NASCAR Cup Series

Almirola leads the Chase crowd leaving Chicagoland 'heartbroken'

Published Sep. 14, 2014 7:30 p.m. ET

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Jared Turner

All 16 championship contenders entered in Sunday's first Chase for the Sprint Cup race arrived at Chicagoland Speedway with hopes of starting NASCAR's playoff in style.

Several drivers did -- but for five in particular, Sunday's showdown was hardly a thing of beauty. As a result, Aric Almirola, Greg Biffle, AJ Allmendinger, Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards are all in serious danger of being one of the four drivers who don't advance beyond the three-race Chase Challenger Round.

All five experienced various issues on Sunday, with Almirola taking by far the hardest hit -- which came in the form of a blown engine on Lap 232 of 267.

Almirola, who had just inherited the lead during a cycle of green flag pit stops after recovering from early struggles to run just outside the top five, finished 41st and left Chicagoland last among the 16 title contenders.

"Heartbroken, I think, is the easiest way to describe it," said Almirola, who is 23 points behind 12th-place Carl Edwards, the last driver in position to advance out of the Chase Challenger Round. "I am really proud of my guys. We have nothing to hang our heads about. They brought me an awesome race car. We drove from 23rd up to the top 10, running sixth with just over 30 to go, and it just wasn't meant to be. We will regroup and go to Loudon and Dover and try to be spectacular."

While others' disappointments paled in comparison to Almirola's, there was certainly enough frustration to go around.

Ryan Newman rallied to finish 15th and on the lead lap after tire troubles on two occasions left the Richard Childress Racing driver three laps down. But even with the commendable recovery, Newman is 13th in the standings -- one point behind Edwards, who holds the final transfer spot for the Chase Contender Round that begins at Kansas Speedway early next month.

Edwards, despite hanging onto the last transfer spot by the slimmest of margins, had a rough outing in his own right at Chicagoland as he finished 20th, one lap down, after starting third.

"What a battle all day," Edwards said. "We used up every bit of our track position and our strategy and everything. We had a flat tire and got fortunate that didn't hurt us; it might have helped us. We have to stay alive. We have to go to Loudon and hopefully our flat short-track program is better than this. Then we will take what we learned here to Dover. To make this second round, we will have to be perfect and have a little bit of luck.

"Our day was not good. We've got to be a little faster and we have to continue to have good luck. For us to advance, we are going to have to rely on other people making some mistakes. All the while we are looking for more speed from our Fastenal Ford, and if we can do that, I think we will be alright, but we have to stay afloat."

Finishing 22nd, two spots behind Edwards, was Allmendinger, followed immediately by Biffle -- Edwards' Roush Fenway Racing teammate.

Allmendinger is 14th in the Chase standings, four points behind Newman, with Biffle another four points back in 15th.

But it's Almirola, 14 points behind Biffle, who has the tallest hill to climb over the next two weekends.

"We have to win," Almirola said. "That is it. There is no other option. We have to go and figure out how we can win one of the next two races."

VIDEO: The engine on the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford driven by Aric Almirola blows with just over 30 laps left at Chicagoland Speedway

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