourth seed in the Chase.  

Carl Edwards (Change: 4th to 5th)
Thanks to Edwards, Richmond got to see some spontaneous gymnastics. Qualifying 26th, Edwards swiftly made his way to the top 10 by Lap 184. Edwards eventually took the lead for 46 laps and came out victorious. Even though Edwards went down one spot in his Chase seeding, he still managed to claim a second win of the season and finish the regular season with the most points.

MISSED CHANCES

Brad Keselowski (Change: 15th to 16th)
Winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series race last night, Brad Keselowski had high hopes entering Saturday’s finale. Holding the lead for 142 laps, Kes had a shot to defend his Cup title. At Lap 342, Keselowski went to pit road for a chassis adjustment in hopes of making his car better on short runs. An unfortunate caution sent him tumbling down the standings, and he ended up finishing 17th.

Ryan Newman (No Change)
The cards didn’t fall where Ryan Newman hoped they would. Starting 24th at Richmond, Newman slowly made his way to hold the lead for four laps before losing it at pit road following a late caution. Newman, who would have qualified for the Chase with a victory, had to settle for third. He tied with Martin Truex Jr. for the final Wild Card position. The tiebreaking difference was Truex Jr.’s second-place finish at Texas. 

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No. 99 team notches second win; Truex Jr. squeaks into postseason; Gordon out

Related: Chase field set | Saturday’s results | Chase explained

RICHMOND, Va. — It was Clint Bowyer who spun with seven laps left in Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway, but the fortunes of four other drivers turned on a dime with that turn of events.

Yes, Carl Edwards won the race, streaking away after a restart with three laps left and beating Kurt Busch to the finish line by .668 seconds. But Edwards’ second victory of the season, his first at Richmond and the 21st of his career played second fiddle to the radical change of fortune that irrevocably altered the seasons of four of his competitors.

After Bowyer caused the fifth caution with his spin, Joey Logano had knocked four-time champion Jeff Gordon out of the top 10 in the standings and out of a berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup by one point.

The caution also played into the hands of Martin Truex Jr., Bowyer’s teammate, who claimed the second of two Wild Card positions in the Chase in a tiebreaker over Ryan Newman.

Before the caution, third-place finisher Newman had grabbed the race lead from Edwards on Lap 391 and was cruising to a win that would have kept him in the Chase and knocked Truex out. At the same time, Gordon was running seventh and Logano 25th, with Gordon provisionally in the top 10 and Logano out.

A victory for Newman, which would have been his second of the year, would have knocked one-time winner Logano out of the Chase completely, but that all changed with Bowyer’s spin. Newman stopped for four tires and came off pit road in fifth place and could only gain two positions in the final three-lap dash.

Under the caution, Logano took a wave-around that left him one lap down, and the three positions he gained on the subsequent restart were enough to keep Gordon out of the Chase for only the second time since NASCAR’s 10-race playoff debuted in 2004.

After the race, Bowyer scoffed at the idea he helped propel Truex into the Chase by spinning on purpose.

"I think we had something going wrong," said Bowyer, who led 72 laps but lost a lap when Jimmie Johnson’s blown tire caused the fourth caution on Lap 343 of 400. "The 88 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) got up underneath me. I had so much wheel, by the time I got to the gas, he was underneath me. I spun out…

"It’s unfortunate. I know it’s a lot of fun for you guys to write a lot of wacky things. Go ahead, if you want to. Get creative. But don’t look too much into it."

Comparatively speaking, Earnhardt (13th Saturday), Busch and Greg Biffle (12th) had little trouble clinching three of the five remaining spots in the Chase. But there was other drama that didn’t involve the Chase at all.

Edwards took four new tires to Paul Menard’s two on the final pit stop on Lap 394. Menard came off pit road as the race leader with Edwards second, but Edwards beat Menard to the stripe for the final decisive restart. Edwards lauded NASCAR for making what he considered the correct judgment call.

"What happened on that last restart is Paul had two tires," Edwards said. "I knew he was going to be at a big disadvantage with grip. He took off. I waited until he went to go. As we were going, his car actually touched my door. I think it surprised him a little bit or something. He turned a little bit. I heard his engine speed up. He spun the tires.

"At that point, I really have a choice to either lift off the throttle and wait for him to try to gather it up — I’ve never seen a guy able to gather it up that quickly when they spin that bad — or go and hope NASCAR understands that he spun his tires. In this case, they did."

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Greg Biffle isn’t surprised by the Chase contenders or Wild Card prospects 

RICHMOND, Va. — It wasn’t personal. It was strictly business.

After crew chief Rodney Childers confirmed two weeks ago he was leaving Michael Waltrip Racing for Stewart-Haas next year, team owner Michael opted to relieve Childers of his duties on the No. 55 Toyota driven by Brian Vickers, rather than allowing him to finish out the season.

"Rodney and I are buddies, and he has been a tremendous asset at Michael Waltrip Racing, but we are going to have meetings and build cars and put processes in place that we think will help us win a championship in 2014," Waltrip told the NASCAR Wire Service on Friday at Richmond International Raceway. 

"When he said he was going to leave MWR… that is just business. It’s our information to protect, and we felt like that was a smart way to protect it. I know he understands. In this world we live in… we’ve had some very pleasant texts over the last couple weeks about where he is and where we are and how that situation was handled. 

"No one did anything mean — it’s just business."

Director of Competition Scott Miller is serving as interim crew chief for Vickers as MWR searches for Childers’ replacement. Waltrip said MWR has made progress toward that end but didn’t have anything specific to report. 

NO SURPRISES

Jeff Gordon on the outside of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup cutoff line entering the final regular-season race at Richmond?

Joey Logano relatively comfortable in eighth place with a victory as a safety net?

Greg Biffle, another driver on the Chase bubble, said the vagaries of the Chase battle haven’t surprised him. 

"Nobody’s made it in that’s a surprise to me, because there are so many good drivers," said Biffle, who is ninth in the Cup standings, 16 points ahead of Jeff Gordon in 11th. Kasey Kahne (who has clinched at least a wild card spot), you can’t say that he’s a surprise. You can’t say that Martin Truex is a surprise.

"I could list them all. None of them are surprises to me. Is it a surprise that those other guys are out? Maybe. But somebody has to be, you know… A lot has to come down to luck, what happened on the race track and how your season went so far."

WHERE’S THAT SWITCH? 

Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 team has suffered through a litany of major and minor problems in the last two months–from blown engines to blown tires to blown pit stops.

In the three races leading up to the regular-season finale at Richmond, Johnson finished 40th, 36th and 28th, hardly characteristic of the five-time champion. Nevertheless, fellow Chase competitor Kyle Busch fully expects Johnson to be a championship contender once the 10-race playoff starts.

"There’s a switch somewhere over at Hendrick Motorsports they’ll flip next week, and they’ll be just fine in Chicago (where the Chase opens)," Busch said. "I guarantee it."

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Once a long shot, the one-car team is now a Chase contender

RELATED: Results | Chase explained

RICHMOND, Va. — Carl Edwards won the race but Kurt Busch and his Furniture Row Racing team may have been the happiest bunch at Richmond International Raceway Saturday night.

Hugs, cheers, back slaps and tears greeted Busch as his crew welcomed the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevy as it pulled onto pit road following Busch’s runner-up finish in the Federated Auto Parts 400 — an effort good enough to put the single-car team into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup for the first time ever.

“How ‘bout them apples? Unbelievable,’’ Busch said after the race. “To make the Chase with these guys is an unbelievable feeling. It’s been an 18‑month work in progress, and I’ve been through a lot, and I’ve learned a lot, and I feel like I’m better ready for the Chase and life in general as a 35-year-old.’’

The second-place effort for Busch — his eighth top-five on the 2013 — earned him enough points to finish the regular season in eighth overall, re-seeded to the 10th and final guaranteed position in the 12-driver, 10-race Chase, which starts next Sunday in Chicago.

Kasey Kahne and Martin Truex Jr. won the Wild Card slots based on their win totals. Short of a victory this year, a good showing Saturday night was the only way Busch would qualify and he did exactly what he needed to do — leading 73 laps to boot.

It was redemption not only for the single-car, Denver-based team — the only Sprint Cup organization not based in the Charlotte area — but also for the temperamental Busch, the 2004 Cup champion who has been with three teams since 2011 and undergone an image makeover that even he calls “well-documented.”

Just last week, Busch announced he will drive a fourth car for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014.

After winning his Cup title in 2004 with Roush Fenway Racing, Busch drove most of last season for the lower-budget single car Phoenix Racing team before joining Furniture Row this year.

Team owner Barney Visser and Busch were convinced the team would defy the odds and all but promised a Chase berth in the preseason, certain that Busch’s experience combined with the team’s technical affiliation with Richard Childress Racing and a whole lot of motivation all around would elevate the team into title contention.

“I have to go back and say at the beginning of the year as the team has grown, you start setting goals — after Kurt coming on board, being able to bring [crew chief] Todd Berrier, some of the guys we’ve had come onboard at the shop, Barney making the comments, ‘I expect to make the Chase,’" FRR General Manager Joe Garone said.

“When you’re out in Colorado, you’ve gone through what we’ve gone through, you realize just how difficult of an accomplishment that is, to have a leader that’s got that kind of vision, we all just fell in right behind him.’’

“Dreams come true today.’’

Even before he turned the first lap of competition this year, Busch spoke with confidence about the team’s potential and his desire to play the underdog role until it no longer accurately fit.

And almost from the beginning, he began exceeding expectations. Back-to-back top-five finishes in March at Bristol, Tenn., and Fontana, Calif., were a sign of good things to come.

The team had only three top-five finishes and eight top-10s in 193 starts before Busch joined the team. Busch has eight top-fives and 13 top-10s this season alone.

“I don’t know if it’s a dream come true as much as I’m kind of in awe of Kurt and Joe and the whole team and what these guys have been able to do,’’ team owner Visser said. “They put in a lot of hard work and a lot of hours and it’s incredible what they were able to do.’’

Of little surprise to those that know Busch, he hardly feels like it’s mission accomplished; rather one giant step in the right direction. Even as he accepted the congratulations and accolades Saturday night, Busch was quick to remind everyone this is only the first phase of the bigger goal.

“It was a dream (to make the Chase] and now it’s a reality,’’ Busch said. “It’s an amazing feeling after such a long journey for my part and it’s great to know I did my part. I’m very proud to have driven the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevy into the Chase this year.’’

“We’ve got some muscle in us. We haven’t won a race yet this year, but we’re in the Chase, and we’ve got a good 10 weeks ahead of us where we can do some good things.

“We have a test session we’ve saved. I think we can make a run through this Chase. We just have to do the same thing we did tonight: Keep plugging away, let everybody else worry about what has to happen and we’ll keep doing what we’re doing out in Colorado because nobody can look over our shoulder.’’

 

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Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch among 10 drivers for five spots

Related: Saturday night’s lineup | Chase explained: Who’s in, on bubble

RICHMOND, Va. – After 25 weeks of thrilling, action-packed and highlight-reel competition, a single race remains to decide which 12 drivers will vie for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup title. And there are long shots, underdogs and even some of the sport’s biggest stars who need to launch a mathematical rally in the standings during Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway (ABC, 7 p.m.).

With their backs against the wall, 10 drivers competing for the final five positions realize their ability to qualify for the 12-driver championship field will depend largely on preparation, partly on luck and undeniably on a whole lot on heart.

The season is on the line. And it is literally all or nothing for some of the best racers in the sport.

And this is why they are the best.

Three series champions will lead the starting field to the green flag Saturday night. Seven of the 10 drivers vying for a spot in the Chase qualified among the top-14.

“Here we are the two guys battling it out for the last spot,’’ outside pole sitter Kurt Busch acknowledged of his front row partner, Coors Light Pole Award winner Jeff Gordon.

“It’s like the bottom of the seventh and I feel like we have a one-run lead and it’s off to the final few innings.’’

It’s the “Game 7” feel that NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France has so often spoken about — the excitement, the suspense, a chance to watch the cream rise to the top. And the high stakes are not lost on these competitors.

“I find it so fascinating,’’ Gordon said following his record-fast qualifying lap. “You come into this race and there are all these guys that are all of on this bubble, or whatever you want to call it to make the Chase.

“And all of a sudden, they all just step up to another level.

“I think that makes for a really interesting conversation of what’s going to happen prior to the race and when the green flag drops of what’s going to happen throughout the whole race.’’

A win for either Gordon or Busch would guarantee them a shot at the 2013 trophy as either a Wild Card or possibly a guaranteed top-10 spot. Reigning Cup champion Brad Keselowski will start third, just behind the veterans and his chances at defending his title are steeper. He must win the race and out-score Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Newman by 13 and eight points, respectively.

It’s a complicated scenario, but a second-row qualifying run and a dramatic victory in Friday night’s Nationwide Series race at Richmond have buoyed Keselowski’s expectations.

“I know that if we keep doing what we are doing, keep doing the right things and working hard and not just hard, but smart as well, that the results will come,’’ Keselowski said. “That is confidence. That is the confidence you get from winning here today (Friday).

“I know we did the right things, and at the end, we were rewarded, and I believe the same will hold true with the Cup team.

“Our team has worked incredibly hard for Richmond. This has not been our strongest track, and I would be the first to admit it. …We unloaded and quite frankly, still weren’t where we needed to be, to be a winner in my opinion. With an hour or two hours of practice … we hit what we needed for me to feel like we can win the race tomorrow. At the end of practice, I felt we were the best car. I am very optimistic for (Saturday night).’’

The situation Gordon finds himself in now is a sort of twisted rerun of the situation he was in at this race last year — when he had to produce a specific result under a certain set of circumstances to qualify for the Chase.

And he did.

In one of the most memorable races of the 2012 season, Gordon stayed focused through a rain-delayed start, an hour-long red flag and then rallied from a lap down and finished runner-up to Clint Bowyer to wrestle away the final Chase position from Kyle Busch by a mere three points.

“What Jeff did last year is impressive because he was laps down early in the race,’’ recalled Jamie McMurray. “I remember passing Jeff. … his car was terrible. So I was shocked to see that he was able to race his way back up. That was super-impressive what he was able to do.’’

Gordon’s teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. agreed and says it would be a big mistake to doubt Gordon’s ability to perform when the stakes are highest.

“He always seems to bring his A-game when it’s needed,’’ said Earnhardt, who only needs to finish 32nd or better to clinch his own Chase berth.

“It’s really vital that he has a good run, but he always seems to find a way to get what he needs. He runs well here. This a good track that I think he has a lot of confidence in.’’

A performance like Gordon turned in here last year will go along way toward that.

“I’m certainly a lot more comfortable,’’ Gordon said with a smile. “Last year, I was really on edge, and the entire weekend was a lot more stressful. I’ve been a lot more calm this weekend.

“I don’t know exactly why other than I think because we went through so much last year that it does help prepare you to deal with whatever is thrown at you and know you’re giving your best.

“There’s no doubt we all recognize what’s on the line here. … And at this point, I’ll take every little boost and bit of confidence and little victory that we can, and today was a good one.’’

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Snapshots of drivers’ histories and clues into who could win the Chase

Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Home Depot/Husky Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing

Chase History: The 2003 Cup champ has finished among the top seven in the championship standings for the past four seasons. He answered his title-winning year in 2003 with a championship runner-up in 2006. He has qualified for the Chase all but one time in its 10-year existence.

Chase Outlook: By virtue of his five victories, the season’s winningest driver zooms up to the lead spot in the championship standings as the Chase begins in Chicago. Although he has the most wins, he and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch also are tied with Kasey Kahne and Martin Truex Jr. for the most DNFs among the Chase drivers as the team has struggled with engine gremlins. Kenseth won at Bristol and finished sixth at Richmond to break a recent cold spell.

FULL CHASE COVERAGE

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Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet

Chase History: Johnson made history winning his fifth consecutive Sprint Cup title in 2010. But "Five Time" — as he is affectionately known — is going through a championship dry spell by his standards, two straight seasons without a seat at NASCAR’s ultimate head table. A runner-up in 2011 (to Tony Stewart) and a third place last year (to Brad Keselowski) have only stoked his competitive fire.

Chase Outlook: Johnson led the points standings for most of the season, at one point holding a points lead of nearly two full races over second place and clinching a spot in the Chase a month ago. While he’s had a run of more human-like showings lately — including four straight finishes of 28th or worse — he is a four-time winner this year and a man on a mission. He starts the Chase ranked second because he won one race fewer than Matt Kenseth, but based on history — recent and otherwise, he’s still regarded as the championship favorite until someone proves otherwise.

Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing

Chase History: NASCAR’s winningest driver in the three national series during the past half-decade has had a surprisingly tough time when it comes to vying for the Cup championship. He missed the Chase last year and finished last among the 12 drivers in 2011. His best championship finish of fifth came in 2007 with only a single win to his credit. He finished 10th in 2008 even with a series-best eight wins.

Chase Outlook: Arguably the hottest driver entering the Chase with two wins in the past five races, Busch is also highly motivated to be a championship player when it counts most. His four wins in the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota put him near the top of the standings at the reset to start the Chase — prime position for what many believe will be his best run yet. 

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing

Chase History: Harvick has qualified for six Chase runs and has had a pair of third-place finishes, including one of the most dramatic in Chase history when he narrowly lost to Johnson and Denny Hamlin in a title run decided in the season finale. Harvick finished eighth last year.

Chase Outlook: With a pair of wins in 2013, Harvick is starting the Chase in good shape. He narrowly missed his third top-10 in four races by finishing 11th at Richmond and nearly added to his win total at Michigan, finishing runner-up. This is Harvick’s final season driving the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing and he’d love to finish out his tenure with a championship.

Carl Edwards, No. 99 Kellogg’s/Cheez-It Ford, Roush Fenway Racing

Chase History: Edwards missed the Chase last year for the first time since 2009 — a year after losing the 2011 Sprint Cup Series championship by virtue of a tiebreaker with Tony Stewart. It was Edwards’ second runner-up finish, equaling his effort in 2008 when he won three Chase races and had eight top-10 finishes in the playoff run. He has wins at four of the 10 Chase tracks.

Chase Outlook: Edwards was among the top five in points all season, spending nine weeks ranked second this spring. He finally passed Johnson for most points in the regular season by winning the race at Richmond, his second victory of the year. Both Edwards and his Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle will have to step it up in the Chase to contend for the title.
 
Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford, Penske Racing

Chase History: This is the 23-year-old’s first Chase appearance and comes in his first season with the Penske Racing organization. In Logano’s previous four seasons, his best run was 16th in 2010 — the only year he didn’t score a win.

Chase Outlook: Logano’s Penske Racing teammate and reigning Cup champ Brad Keselowski said he believes Logano should be considered a championship favorite based on the way he ran in the races leading into the Chase. After being ranked as low as 20th midway through the schedule, Logano raced his way back into contention. Before coming in 22nd at Richmond, Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford didn’t finish lower than eighth place in a span of six races, including a win at Michigan and a runner-up at Atlanta.
 
Greg Biffle, No. 16 3M Ford, Roush Fenway Racing

Chase History: The 2005 championship runner-up has qualified for the Chase five of the past six years with a best showing of third place (in 2008) during that run. He was fifth last year. He has 10 wins at five of the 10 Chase venues.

Chase Outlook: While Biffle does have a win (in June at Michigan) he has the fewest top-fives (three) and fewest top-10s (10) of the Chase qualified drivers. He was ranked as high as third in the championship following the April 13 race at Texas, but three finishes of 30th or worse in a four-week span in May forced The Biff to play catch-up. A consistent if unspectacular resume this summer has kept him among the Chase top-10, and he had three top-10s in the five races before coming in 12th at Richmond.

Clint Bowyer, No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing

Chase History: Bowyer’s championship runner-up finish to Keselowski in 2012 is his best and marked his true coming of age. He has made the Chase five of the past six years with previous impressive finishes of third (2007) and fifth (2008). Five of his eight career Cup wins have come in Chase races.

Chase Outlook: Winless entering the Chase, Bowyer took the biggest fall in points to start the 10-race playoff. His No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota has led races and many laps, but the team will need to hoist some trophies in the next two months if he’s to reign as champ.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports

Chase History: Although NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver has qualified for the past three Chase runs, historically he hasn’t contended for the title the way he or his massive fan base had hoped. Earnhardt’s best championship finish of third came in 2003 before the Chase format was introduced. His best showing in the Chase was fifth, and he did it twice (in 2004 and 2006).

Chase Outlook: Earnhardt led the standings for one week — following the Fontana, Calif., race — but his summer has been hit-or-miss. In the past month, he has two finishes of 30th or worse in the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet sandwiched by a pair of top-10s. He is one of three Chase drivers without a win.
 
Kurt Busch, No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet, Furniture Row Racing

Chase History: The first champion in the Chase format, the 2004 trophy winner has qualified for the Chase three of the past four years, but watched from the sideline last year and finished 11th the previous two seasons.

Chase Outlook: Busch has embraced the "underdog" storyline this year, giving the single-car Furniture Row Racing team its first Chase berth. His 13 top-10s and eight top-fives were every bit in step with the mega-teams, and Busch is convinced he’d have visited Victory Lane a couple of times if not for pit miscues or mechanical oversights that cost him. Having announced he will drive for Stewart Haas Racing in 2014, Busch says he is motivated to finish off his tenure at FRR with a valiant title try and at least a victory in the final 10 races. He has wins at seven of the 10 Chase tracks.

Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports

Chase History: Kahne is coming off the best championship finish of his career (fourth) and posted top-five finishes in five of the 10 races. For a driver with 16 Cup wins and five multi-win seasons, it surprises many to know Kahne had been in only three Chase fields.

Chase Outlook: After a revolving door of teams and engine makes, Kahne has settled in nicely with the powerhouse Hendrick team, and many believe he is poised to show he can be a leader in the driver lineup. Kahne has two wins, and only two drivers have more top-fives (eight). He had three top-three finishes in the last seven races, including a win at Pocono.
 
Ryan Newman, No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing

Chase History: The 2008 Daytona 500 winner has qualified for the Chase two of the past seven seasons with a ninth-place finish in 2009. He finished sixth in the championship three times (2002, 2003 and 2005) while driving for Penske Racing.

Chase Outlook: Reunited with crew chief Matt Borland this season, Newman has rebounded from a rough start  — two DNFs in first three races — to win the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis last month and get into the Chase. He had four top-five finishes in the seven races leading into the Chase and will have all the resources of SHR behind him as the team’s lone championship contender.

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 AARP Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports

Chase History: The four-time Cup champ has missed only one Chase, but is yet to claim a title in the decade-old format. He has one of the most impressive championship resumes in NASCAR history, ranking among the top 10 in the standings all but twice in the last 20 years. Last season, however, he qualified for the Chase thanks only to a runner-up finish in Richmond’s final race to set the field. Then, a 35th-place finish in the first Chase race at Chicago forced him into comeback mode to finish the year.

Chase Outlook: Gordon made his way into the Chase when NASCAR added an unprecedented 13th driver to the field after the Richmond scandal. His five DNFs are tied for the most among the Chase drivers this season, and he is one of four winless drivers in the field.
 
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Dillon and Elliott’s dispute continues into the Fan Appreciation 200 at Iowa

NEWTON, Iowa — Nearly a week later, Ty Dillon is still upset.

Fifty-eight points behind series leader Matt Crafton, but very much in the running for his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title, Dillon appeared to be on his way to earning his second victory of the season last week at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park until being nosed out of the way by rookie Chase Elliott coming around the final turn in the Chevrolet Silverado 250.

Elliott maintained control of his No. 94 Aaron’s Dream Machine Chevrolet through the scuffle to become the youngest winner in series history, while Dillon wrecked out to finish 17th as the last truck on the lead lap.

Rather than pulling closer to Crafton heading into one of his best tracks this weekend at Iowa Speedway, Dillon now sits 63 points behind the ThorSport Racing veteran.

“I’m still very upset about what happened last week and I think he still has a lesson to learn,” said Dillon of Elliott, who has run six races this season. “It was a very unfortunate deal. It just wasn’t a very smart situation on either part. Needless to say we’re very upset, but I’m not going to let it eat me up. No, I don’t plan on talking to him. Not at all.”

While the two haven’t exchanged words since Dillon stuck his head in the window of Elliott’s No. 94 Silverado to give him an earful, it appears the 17-year-old has put in an honest effort to make contact.

“He’s tried to approach me, but I don’t really accept people wrecking me and then trying to apologize,” Dillon said. “When they apologize, they obviously know they did wrong.”

“I attempted to (clear the air with Ty),” said Elliott. “I tried to reach out to him. … I left him a message and told him I’d like to talk about it. I had some things that I wanted to say to him that I didn’t want to leave unsaid and I felt it was the right thing to do. It was his decision whether or not he wanted to answer it and it was his decision whether or not he wanted to call me back and he didn’t do either one of them, so that’s completely his choice. I felt like I did what I needed to do to reach out to him or at least try to.”

Until Dillon hears Elliott out, the two appear to be at an impasse. While Elliott wants to reconcile and move on, he doesn’t appear to regret his decision, saying simply, “I felt like I was in the right to take a chance and go for the win.” Now the question remains as to what will happen between the two trucks Sunday in the Fan Appreciation 200 presented by New Holland (2 p.m. ET, FS1).

Dillon told Elliott after last week’s race that he would retaliate at Iowa, but he can’t afford to risk any damage to his own truck while in the hunt for points — especially if the effort is to wreck a non-championship competitor.

“I’m sure he won’t (try to bump me),” said Dillon. “I think he’s a little worried, so I’m not too worried about him. My main focus is to win the race and if it comes to it, we’ll see what happens.”

Elliott agrees.

“We’ll just have to see what happens,” said Elliott. “Just watching these things in the past, I’m sure we’re going to qualify right next to each other and I’m sure we’re going to run right next to each other all day long, so I’m sure the opportunity is going to present itself. If he wants to try to wreck me, I’m sure that he’ll have a chance to. That’s just the way it works every time, no matter who it is. If he takes a shot at us, we’ll play it by ear.”

The Elliotts are no strangers to run-ins with No. 3 rides owned by Richard Childress, as Chase’s father and 1988 Cup Series champion, Bill Elliott, famously feuded with Dale Earnhardt in 1987. Childress, of course, is Dillon’s grandfather. Naturally, the senior Elliott had some advice for his son.

“(My dad and I) have obviously talked about it a lot this week,” said Elliott. “My dad’s been in a lot of situations over the years that are ironically very, very similar to the one I’m in right now with Ty. Same as my dad over the years, stuff happens and he’s never intentionally tried to wreck somebody and I’m in the same boat as him. I wasn’t trying to wreck Ty, but that’s the bottom line and we’ll just move on.”

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Moments that changed the course of the race in the last race before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup

UPS


STRONG RESTART WINS RACE FOR EDWARDS  

When the dust settled at Richmond International Raceway, Carl Edwards was the winner, Martin Truex Jr. was in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman were out — all by the thinnest of margins.

Edwards streaked away from Kurt Busch to win Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 after a restart with three laps left and beat Busch to the finish line, with Newman running third, Jamie McMurray fourth and Paul Menard fifth.

TRUEX KEEPS GORDON OUT OF TOP 10

A struggling Joey Logano ran 22nd, but that was enough to keep eighth-place finisher Jeff Gordon out of the top 10 in the standings and out of the Chase by one point. Truex, who came home seventh, kept Gordon behind him in the closing laps and claimed the second Wild Card entry into the Chase in a tiebreaker over Newman.

Busch, 12th-place finisher Greg Biffle and 13th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. had comparatively easy times clinching their berths in NASCAR’s 10-race playoff. They left the drama to the other bubble drivers.

LATE CAUTION COSTS NEWMAN WIN, CHASE BERTH

Ryan Newman took the lead from Carl Edwards on Lap 391 of 400 and appeared ready to claim a Wild-Card spot with a victory — which in turn would have kept Jeff Gordon in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and knocked out Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr.

Clint Bowyer, Truex’s teammate, spun off Turn 4 on Lap 393 to cause the fifth caution, one that radically changed the lineup of drivers competing for the series championship. Newman was fifth off pit road under the yellow and unable to drive back to the lead.

The NASCAR Wire Service contributed to this report.