NASCAR Cup Series

Opening Chase for the Sprint Cup race appears to be wide-open affair

Published Sep. 14, 2014 11:44 a.m. ET

Tom Jensen

If Saturday's two rounds of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice are any indication, the opening race in this year's Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup should be a wide-open affair.

The Cup drivers took to Chicagoland Speedway in advance of Sunday's MyAFibStory.com 400 and the results showed a passel of drivers will be legitimate threats to win.

Not surprisingly, Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson were the two fastest drivers in terms of 10 consecutive lap average speeds during the final Happy Hour practice session. Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford, won here in 2012, launching his run for his first and so far only Cup championship.

And Johnson, who has driven his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to victory in 24 of the 100 races in the history of the Chase dating back to 2004, is always a threat to win during NASCAR's playoff season.

But the surprise of the weekend so far has been the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas, which for most of the season have lagged behind the Penske Fords and Hendrick Chevys. Kyle Busch put his JGR Toyota on the pole by virtue of being fastest in the opening round of practice Friday prior to qualifying being rained out.

Busch's teammates, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin, were third and fourth, respectively, in 10 consecutive lap average speeds in Happy Hour. Kenseth was second in that department in the morning practice as well.

More to the point, perhaps, Kenseth is the defending race winner and loves competing at the 1.5-mile track. Even though Sunday's race marks the start of the Chase, Kenseth said it will be business as usual for his team, with no big strategic changes.

"I think we show up with the mindset of trying to win and if we don't have the car to win on Sunday, we do the best we can to finish as well as we possibly can finish and go on to the next week and do the same thing," said Kenseth.

Other drivers who looked good Saturday included Jeff Gordon, who led in the 10-lap category in morning practice, and lame-duck Roush Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards, who has had a lot of speed all weekend long in his Ford. Edwards, in fact, posted the single fastest lap in Happy Hour, running 186.413 miles per hour. And Kevin Harvick continues to show great pace in his Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.

Want a long shot? Well, Danica Patrick posted the fifth-fastest single lap in Happy Hour and backed it up with a sixth-best finish on the 10-consecutive lap measure. Non-Chasers Brian Vickers and Kyle Larson were impressive as well.

The new Chase format -- four drivers are eliminated from championship contention after every three races -- has everyone wondering how things will play out this year.

Johnson thinks getting off to a good start will be critical.

"It's just amazing to me how every year the competition gets more intense and how much more difficult it is to win and really, that average finishing result just keeps getting to a smaller and smaller number," the six-time champion said. "I'm planning for that, and hopefully we can light it up here."

Kenseth sees the championship race as wide open.

"I think all the cars in the Chase are good cars, good teams and good drivers or they wouldn't be in it," he said. "Nobody knows how this is going to play out, who is going to get eliminated, who's not, you know."

VIDEO: Brad Keselowski's Chase Media Day interview in Chicago