NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup finalists fall short in qualifying

Gordon, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and defending Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick are the only four drivers remaining in the Chase for the championship.

“I disagree with Kyle”, said Gordon, who recovered from a lackluster opening lap in the first round of knockout qualifying to earn the fifth starting spot.

“It would be John Elway-like, where everybody could feel good about sending off someone who changed the sport, contributed enormously to the sport”, former Gordon teammate and ESPN analyst Ricky Craven said. His Chevrolet has eight top-fives and 22 top-10s through 35 races.

“To me, yeah, there’s going to be a few insanity and I’m just taking it all in and being really calm and cool about it all”.

“We haven’t qualified this year as well as last year”, said Harvick, the 2014 champion. “I just totally messed up”. That first run, without making a qualifying run in practice, I just didn’t know how hard I could push it or how much the track had picked-up. Of course it is, ” Logano said. We thought he would run well and has run well at this track. Harvick will start 13th, lowest of the Chase finalists.

“It’s really exciting honestly just to be a part of that, to be a part of his last race and last chance”, Truex said. NASCAR will crown a champion Sunday in South Florida in its final race of the season. But never has that praise been more significant than this weekend, when he could be on the cusp of one of the greatest moments in NASCAR history. Those finishes include a second, third, and fourth. “The fact that we were able to advance to the second round was huge”.

While Gordon has won championships in the past, Harvick is the only contender who has won it all under the current format. With Kurt Busch behind the wheel two years ago, FRR raced in the Chase and finished 10th. How could I not be having the time of my life? I felt really good about it, ” said Gordon, who will try Sunday to win his fifth championship in the final race of his career.

“It means so much to have the opportunity to help these younger drivers, to help these kids who are coming up through the ranks to succeed”. However, the wreck with Kenseth at Martinsville put Logano several points behind the cutline. But he was eliminated from the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship a week before the finale in a crushing end to his best season in at least seven years. “But it is what it is and we move on”. “Looking at the big picture and staying positive”. This is one season, and if you look at our stats this year, it’s nothing to hold our heads down about. “Our auto has been really fast all day so I’ve been very encouraged with what we’ve seen with our FedEx Ground Toyota”. He broke his right leg and left foot, forcing him to miss the first 11 races of the Cup season. Ryan Blaney will drive the No. 21 Ford Fusion.

“He opened up a whole new world of fans to us”, team owner Rick Hendrick said.

Wood Brothers has 98 victories, sixth most among active teams and seventh overall.

“After 23 seasons, 796 races, four championships, 93 race wins, 81 poles, three Daytona 500 victories and $150 million in winnings, as well as countless charity, TV and corporate appearances that propelled the once regional racing series into the sports world big-time, Gordon has plenty to celebrate”.