Sprint Cup Chase 2015: NASCAR Standings, Schedule After AAA 400
The final 12 drivers still vying for NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup are set, and Kevin Harvick is among them after notching a must-win victory Sunday at the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway.
The objective was simple for Harvick—a win would keep the season alive, while a loss would end his hopes for a Sprint Cup championship. Staring elimination in the face, Harvick put together a peerless race for his first career win at Dover.
Others weren't so lucky, as four drivers bit the dust Sunday after not doing enough to break the top 12 in points. Let's look at the updated Chase standings, per NASCAR.com, along with a schedule of what's to come.
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| 1 | Kevin Harvick | 1 win | 3,000 | 1st |
| 2 | Matt Kenseth | 1 win | 3,000 | 7th |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | 1 win | 3,000 | 18th |
| 4 | Joey Logano | +25 | 3,000 | 10th |
| 5 | Carl Edwards | +20 | 3,000 | 1th |
| 6 | Martin Truex Jr. | +6 | 3,000 | 11th |
| 7 | Kurt Busch | +2 | 3,000 | 17th |
| 8 | Jeff Gordon | +2 | 3,000 | 12th |
| 9 | Brad Keselowski | +2 | 3,000 | 16th |
| 10 | Kyle Busch | +1 | 3,000 | 2nd |
| 11 | Ryan Newman | +1 | 3,000 | 19th |
| 12 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | +0 | 3,000 | 3rd |
| 13 | Jamie McMurray (Eliminated) | +0 | - | 4th |
| 14 | Jimmie Johnson (Eliminated) | -12 | - | 41st |
| 15 | Paul Menard (Eliminated) | -23 | - | 25th |
| 16 | Clint Bowyer (Eliminated) | -50 | - | 14th |
| Saturday, Oct. 10, 7 p.m. | Bank of America 500 | Charlotte Motor Speedway |
| Sunday, Oct. 18, 2:15 p.m. | Hollywood Casino 400 | Kansas Speedway |
| Sunday, Oct. 25, 2:30 p.m. | CampingWorld.com 500 | Talladega Superspeedway |
| Field Cut to 8 | ||
| Sunday, Nov. 1, 1:15 p.m. | Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 | Martinsville Speedway |
| Sunday, Nov. 8, 2 p.m. | AAA Texas 500 | Texas Motor Speedway |
| Sunday, Nov. 15, 2:30 p.m. | Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 | Phoenix International Speedway |
| Field Cut to 4 | ||
| Sunday, Nov. 22, 3 p.m. | Ford Ecoboost 400 | Homestead-Miami Speedway |
The season started on a high note for Harvick, who finished second at the Daytona 500. Ever since then, it's been anything but smooth sailing as he's fought to remain in the hunt for the Chase.
On Sunday, an entire season of work came down to just one race—a trend NASCAR drivers are getting used to in these playoff formats that are still fresh. And you could tell that the size of the moment wasn't too big for Harvick.
Instead, he seemed to shine in it. Harvick led a whopping 355 of the 400 possible laps, dominating the rest of the field even though many others faced a similar must-win scenario.
Considering he's among the best in the business when he turns it on, others weren't so happy to see Harvick moving on, as Dan Gelston of The Associated Press noted:
Surprisingly enough, Harvick's win started to take on a bit of a footnote feel as the race was concluding. That's because Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jamie McMurray were in a brutal duel in the race's top five.
Both were tied in points and simply needed to beat the other to advance. So when Earnhardt made a clutch move past McMurray for the No. 3 spot and held him off late, it was over.
McMurray was going up against three different drivers who all happened to finish ahead of him in the standings, leading to an unfortunate exit, as Jeff Gluck of USA Today noted:
Harvick and Earnhardt weren't the only ones who made things happen Sunday to stay alive in the Chase. Brad Keselowski also joined them, although he only needed a 16th-place finish in order to do so.
While McMurray's loss came in heartbreaking fashion, the same could be said for Jimmie Johnson. The six-time Chase winner needed a big day at Dover—a track where he's won double-digit times—to advance, but car trouble ended his day early and he finished 41st.
There's a dark cloud over any Chase without Johnson a part of it, as NASCAR showed:
With that being said, it's a new day and a new age for NASCAR. It takes bringing your best on every weekend in order to stay alive in the Chase. Johnson may have been ready; his car wasn't.
If anything, Johnson's exit only opens the door for more fireworks elsewhere. There are 12 drivers still vying for the Sprint Cup championship, and each of them has more than earned his place.
As the Sprint Cup heads to Charlotte for the Bank of America 500, these 12 will have three races to get into the final eight.
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