Your Chase for the Sprint Cup advance scenarios for Talladega - MotorSportsTalk

We’re seven days away from the second elimination race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

And unlike the Challenger Round finale at Dover, this one may be worth the wait.

The restrictor-plate madness of Talladega Superspeedway could easily deliver multiple championship twists and turns before the end of next Sunday’s GEICO 500.

And the only two drivers that are immune to such chaos are Kansas winner Joey Logano and last night’s winner at Charlotte, Kevin Harvick, who are safely in the Eliminator Round.

As for the rest of the Chasers, here’s where everybody needs to finish in order to guarantee their own Eliminator spot regardless of the finish of any other driver:

Kyle Busch (+26 points over ninth place): 24th or better, 25th and at least one lap led, 26th and most laps led

Ryan Newman (+21 points): 19th or better, 20th and at least one lap led, 21st and most laps led

Carl Edwards (+20 points): 18th or better, 19th and at least one lap led, 20th and most laps led

Jeff Gordon (+18 points): 16th or better, 17th and at least one lap led, 18th and most laps led

Denny Hamlin (+17 points): 15th or better, 16th and at least one lap led, 17th and most laps led

Kasey Kahne (+1 point), Matt Kenseth (-1 point behind eighth place), Brad Keselowski (-19 points), Jimmie Johnson (-26 points) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (-26 points) only control their own destiny by winning Sunday at Talladega.

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An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”