With only seven races before the 12-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup field is set, the battle for the final two wild card spots is heating up. When NASCAR announced the changes to the championship format and the addition of the wild card, the hope was there would be an increased emphasis on winning and as the final race of the regular season approaches at Richmond International Raceway it appears the intensity from 11th to 20th is picking up.
The Top Five Chase Wild Card Contenders
Here is a look at the top five wild card contenders with seven races to go.
David Ragan
After underachieving for a number of years, the 2011 season has been a strong season for Roush Fenway Racing’s David Ragan. Consistently fast week-in and week-out, the No. 6 team struggled throughout the early stages of the year to capitalize on fast race cars to produce solid results.
However, as the season moved into the summer months, Ragan and his crew continued to progress and eventually found Victory Lane in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. The victory was the first of Ragan’s career and gave him a notch in the win column, something no other driver from 11th to 20th in the standings can say.
The next few tracks are not among Ragan’s best statistically, but he is confident if the team continues to perform as they have throughout the season that a Chase berth is likely.
Tony Stewart
For much of the 2011 season it appeared Tony Stewart and crew chief Darian Grubb were shooting themselves in the foot with untimely pit stops and gutsy pit strategy. Although he led the points three races into the year, that bad luck dropped Stewart down the standings and eventually left him outside the top 10 racing his way back in.
Typically coming to life during the long summer stretch, Stewart struggled to do so as he battled consistency throughout May and June. However, as last weekend’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway proved, the No. 14 team appears to be peaking at the right moment.
Unlike Ragan, the next few tracks are among Stewart’s best and that could lead to a solid spot in the Chase.
Juan Pablo Montoya
Like Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya is headed to a string of tracks that could lead to multiple wins and spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup at the end of the next seven races. Although he dropped four spots in the standings after last Sunday’s race, Montoya is headed to two of his best tracks on the circuit; Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Watkins Glen.
Working with a new crew chief in Jim Pohlman, Montoya has the potential to score multiple victories before the cut-off in Richmond.
Clint Bowyer
Richard Childress Racing’s Clint Bowyer had been a staple in the top 10 in points for 10 straight weeks until a string of poor finishes at Daytona and Kentucky Speedway dropped the driver of the No. 33 back to 12th in the standings. While that may have been good enough in years past, Bowyer and his RCR team have some work to do.
A Chase contender three out of the last four years, Bowyer knows what it takes to get the job done, but needs to find Victory Lane.
Joey Logano
While the early stages of 2011 were a big disappointment - only one top-20 finishes in the first seven races - Joey Logano has turned his season around as of late and is headed in the right direction. Falling as far as 30th in the standings, Logano is currently 18th thanks to two top-fives and three top-10s in the last four races.
Much like Bowyer, it would take a victory or two to earn the Chase wild card, but with the team headed in the right direction, that could be a very real possibility.
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