Chaser Or Racer: NASCAR's Race To The Chase (Michigan)

            The Watkins Glen was the final wildcard in the mix in NASCAR’s Race to the Chase. For the drivers on the Chase bubble, this race represented an opportunity to both gain and lose points to their rivals in front and behind them in the standings. Some made good on that opportunity and may have gone so far as nearly assure themselves of a spot. Others, however, couldn’t finish well in the least and now may be permanently on the outside looking in this season.

10th place Greg Biffle: Heading into The Glen, The Biff looked to have himself in a comfortable position; he was eighth in the standings, had been quite fast at times (only to bitten by mechanical problems) and looked to have gained some consistency. However, The Glen saw him lose much of the ground he had gained, as a 21^st place finished dropped him to tenth and fewer than 100 points clear of 13^th place Clint Bowyer. All the same, I’m not sure this driver and team need to necessarily worry about their Chase status just yet. They’ve been very fast this year (albeit slightly inconsistent) would likely have a win to their credit if not some mechanical troubles. I suspect this team will be okey after Richmond.  Although, another run akin The Glen could spell trouble for the number 16 bunch.

11th place Kevin Harvick: It’s taken me a long time to be convinced that Harvick and his team are worthy of a Chase spot this season. However, a second ten top ten in a row (sixth), and third in the last four races, is beginning to turn me around. He still sits a not-so-comfortable 64 points in front of Bowyer, but seems to be finding the consistency he lost after the first five races this season. We’ve always known this team had the talent to make The Chase, it just appeared for a large part of the season that they couldn’t find any consistency. However, they do seem to have found that, at least for now. However, like Biffle and his team, this one is not in the clear yet and will need to keep these runs going in order to assure them of a Chase spot.

12th place Matt Kenseth: He and the 17 team just keep teetering on the Chase bubble (as they’re in one week and then out the next). This week sees them in the Chase for the time being, after a 12th place finish (and no over enthusiastic fans requesting his autograph during a red flag). This team strikes as somewhat of an enigma at the moment; they were way off the pace early only but then found what they lost charged up through the standings into the top ten. But the, it seems they will periodically go back to their struggles, as they are also now struggling to find consistency. I was pretty confident that this team would be in this year’s Chase, but I’m not as confident as I was. As I wrote last week about Harvick, if this team continues to run well one week then poor the next, they will be on the outside come Richmond. They need to sort their problems and find that oh so important consistency. Otherwise, this driver and team could be in trouble.

13th place Clint Bowyer: The third Richard Childress driver continues to struggle since he and his team won back in May, as they finished a disappointing 23^rd and dropped out of The Chase. At this point, while I do acknowledge the struggles of his closest rivals, this driver and team seem to be struggling the most and have yet to sort themselves out. Such case tells me that this team will not get back in, even though they’re only 22 points out. They just don’t seem to be performing well enough this year. Unless something drastically changes in the next four races, this team won’t get it, no matter what the others in front of them do.

14th place David Ragan: The glass slipper may finally have broken. This driver and team was in position to possibly stun everyone, especially regarding the driver by making The Chase this year. However, a 30^th place finish now sees them nearly 100 points out and only four races to make the gap up. I’m not sure if that’s enough time for them to make up that ground, especially considering their good runs often coincide with good runs from their direct competitors. It was a nice story to follow, but not have a happy ending this year. Next year though, could be a very different story, assuming this driver and team makes one more step forward.