Only four locked into Chase
Only four of the 12 spots are set for the 10-race Sprint Cup Chase for the championship heading into today’s 4 p.m. race in Richmond, Va., on ABC (Channel 13).
Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin are locked in.
Eleven others remain in contention, including Las Vegas natives Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch.
Kurt is seventh in points and controls his destiny. According to jayski.com, he will clinch if he finishes 20th or better, 22nd and leads at least one lap, or 24th and leads the most laps.
The scenario is more challenging for his little brother, who is 14th in points.
Kyle is 37 points behind No. 12 Matt Kenseth. The scenarios are too numerous to list for Kyle.
Richmond has been a great track for Kyle. He won there in May and finished in the top five seven times in nine starts. But even if he wins the race and leads he most laps it wouldn’t be enough to pass Matt Kenseth in 12th or Brian Vickers in 13th-place if they finish close behind.
Go to http://jayski.com/cupnews.htm#scenarios to see what others need to do to make the Chase.
Kurt to lose crew chief
Kurt Busch confirmed in a Friday press conference at Richmond that crew chief Pat Tryson will leave his Penske Racing team at the end of the season. Rumors have Tryson going to Michael Waltrip Racing to join Martin Truex Jr. when Truex moves to that team after the season.
"Yeah, it's a change that's going to happen. It's unfortunate that Pat made that type of decision. It seems like our focus should be on the Chase and making it in the Chase, so it's a tough week for that type of news,” Busch said.
