The Race to The Chase Turns Right - The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Dips at The Glen Race Primer

The battle has been joined.

That’s a reference to the wild fight for NASCAR’s two Wild Card berths, between Denny Hamlin, Paul Menard, Brad Keselowski and David Ragan.

After Richmond in five weeks, the top 10 in points will each earn spots in the 12-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup with spots 11 and 12 going to drivers outside of the top 10, provided they are in the top 20.

Brad Keselowski, who won his second race of the season on Sunday, leads that group, with Denny Hamlin occupying the other based on his Michigan win and 11th-place points standing.

Two drivers, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart, hold provisional Chase spots nine and ten but have gone winless in 2011. Their Chase chances are secure provided they can stay inside the top ten or win a race over the next five weeks.

Opportunity comes immediately for Tony Stewart, the all-time wins leader at Watkins Glen, the site of Sunday’s Heluva Good Dips at The Glen.

Fine out how after the jump!

Tony Stewart is the closest thing to a favorite at The Glen. His five wins, seven top fives and 10 top 10s in 12 starts are the best in the Sprint Cup Series garage.

Smoke holds series bests in average finish (5.4), average running position (4.7) and driver rating (129.6).

And to think that Stewart wants to change the track’s layout from its current model to the boot -- He’d probably dominate that track too.

No driver has scored more championship points over the last seven races than

Jeff Gordon. Equally, no driver has scored more points at Watkins Glen over the years as Jeff Gordon either.

In 18 starts, Gordon has four wins, six top fives and nine top 10s. And imagine how those numbers look once you eliminate his three career DNFs. If Stewart is driver 1A at The Glen, then Gordon is driver 1B.

Kurt Busch won last month’s Sonoma road course race and appears to have figured out how to turn right on a consistent basis. Mark Martin won at Watkins Glen for three straight years from 1993-1995 and upstate New York could be an important place for Martin to pick up ground in the Chase battle and perhaps score a win.

The Heluva Good Dips at The Glen will be held at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 14 with the ESPN television broadcast beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST.