NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR: Five Ways Drivers Can Make History In The Chase

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Kyle Larson could have a very special way to honor his late friend Bryan Clauson in 2017, by racing in the Indianapolis 500.

While each and every mainstream sport NASCAR included) has their moments when an announcer can call an event, history in the making, they are honestly too far and few in between to satisfy the growing needs of sports fans. In fact, sports a a lot of the time can’t handle the demand for such moments.

Fortunately for NASCAR fans, our sport is a little bit different and has almost weekly opportunities for drivers, teams, tracks, team owners and even crew chiefs to make Series history. With that being said, there is no better time for fans of the sport to watch history being made the annual Chase for The Sprint Cup!

wins, titles and setting new series records are all things fans can expect this postseason and many postseason to come, but the question remains, what history is there to break this postseason and how important is it all? Well, sit back, relax, and get your clickers ready, because we’re going to count down the top five ways drivers can make history in the Chase.

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Fourth and final.

Tony Stewart has accomplished a lot of things over the course of his illustrious 17-year career in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but could he possibly win the big one in his final attempt? While Stewart isn’t the favorite this postseason by any means, especially with his up and down performance in 2016, it would still be a great feel good story if Stewart could snatch the title one more time!

Sure, the challenge will be a daunting one with 15 other competitors all chopping at the bit to eliminate each other and claim the cup for themselves, but isn’t that the kind of environment smoke thrives in? In fact, isn’t that how he won the championship back in 2012 when he out-raced Carl Edwards by mere seconds to win the fourth title of his career?

If anyone knows the pressure, it’s Stewart and fans can expect him to rally hard for his final championship in 2016. The only question is, will he be able to outlast the competition and come out on top when all is said and done in November.

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First, win at the right time.

Yes, Chase Elliott has made the Chase in his very first season in the Sprint Cup Series, but he still doesn’t have that highly sought after win yet. In fact, Elliott is one of only three drivers that are in the Chase after not winning a race this season and that unfortunately puts him at the bottom of the totem pole Chase-wise. That said, one good win could change all that and make him a threat for the title

Not only would a win guarantee him a spot in the next round of The Chase, it would also mark the very first win of his Sprint Cup career! Now that’s no easy feat to accomplish in the midst of one of the hardest Chase formats ever to be devised, but Elliott has come close many times at many different Chase tracks and could break through for a win at any time.

That’s a lot of faith to put in a young rookie that has a lot of years and a lot of races ahead of him, but with Hendrick equipment and a good crew chief behind him, that win might not be as far off as some think. Here’s hoping we see the beginning of the future over the next ten weeks!

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Back to back.

Two years, two different champions. Not bad for a Chase system that fans didn’t have much faith in from the beginning. With that being said, there is still the question of if the new chase format is able to produce a back to back champion or if this Chase was specifically designed to try to limit those kinds of outcomes from happening.

That brings us to Kyle Busch, who won’t the championship last year after returning from a career-threatening injury and is looking to become NASCAR’s first back to back champion of the new Chase format. To do that, however, he will have to outlast a slew of drivers that have had a much better season then he has in 2016

While Kyle Busch does sit at the top of the Chase standings with four victories this season, he also been hauntingly inconsistent when it comes to Chase tracks this season. For example, Kyle Busch did claim back to back victories at Martinsville and Fort Worth at the beginning of the season, but also had DNF’s at both Dover and Charlotte as well.

If nothing else, that is going to make it interesting to see if Busch can learn from his mistakes and climb his way back to the top of the mountain at the end of the year.

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Number seven.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Jimmie Johnson holding the championship trophy at the end of the Sprint Cup Season. It’s also been awhile since we’ve seen Jimmie Johnson even be a contender for the championship at the last race of the season in Miami. With that being said, a championship victory this season would tie Johnson with two of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history.

As much as some fans might cringe at the very thought of this, a championship win in November for Johnson would give him seven title wins and tie him with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt . Not only would that virtually guarantee Johnson a future spot in the NASCAR Hall of fame, it would also set him up to win the tie-breaking eighth championship as well.

Will it happen? While Johnson has been knocked out in the first round of the Chase for the last two years, he could very well rally and hoist up the seventh championship of his Sprint Cup career.

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Big one for Ganassi

If you’re looking for an underdog team to root for this season, why not go with the Ganassi boys. Sure, they might seem outmatched by the likes of Hendrick, Gibbs and even SHR, but a championship win for the team would be a huge deal! In fact, it would go down as their very first championship victory in Sprint Cup history!

If that’s not enough to get fans excited and ready to root on Ganassi for the championship, how about the other ways the moment would make history as well? It no secret that a championship for either Larson or Jamie McMurray would be a career first, but it would also link Larson in with some of the sport’s greatest drivers.

Yes, if Larson is able to win the Sprint Cup Title in November, he will go down in the history books alongside Dale Earnhardt, Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon as the only four drivers to win The Sprint Cup title in only their third attempt. With that being, there’s a lot of history on the line when The Sprint Cup Series heads to Chicagoland for The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 on Sunday!