It’s been almost two weeks since the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season wrapped up in Miami. After letting the championship slip through his grasp at the end of 2012, there were no such slip-ups for Jimmie Johnson this time around. The 38-year-old driver further cemented his legend as one of the sport’s all-time greats in winning his sixth Cup.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series begins its final Chase For The Cup, the 10 races to settle the championship on Sunday afternoon in Chicago, with the running of the Geico 400 (2 PM ET, ESPN). The controversy and chaos of last week’s final regular season race in Richmond have a dark cloud hanging over the sport.
Hard-core NASCAR fans know the details, but for those who may have only casually seen some reports in the midst of watching baseball or football this week, here’s the short version of the story
The playoff hopefuls are on two weeks’ notice in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as the circuit goes to Atlanta for the penultimate race of the regular season and an increasingly chaotic picture for the final automatic berths in the postseason and the two wild-card spots. And last year’s champion, Brad Keselowski is on the clock.
There’s only four races in the regular season of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, before the deck gets reshuffled for the playoffs and only twelve drivers are eligible for the sport’s 2013 championship. As the circuit readies itself for Sunday afternoon’s Pure Michigan 400 (1 PM ET, ESPN), seven drivers continue to hold steady as the leaders.
When you think of the Busch family, Kyle is the one who usually gets the attention. But older brother Kurt is who draws the attention of TheSportsNotebook, as he’s moved into the Top 10, which counts for automatic qualification to the playoffs that begin in September.
The race for the postseason in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is going through some shakeups, and we’re headed to a track known for its share of shakeups. The circuit is back in Daytona, for Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 (7:30 PM ET, TNT) and one of several notable developments in the push for the playoffs is that 23-year-old Joey Logano has moved into 10th place, the baseline for automatic qualification.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is headed for Michigan International Raceway on Sunday for the Quicken Loans 400 (1 PM ET, TNT). There are 12 races between now and the beginning of the postseason, so TheSportsNotebook is going to step back and take a bigger-picture look at how the season is shaping up.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is in Delaware this weekend, as Dover International Speedway hosts the FedEx 400 on Sunday (1 PM ET, Fox). As the drivers jostle for position in the standings, one that often gets overlooked is the man who’s quietly nestled in fourth place, and that’s Clint Bowyer.
This is the first points race in two weeks—last week’s event in Charlotte was a non-binding All-Star competition, and a driver that offers some intrigue right now is David Ragan. He’s well behind in the points standing sitting on 26th, but he also has a win. Ragan is the only driver outside the Top 10 with a win and that alone makes him a factor for the postseason discussion
Its All-Star Saturday on the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, with a non-points race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway (7:30 PM ET, Fox). This brief break in the chase for the Cup comes as Kevin Harvick is sneaking up the standings, Matt Kenseth has become the de facto leader and Kyle Busch sees danger coming from Kasey Kahne.
Aric Almirola has running a steady eighth in the overall points standings. The 29-year-old driver spent most of his early career on the Nationwide Series, something that’s akin to a Triple A team in baseball. Almirola did a few races here and there at the Sprint Cup level, but never really made an impact. 2012 saw him do his first full year at the highest level and he placed a respectable 20th.
This year has been even stronger, as the driver for Richard Petty’s team has been steady and consistent from the outset. The one thing Almirola does not have on his resume yet is a win, and he’ll take his next shot at Darlington Raceway on Saturday night.
If Tony Stewart is going to make a move in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the three-time champion might want to consider doing so sooner rather than later. As the drivers come to Talladega Superspeedway for Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 (1 PM ET, Fox), Stewart is in a big hole.