Ranking the Best Rivalries in the 2014 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup

Racing and rivalries go together, especially when it's in NASCAR's marquee event of the season, the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

This year's Chase—and, ergo, this year's Chase rivalries—will likely get more heated with each race, and definitely as each of the three elimination rounds passes by.

Some of this year's Chase rivalries are relatively new, like AJ Allmendinger vs. Aric Almirola.

But there are others that may have been dormant the last few years that could potentially rise again in the heat of the battle.

Let's check out seven rivalries that are likely to play out in the nine remaining Chase races.

7. AJ Allmendinger vs. Aric Almirola

There's really no bad blood between Allmendinger and Almirola.

But they're both going to be fighting tooth and nail to not be eliminated after the third race of the first round, next Sunday at Dover.

There's a good chance both could be eliminated, as each was only in the Chase by virtue of their singular wins. Allmendinger won at Watkins Glen, Almirola at Daytona. But this being NASCAR, as in love and war, everything's fair.

If one of them has the chance to put the other on the wrong side of the Chase ledger while at the same time advancing to the next round, they're not going to hesitate to do so.

And it's not just AJ vs. Aric. Anyone else who's in their way and on the elimination bubble has also been forewarned.

6. Joey Logano vs. Matt Kenseth

When Joe Gibbs Racing let Joey Logano go to make room for Matt Kenseth for the 2013 season, it wasn't personal—it was just business.

Kenseth paid huge dividends in his first season with JGR (and as Logano's replacement), winning a series-high seven races last season.

But there won't be any tag days for Logano, who has found a much more successful home for himself—at least from a performance standpoint—at Penske Racing.

Jeff Owens of The Sporting News also sees this as an impending rivalry. As he wrote last year, "Logano would love to outrun Kenseth and show Gibbs that it made a mistake in giving up on the talented young driver." 

If it comes down to Kenseth vs. Logano in the final race of the third round at Phoenix to see who moves on to the final four season finale at Homestead, this could be the most-watched rivalry of the entire Chase.

5. Ryan Newman vs. Kurt Busch

There's a lot of ego in this rivalry.

Newman is likely still smarting at being cut from Stewart-Haas Racing at the end of last season, first being told that there was no sponsorship for his team.

Then, only a few weeks later, Kurt Busch was suddenly announced as Newman's de facto replacement, and with full sponsorship from team owner Gene Haas.

While Newman wound up in another ride, landing with Richard Childress Racing, you can bet he'd like nothing better than to eliminate Busch from further advancement.

(Not to mention eliminating Kevin Harvick for leaving RCR after last season for SHR as well.)

4. Kyle Busch vs. Kevin Harvick

Bad blood has simmered between these two for years.

That simmer actually turned into a boil in May 2011, when Harvick tried to punch Busch on pit road after they battled during a race at Darlington.

Busch wasn't having any of it and slammed Harvick's car out of the way and into pit road to escape Harvick's wrath.

As an aside, let's not forget how Harvick's then-team owner, Richard Childress, took a swing at Busch in Kansas in June 2011.

If these two guys are scrapping for the same real estate in the rest of this Chase, particularly if they both reach the Championship round in the season finale at Homestead, they might want to exchange their driving gloves for boxing gloves.

3. Kevin Harvick vs. Denny Hamlin

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While Harvick and Hamlin have had their share of conflicts over the years, this one has a bit more to do with Hamlin's crew chief, Darian Grubb.

Grubb helped engineer Tony Stewart's incredible run to the Sprint Cup championship in 2011, winning five of the 10 Chase races, only to be "rewarded" by being fired at the end of that season.

I remember it as if it were yesterday. I was in the media center at Homestead after Stewart won, and the resulting news conference was one of the most surreal moments not only in my career, but also in NASCAR history, when it was announced that Grubb would not be returning as Stewart's crew chief the following season.

While Grubb admirably took the high road and quietly left SHR for Joe Gibbs Racing, surely he'd love to get some revenge if he can direct his driver of today, Hamlin, to knock out SHR's best chance of winning the championship, Harvick.

2. Brad Keselowski vs. Carl Edwards

This rivalry dates back several years, not only to the early Sprint Cup seasons of both drivers, but also in their Nationwide Series battles.

Who can forget when Keselowski and Edwards tangled at Talladega in 2009, or when Edwards slammed into and flipped Keselowski at Atlanta in March 2010?

While the duo has seemingly been on their best behavior the last couple of seasons, race car drivers have memories like elephants.

And if Edwards can personally stop Keselowski from winning a second championship in three seasons, he'll no doubt do it.

Likewise with Bad Brad. If Edwards hopes to pick up where he left off in 2011, when he lost the championship to Tony Stewart by a tie-breaker, and if Keselowski finds he won't be able to make the final round of the Chase, all bets are off.

There's even more to this rivalry: Edwards missed the Chase in 2012 when Keselowski went on to win the championship. The following season, Keselowski failed to make the Chase and Edwards did, although his ultimate 12th-place finish in the standings didn't prove anything.

Could this year be a rubber match between the two Type A personalities?

1. Jeff Gordon vs. Jimmie Johnson

Steve Helber/Associated Press

This could be the battle royale of the Chase.

Gordon is co-owner of Johnson's team with Rick Hendrick. For six times in the last eight seasons, Gordon has smiled for the cameras while Johnson has gone on to win the championship.

But in 2014, Gordon appears to be on two missions.

First, he's bound and determined to make his "Drive For Five" championships finally come through, after not having won a title since 2001.

The second mission is a bit more personal. While Gordon has been the perfect teammate for Johnson, how can he not wonder, "What if that would have been me up there instead of Johnson?" at least a few times during that stretch.

It all boils down essentially to Gordon's Drive For Five vs. Johnson's bid to win a seventh Cup championship, which would tie him with NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt for most Cup championships won by a driver.

If these two make the final race, all bets are off. No longer will they be singing the Hendrick Motorsports mantra of all-for-one and one-for-all.

Instead, it'll be every man for himself. And if it's a teammate whom they cut off or knock into the wall to win the championship, it's just like pickup basketball: no blood, no foul.

Follow me on Twitter @JerryBonkowski