NASCAR Quicken Loans 500 preview: 7 racers vie for Chase final

Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. have advanced to the finale of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship after surviving a long Sunday that ended with a rain-shortened race at Phoenix worldwide Raceway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Johnson’s teammate at Hendrick Motorsports who was eliminated from the Chase in the second round, qualified third. Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski came oh-so-close to clinching berths in the season finale but instead are on the outside desperately looking in.

If Kenseth hadn’t wrecked Logano at Martinsville, Logano and not Gordon probably would be locked into the final round.

Carl Edwards crossed in 12th, leaving him five points out of the final spot for the Chase finale. That leaves three spots up for grabs, but Busch and his Stewart-Haas Racing team are approaching it as if they’ve got to win Sunday to earn a spot in the title race. “My motivation comes from wanting to win and go fast”. Kurt Busch had a shot at the win early, taking the lead at the start of the race only to be penalized by NASCAR for jumping the start and given a pass through penalty.

Kyle Larson was sixth and followed by Erik Jones, who is driving for Matt Kenseth as Kenseth serves a two-race suspension for intentionally wrecking Joey Logano at Martinsville. Logano had a tire problem last week at Texas and is last in the eight-driver Chase field, needing a win today to advance. “But in the end it doesn’t matter how it looks on paper, it’s still a better position than we were at this point past year”.

“You win a few, you lose a few like that”, Harvick said. There are mathematical possibilities that both drivers can make the final four, but it’s a longshot.

After a mediocre qualifying effort from both Penske drivers at Phoenix, Keselowski didn’t seem thrilled with the task at hand. “There is no normal, but I wouldn’t say it’s out of bounds, either”, he said, shrugging.

“The vehicle has speed”, Busch said.

Jimmie Johnson captured the pole for today’s race with Kurt Busch in the second spot, Edwards fourth and Truex fifth.

With so much on the line Sunday, drivers are trying to focus only on what they can control. If he can make it five in a row, he’s through to next week’s Chase championship round at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Busch, who is seventh in the Chase standings, likely needs a win to transfer.

“When I think about what a few of the tracks have done – the towels with the fence on the 24th lap and a few of the different signage and things on the track – it’s been really overwhelming”, Gordon said. “It matters what entertains the fans and if the fans are happy, that’s what it’s all about”.