NASCAR 2011 Schedule: Upcoming Races and Standings Going into Brickyard 400

Remaining Nascar 2011 Schedule and Rankings Heading into Brickyard 400

Things are really going to heat up as we approach The Chase for the Sprint Cup, as racers are vying for their shot at being one of the 12 racers gunning for the crown.

Here are the rankings for the current top 25.

Rank	Driver	Total Points	Points Behind Leader
1	Carl Edwards	652	0
2	Jimmie Johnson	645	-7
3	Kurt Busch	641	-11
4	Kevin Harvick	637	-15
5	Kyle Busch	632	-20
6	Matt Kenseth	626	-26
7	Jeff Gordon	587	-65
8	Ryan Newman	586	-66
9	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	577	-75
10	Denny Hamlin	570	-82
11	Tony Stewart	570	-82
12	Clint Bowyer	542	-110
13	David Ragan	524	-128
14	Kasey Kahne	523	-129
15	Greg Biffle	523	-129
16	A.J. Allmendinger	515	-137
17	Juan Montoya	511	-141
18	Joey Logano	510	-142
19	Paul Menard	506	-146
20	Mark Martin	500	-152
21	Marcos Ambrose	495	-157
22	Martin Truex Jr.	485	-167
23	Brad Keselowski	475	-177
24	David Reutimann	448	-204
25	Jeff Burton	445	-207

As you can see, the races leading up to The Chase are going to have a huge effect on the current standings. There are still plenty of racers outside the top 10 who have a legitimate chance to make their way into The Chase.

There is no telling who will take the checkered flag at the Brickyard 400, but it could have a resounding affect on how the standings shake out going into the Pennsylvania 500.

Kasey Kahne continues to rise up the leaderboard, jumping three spots and moving right on the brink of relevancy.

David Ragan is unlikely to be the only racer with a win between 11-20 when all is said and done. One win could be the difference between nabbing a wildcard spot in The Chase and being irrelevant. You can expect to see some great racing from the entire field in the upcoming races.

Below is the upcoming racing schedule, including the races involved in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Date	Race	Track	TV Station
07/31/11	Brickyard 400	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	ESPN, 1PM
08/07/11	Pennsylvania 500	Pocono Raceway	ESPN, 1PM
08/14/11	Heluva Good! @ The Glen	Watkins Glen International	ESPN, 1PM
08/21/11	CARFAX 400	Michigan Int'l Speedway	ESPN, 1PM
08/27/11	Irwin Tools Night Race	Bristol Motor Speedway	ABC, 7:30PM
09/04/11	Emory Healthcare 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	ESPN, 7:30PM
09/10/11	Air Guard 400	Richmond Int'l Raceway	ABC, 7:30PM
2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup
09/18/11	LifeLock 400	Chicagoland Speedway	ABC, 2PM
09/25/11	Sylvania 300	New Hampshire Intl Speedway	ESPN, 2PM
10/02/11	AAA 400	Dover Intl Speedway	ESPN, 2PM
10/09/11	Price Chopper 400	Kansas Speedway	ESPN, 2PM
10/15/11	Bank of America 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway	ABC, 7:30PM
10/23/11	AMP Energy 500	Talladega Superspeedway	ESPN, 2PM
10/30/11	TUMS 500	Martinsville Speedway	ESPN, 1:30PM
11/06/11	AAA Texas 500	Texas Motor Speedway	ESPN, 3PM
11/13/11	Kobalt Tools 500	Phoenix Intl Raceway	ESPN, 3PM
11/20/11	Ford 400	Homestead-Miami Speedway	ESPN, 3PM

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