Sprint Cup Chase 2015: NASCAR Standings, Schedule After Bank of America 500
Rain wouldn't allow the Bank of America 500 to take place Saturday, but Joey Logano stayed ready. With a dominant win at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, Logano clinched a spot in the Eliminator Round and took hold of the top spot in the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup standings.
Here's a look at the updated standings after Logano's win:
| 1 | Joey Logano | 22 | 3,048 | - |
| 2 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | 3,042 | 6 |
| 3 | Martin Truex Jr. | 78 | 3,041 | 7 |
| 4 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | 3,040 | 8 |
| 5 | Kurt Busch | 41 | 3,039 | 9 |
| 6 | Carl Edwards | 19 | 3,039 | 9 |
| 7 | Jeff Gordon | 24 | 3,037 | 11 |
| 8 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | 3,035 | 13 |
| 9 | Ryan Newman | 31 | 3,029 | 19 |
| 10 | Kyle Busch | 18 | 3,025 | 23 |
| 11 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 88 | 3,016 | 32 |
| 12 | Matt Kenseth | 20 | 3,003 | 45 |
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A win in the Contender Round gives a driver immunity from elimination and ensures him or her a spot in the Eliminator Round's eight-car grid. Sunday's win was Logano's fourth of the season but clearly his biggest yet, as he is poised to make more noise in the Sprint Cup playoffs.
NASCAR's Twitter account captured Logano adding his name to the board of drivers who are moving on to the next round:
Kenseth's Big Drop
One driver who has to be feeling the post-race burn is Matt Kenseth. He won the Coors Light pole position and led for 72 laps during the race. But Logano took control, and Kenseth faded badly late in the race.
There were a few errors during pit stops, a bump with Ryan Newman on Lap 176, a scrape with the wall on Lap 204 and a serious collision with it on Lap 241. Collectively, it was too much for Kenseth to overcome and remain in contention.
Despite his front-running and fast No. 20 car, the mishaps doomed Kenseth to a dreadful 42nd-place finish and the lowest spot in the Chase standings at 12th.
He talked about his performance after the race, per NASCAR.com:
"These are never the kind of days you want to have for sure, but it's just one of those days. We're real fast up front and we're real tight in traffic. We got behind on that first pit deal and then didn't catch the cautions right and it went green, overshot my pit and put us in the back so it’s just like one thing led to another and led to another. We shouldn't have ever been back there to start with. My mistakes and they cost us today so we'll just move on from this and get ready for Kansas.
"
Kenseth has the car to rebound, but his margin for error has shrunk significantly.
Looking Ahead to Kansas
Kenseth and everyone not named Logano will be looking to bounce back once the drivers hit Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400 on October 18. It's the second of three races in the Contender Round.
Kenseth will be feeling added pressure to win. With just the CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway remaining in this round after next week's race—and the field set to be trimmed to eight in two weeks—Kenseth and the others near the bottom of the standings must perform well.
Jimmie Johnson won the SpongeBob SquarePants 400 in Kansas back in May, but Logano took the checkered flag in this event last year. Johnson—who has already been eliminated from the Chase—would love to play spoiler. Logano, who will be looking to build momentum as he advances through the Sprint Cup playoffs, has a bigger stake in his attempt to find victory again on the track.
Those are the two drivers to watch in Kansas.
If you think Sunday's race was intense, it was nothing compared to what you'll see over the next two weeks in Kansas and at Talladega. Stay tuned.
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