Let's get to a review of the top half of the drivers standings.
On Vacation (Drivers In)
- Jimmie Johnson- It is the Quarter mark to the Nascar 2013 season and JJ has already amounted a 43 point lead in the point standings. In that time he has 2 Wins, 4 top 5's and 6 top 10's while finishing every race. On top of that, guys like Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth have been hit with fines from Nascar and also ran into some bad luck that has left JJ by himself at the top. Nothing to see here, just JJ already marking his spot in the Chase. The rest of the way him and Chad will be just fine tuning.
- Carl Edwards- He started the season off by getting a win week two and ever since then has been very consistent. He also has 4 top 5's and 5 top 10's in those 9 races. It is hard to see at this point Carl not staying in the top 20 and not getting a Chase spot.
- Kasey Kahne- Kasey had a hot stretch where no one could touch him, well except for Matt Kenseth (finishing 2nd to him twice). Kahne also has an early season win that should help him keep a Chase spot at the end of 2013
- Kyle Busch-Well the last two weeks have been ugly for Kyle, but he has his hot start of the season to fall back on. He has two early season wins that will at the very least get him the Wild Card spot (most likely). Kyle has been known to fall of once the Chase comes around, so that should start being the focus soon.
- Matt Kenseth- Kenseth is in the same boat as Kyle with two wins almost assuring himself to at least a WC spot. Other then the Toyota Racing incident (50 points deducted) Kenseth hasn't had too many miss steps along the way.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr-I think he is a lock to get into the Chase but he still doesn't have a win and has had a few bad luck cases as of late. 3 top 5's and 6 top 10's have helped Jr stay in 3rd in the standings. Maybe Talladega he can get going again with a Win. Even without the wins he is 3rd so no real worries here.
- Brad Keselowski- Well the current Champ has gone through just about everything a driver could in the past few weeks. Nascar penalties, fantum pit stop penalties, speeding penalties, spies, hitting the wall early, or finishing the race with half the car you started with, BK has done it. That being said he still has 7 top 10's in the first 9 races which is the most in Nascar. What BK needs is to get past the bad luck and get a win to really make sure he solidifies his spot. Can he do it at a track where his first Nascar win came and without his crew chief?
- Clint Bowyer-He is really the third driver in this list that I think will end up in but a win would really help. Like I mentioned, Clint and the previous two drivers have done it all but just need to get that win to get it off there backs and make sure they are in for sure. Then they all can start getting ready for the Chase. Bowyer has only 5 top 10's but 4 of those are top 5's.
Work To Be Done (In the top 12 right now, but need to get moving)
- Kevin Harvick- He is the safest driver in this section. Harvick just got his first win of the season at Richmond after finishing in the 12th-14th spot most weeks early on. The win will help him in the long run as will solid finishes, but if he gets hot watch out he could be sitting well by Chase time.
- Greg Biffle- The Biff has had quite the ride so far this year. He started off with a top 10, then struggled a few races, then back on track, and now lately had two races with struggles. This is part of the reason he hasn't finished above 3rs in the final season rankings since 2008. He will need to find consistency and at the right time to have a chance in 2013.
- Paul Menard- Can he hold on to a Chase spot? That is the big question with Menard. Mostly because Menard is not normally in this position. He is almost half way to his career mark for top 10's in a season (at four now) but has yet to finish above 16th in the standings. If one thing is on his side, every season he has been getting better.
- Aric Almirola- Who wants a Chase spot more, Aric or Richard Petty? Almirola started off the season on a good note not finishing worse then 16th in the first 4 races. In the middle he had two mis steps but in the last 3 races he has 3 straight top 10's. I would love to see the ole STP car back in a title chase but he needs to keep it up and find his first career win this season to releave some stress.
- Jamie McMurray- If you didn't know the standings would you really think McMurray is in if the season ended after 9 races? Well even though he is in a spot now, his mind set doesn't change because he needs to get going. He has been very inconsistent but has racked up 3 top 10's/ McMurray just needs to find a win in the next quarter and stop riding the roller coaster ride in finishing position.
- Jeff Gordon- Well he had an up and down start to the season, and has had some issues that have held back his run the past few races but he managed a 13th and 11th back to back weeks. Gordon has a good chance with his track record to get into the Chase but it wont be easy. A few wins would really help his chances.
- Martin Truex Jr- Well he made a two week run where he had a chance to break his win less streak but came up short. He sits just outside the top 12 but mostly because of those two races. Truex needs to find some top 10's in the next 9 races to have a shot to get in.
- Ryan Newman- If you take out his bad luck races to start the season and the one other race (Martinsville) he hasn't finished higher then 15th (6 races). 4 top 10's and a top 5 in the early season has shown he still can run. He maybe the only chance for Stewart-Haas to get into the Chace this year. I think he has a good chance to sneak in if he avoids the 30+ finished that have him sitting so low.
- Joey Logano- He would look a lot better with those 25 points back, say in a top 12 spot. Needless to say the Penske Nascar penalty hit this team hard but he has put together a good start to the season. He has been in some races down the stretch and in position to win so he has a shot to make the Chase if he gets really hot.
Starting to Worry
- Denny Hamlin- DH is cleared to get back in the car at Dega. The thoughts are that he will start the race and sit towards the back until he can switch out so he can collect some points. He is 28th in points right now, or 71 points out of 20th. He still has an outside chance but no one really knows how he will come back. If he comes back to a slow start and he doesn't feel comfortable he may just shut it down for the season.
- Kurt Busch- The little team that could. He has been impressive with his small team and has had some nice runs. I just don't know if it will be enough. He has an outside shot if he can stay consistent and in the top 20 and find a win or two.
- Tony Stewart- A terrible season yet he is in 21st. Smoke could find a way to get hot and find some wins in 2013. If he does he could sneak in with a wild card spot and get hot at the right time. But the way he has looked this year it is hard to imagine that big of a turn around. I say he becomes more of the owner for the season and give everything he has to get Newman in and Danica as much advise as she wants.
Pack It Up (Guys who's Chase chances are slim to none)
- Juan Pablo Montoya- Until last week at Richmond JPM hasn't been seen. He has had a dismal season and just doesn't have it this year. He always does have the long shot of getting a win or two because of road courses, but he still has not won on an oval.
- Ricky stenhouse Jr- He has run pretty well for his first full season in Nascar, but I don't seeing it being enough. He will finish the season above fellow rookie and girlfriend Danica Patrick
- Danick Patrick- Speaking of Danica, she doesn't have a chance at the Chase, but no one thought she did. She will just continue this season learning week by week and trying to get some top 10's. (And beating Smoke)
- Jeff Burton- Burton just doesn't seem to have it again this season, so I doubt he will get back into the Chase and may have missed his window to ever have a good chance again. He will be focusing on just getting another win to snap his streak.
- Jimmie Johnson
- Kyle Busch
- Matt Kenseth
- Dale Earnhardt Jr
- Carl Edwards
- Brad Keselowski
- Clint Bowyer
- Kasey Kahne
- Kevin Harvick
- Jeff Gordon
- Greg Biffle
- Ryan Newman
Sprint Cup Standings
Latest Power Rankings: Pit Road Week 9
Rest of the Season Nascar Schedule
Talladega Preview
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