The battle for the final positions in NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup continues to get increasingly intense. With only five races remaining before the 12-driver, championship-determining field is set, drivers and crew chiefs are feeling the heat of that quest.
For those more comfortably locked into a position toward the top, this stretch of races provides the chance to gear the team up for a title run. For those deeper in the standings, though, this is the time to dig deep and make a final surge for a spot.
This weekend, there’s an added element of anxiety as the series heads to its second road-course race of the year. Sunday, drivers take on the seven-turn, 2.45-mile Watkins Glen International course in New York. The 90-lap, 220.5-mile race is one of two road races on the annual NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule.
But while road courses were once the domain of specialists or those with a background in this type of event, Cup drivers have caught up to the curve and found a way to master these tracks as well.
For those trying to make the Chase, it has taken on even more importance. Clint Bowyer currently holds that 12th and final berth in the title race, but he’s only 34 points ahead of Hendrick Motorsports’ Mark Martin. Dale Earnhardt Jr. trails Bowyer by 129 points and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Ryan Newman is 138 points back. Richard Petty Motorsports’ Kasey Kahne is 16th in the standings, but at 168 points behind that final spot, he’ll need some bad runs by the competition to vault over so many drivers and into the championship race.
Certainly, Kahne has improved as a road racer in recent years and won at Infineon Raceway last year. Right now, though, he’s dependent on the fortunes of others.
And how are those fortunes? Just how important could racing at Watkins Glen be to those drivers within 160 points of the cutoff?
With five races to go, anyone can step up their game. The last three races have seen somewhat surprising winners, with David Reutimann at Chicagoland Speedway, Jamie McMurray at Indianapolis and Greg Biffle, who snapped a 64-race winless streak, at Pocono. Now, each of those battling for a berth in the Chase hopes that his turn comes Sunday at Watkins Glen.
Let’s take a look at those who could really gain this weekend:
Mark Martin: He was a fine road racer before it was cool in NASCAR circles. Over the years, he’s shown his talent on the winding course at Watkins Glen. Martin — again, who is just 34 points outside of the Chase with five races to go — has an average finish of 7.8 in 20 starts at the track. He has three victories at the track, 16 top-10 finishes and 12 top fives. Martin has those 16 top-10 finishes in his last 19 races there.
Carl Edwards: The Roush Fenway Racing driver and his team have been making strides of late. Can that pay off this weekend? Edwards brings an average finish of 8.8 at the track into this weekend’s race. In five Cup starts there, Edwards has four consecutive top-10 finishes, two of them top fives. He finished third at the track last season.
Greg Biffle: He might not have the best finishing average at Watkins Glen, but Biffle is certainly one to watch these days. The driver and his Roush Fenway Racing team have been improving on all fronts and in all races of late. He was a factor at Indianapolis, won last weekend at Pocono Raceway and is riding a high wave of success and momentum heading into the race. That could boost his average finish of 25.3 at the track dramatically. After all, Biffle was fifth in this race a year ago.
Unlike that trio, though, some might be experiencing a little more trepidation heading into the race this weekend. Here’s a group of drivers that might not be quite as excited to see Watkins Glen up next on the schedule:
Clint Bowyer: The Richard Childress Racing driver needs a solid run in order to maintain his tenuous position in the standings. He needs to build on the gap over those trailing him, and Watkins Glen just hasn’t been the place for him to do that. He doesn’t run really poorly there, just not as well as some of his key competition. In four starts at the track, Bowyer has one top-10 finish — a ninth at the track a year ago — and an average finish of 15.5.
Ryan Newman: Newman seems to have been losing ground on this course in recent races. He enters the race 15th in the standings and 138 points outside of a Chase spot. He needs to make up ground, but he’s earned finishes of 21st and 26th in his last pair of races there. In eight starts, Newman has three top-10 finishes, one of them a top five, with an average finish of 16.9.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: The Hendrick Motorsports driver enters the race in 14th, 129 points outside of a spot in the Chase. He needs a strong run to overtake teammate Martin and Bowyer, but traditionally this hasn’t been his best track. In 10 starts there, he has three top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 22.6. He was 39th in this race a year ago, 22nd in 2008 and 42nd in 2007. His trio of top 10s came in the 2003-2005 races, but it’s been a battle for the driver at this track ever since.
