Next up in the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup is the high-banked “Monster Mile” of Dover International Speedway, which will host Chase race No. 3 – the AAA 400.
Controversy struck in the series’ first visit to Dover back in June. In the closing laps, NASCAR found Jimmie Johnson to have jumped the final restart of the day with 19 laps to go and penalized him. That set up a fight between Juan Pablo Montoya and Tony Stewart, which the latter won by making what would be the race-winning pass with three laps remaining.
Among this year’s Chase contenders, Jeff Gordon led the group with a third-place finish with Kyle Busch in fourth after leading a race-high 150 laps. As for Johnson, he led 143 laps but wound up finishing 17th after the penalty.
Other Chasers in the Top 10 were Clint Bowyer in sixth, Joey Logano in seventh, Kevin Harvick in eighth, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 10th. Current Chase leader Matt Kenseth, who has opened the post-season with back-to-back wins at Chicagoland and New Hampshire, finished 40th after suffering an engine failure toward the halfway point.
Once again, here’s a look at how each Chaser has done over his career at this frenetic track. Note to all you fantasy racers: You might want to put a certain five-time Cup champion – and seven-time Dover winner – on your team this weekend.
MATT KENSETH (Leader – 2,111 points)
Two wins, 13 Top-5s, 18 Top-10s
Average Finish: 13.6 in 29 races
Average Running Position: 9.4, second-best
KYLE BUSCH (second, -14 points)
Two wins, eight Top-5s, 11 Top-10s
Average Finish: 13.3 in 17 races
Average Running Position: 11.2, sixth-best
JIMMIE JOHNSON (third, -18 points)
Seven wins, 11 Top-5s, 16 Top-10s
Average Finish: 9.0 in 23 races
Average Running Position: 7.1, series-best
*Series-high 5,862 Laps in the Top 15 (86.2%)
CARL EDWARDS (fourth, -36 points)
One win, eight Top-5s, 12 Top-10s
Average Finish: 8.6 in 18 races
Average Running Position: 10.3, third-best
GREG BIFFLE (fifth, -38 points)
Two wins, six Top-5s, 10 Top-10s
Average Finish: 12.5 in 22 races
Average Running Position: 10.7, fifth-best
KEVIN HARVICK (sixth, -39 points)
Three Top-5s, 11 Top-10s
Average Finish: 15.6 in 25 races
Average Running Position: 16.0, 14th-best
KURT BUSCH (seventh, -40 points)
One win, six Top-5s, eight Top-10s
Average Finish: 18.1 in 26 races
Average Running Position: 12.7, eighth-best
JEFF GORDON (eighth, -42 points)
Four wins, 16 Top-5s, 23 Top-10s
Average Finish: 11.8 in 41 races
Average Running Position: 12.8, ninth-best
RYAN NEWMAN (ninth, -47 points)
Three wins, six Top-5s, 11 Top-10s
Average Finish: 13.1 in 23 races
Average Running Position: 12.7, seventh-best
CLINT BOWYER (tenth, -48 points)
One Top-5, eight Top-10s
Average Finish: 12.7 in 15 races
Average Running Position: 12.8, 10th-best
DALE EARNHARDT JR. (11th, -62 points)
One win, five Top-5s, nine Top-10s
Average Finish: 17.0 in 27 races
Average Running Position: 18.8, 20th-best
JOEY LOGANO (12th, -69 points)
One Top-5, five Top-10s
Average Finish: 16.8 in nine races
Average Running Position: 19.0, 21st-best
KASEY KAHNE (13th, -71 points)
One Top-5, five Top-10s
Average Finish: 21.5 in 19 races
Average Running Position: 16.9, 16th-best