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Clinch Scenarios For Richmond
Jamie McMurray will lock up his first career Chase berth simply by starting the race on Saturday night. For three others, it’s a little tougher – but certainly doable. Ryan Newman clinches by finishing 31st or better; Jeff Gordon by finishing 17th or better; and Paul Menard by finishing ninth or better – and that’s all regardless of who wins the race. If there’s a repeat winner, the scenarios become less daunting. For winless drivers beyond Menard, there will be some frayed nerves. If there’s a repeat winner, Clint Bowyer is in good shape, needing only a finish of 28th or better. For those winless drivers lower in points than Bowyer, a Richmond win is realistically the only path to the Chase.

Here’s a full look at the Chase clinch scenarios for Saturday night’s race:

Regardless of who wins at Richmond…
Jamie McMurray clinches by starting the race.

Ryan Newman clinches by finishing 31st or better; 32nd with at least one lap led; or 33rd with the most laps led.

Jeff Gordon clinches by finishing 17th or better; 18th with at least one lap led; or 19th with the most laps led.

Paul Menard clinches by finishing ninth or better; 10th with at least one lap led; or 11th with the most laps led.

If there is a repeat winner…
Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon will clinch regardless of finish.

Paul Menard clinches by finishing 38th or better; 39th with at least one lap led; or 40th with the most laps led.

Clint Bowyer clinches by finishing 28th or better; 29th with at least one lap led; or 30th with the most laps led.

In summary…
Four drivers control their Chase destiny without a win: Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon and Paul Menard).

Three drivers can clinch without a win, but need help in the form of poor finishes from winless drivers ahead of them in points and/or a repeat winner: Bowyer, Aric Almirola and Kasey Kahne.

Twelve drivers need to win to clinch a Chase spot: Greg Biffle, Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, AJ Allmendinger, Casey Mears, Danica Patrick, Tony Stewart, David Ragan, Sam Hornish Jr., Trevor Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Justin Allgaier.

Two other drivers need to win and receive help to clinch a spot: Cole Whitt and David Gilliland.

All other drivers have been eliminated from Chase contention.

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2013 Bristol1 March Qual Denny Hamlin On GridJGR Driver is Expected to Race This Weekend in Richmond
And Through the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship

HUNTERSVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA (September 9, 2015) – Joe Gibbs Racing announces today that driver Denny Hamlin suffered a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in his right knee while playing basketball Tuesday night.

Hamlin had a MRI this morning to confirm the diagnosis and has been evaluated by the medical team at OrthoCarolina. He has received the medical clearance necessary to continue racing activities and is expected to race the remainder of the season and through the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship. Hamlin will require surgery to repair the ACL damage following the season.

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DR_NSCS_R_090615_13Sept. 6, 2015

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

DARLINGTON, S.C. – On a night when throwback paint schemes recalled NASCAR’s past in vivid color, and a low-downforce aerodynamic package suggested the future direction of the sport, Carl Edwards overcame early misfortune to win an exhilarating race at the Lady in Black.

Grabbing the lead thanks to a blisteringly fast pit stop under the track-record 18th caution of Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Edwards pulled away after a restart with eight laps left and beat polesitter Brad Keselowski to the finish line by .902 seconds to win his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the venerable 1.366-mile speedway.

An outspoken proponent of the low-downforce configuration, Edwards was thrilled with the quality of the racing and elated with his second victory of the season and the 25th of his career.

“I don’t think I can get in trouble for how much I liked it, but I loved it – this is as good as it gets,” Edwards said. “This is what it’s about. We’re sliding cars, tires are falling off – this is the style of racing – if there’s any chance we can run this in the Chase, I hope we can do it. It was an awesome day.”

For the record, NASCAR will run its standard 2015 competition package throughout the Chase, but the low-downforce configuration got rave reviews from a wide array of competitors.

“I loved it,” Keselowski said. “It separates the race car drivers from the pretends, and that’s the way it should be.”

Edwards’ victory didn’t come without significant adversity. The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota lost two laps after staying out on old tires when the rest of the lead-lap cars came to pit road under caution on Lap 62.

That decision forced Edwards to pit early on Lap 89, and a subsequent caution for Michael Annett’s crash in Turn 2 trapped him two laps down. Edwards spent the next 200 laps working his way back to the front.

Edwards was locked in an intense three-way battle for the lead when caution for Jeb Burton’s spin in Turn 2 on Lap 355 of 367 took fuel mileage out of the equation and set up the final round of pit stops.

Edwards edged Keselowski for the top spot leaving pit road and parlayed that advantage into a hard-earned victory.

Denny Hamlin came home third, followed by Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick. It was a late duel with Keselowski and Harvick during a 43-lap green-flag run preceding the final caution that made an indelible impression on the Missouri driver.

“A win like this is really special, especially leading into the Chase,” Edwards said. “This is what we needed. We just needed a shot in the arm and needed to have a good night like this. All over, it’s cool.

“I hope I never forget those last 25 laps. That was really fun, and the restart was fun, but truly racing with Brad and Kevin was a blast. I really had a good time.”

In what was a banner night for Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle Busch completed his journey back from an 11-race injury absence with a seventh-place finish that locked Busch into the top 30 in the sereis standings and clinched a berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup for the four-time winner.

“Making the Chase was something we weren’t all sure was possible after my injuries,” said Busch, who broke his right leg and left foot in a wreck during the Feb. 21 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Daytona. “It’s a great opportunity to be with these guys on this M&M’S Crispy team. They’re working really hard at Joe Gibbs Racing – we’ve got a lot of speed, and I think all four cars have a really good shot at this championship.

“I had my hands full tonight. I think I just got a little behind on what our adjustments needed to be for the race, but our whole team just really turned this thing around, and it turned out to be a solid finish for us.”

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during the NASCAR XFINITY Series VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway on September 5, 2015 in Darlington, South Carolina.

Sept. 5, 2015

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

DARLINGTON, S.C. – You could call polesitter Denny Hamlin’s victory in Saturday’s VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway “dominating,” but the NASCAR XFINITY Series event wasn’t without its share of drama—courtesy of a fuel shortage and Hamlin’s own Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Daniel Suarez.

Hamlin Led 117 of 147 laps at the 1.366-mile speedway, but he didn’t make the winning pass until Lap 145, when he surged past Suarez, who was stretching fuel after foregoing a final pit stop in hopes of stealing the victory.

The win was Hamlin’s third of the season (all from the pole), his fourth at Darlington (all from the pole) and the 20th of his career.

In a 1-2-3 finish for JGR, Kyle Busch got past Suarez, who finished third, to start the final circuit and came home in the runner-up position. But Suarez secured a $100,000 bonus as the top finisher among eligible series regulars in the final XFINITY Dash 4 Cash event of the season.

Suarez also won $100,000 for a Kurt Kolstad, a race fan paired with Suarez for the Dash 4 Cash finale.

When Hamlin brought his No. 20 Toyota to pit road under caution on Lap 72, he returned to the track after a lightning fast stop during which his team left the fuel cell slightly short of a full load.

That meant Hamlin would have to pit before his primary pursuers, Busch and Kevin Harvick, and hope the race would run caution-free for the entire cycle of stops.

Hamlin got his wish. After pitting on Lap 122 and gaining time on fresh tires, a relieved Hamlin saw the race run caution-free to the end, giving him just enough time to catch Suarez, who was saving fuel on old rubber, before the laps ran out.

“I’m almost glad we didn’t (get the car full of fuel),” Hamlin said after the race. “We didn’t want a caution to fall and trap us there, but I had scraped the wall and kind of misjudged my line one time and got a little right-side damage, and the car just stopped turning.

“I don’t know if the right side would have made it or not (under the pressure of all-out racing).”

Harvick led 16 laps and finished fourth, his chances thwarted when the race ran green to the finish.

“The 9 (Chase Elliott) hit the wall or was blowing up or something, and we stayed out a few extra laps, thinking that the caution was going to come out, and got a little bit behind, “ Harvick said.

“The 20 (Hamlin) had the best car. We were better in the long run—we could run him back down and race with him, but on the short run, those guys were a little bit better than we were.”

Chris Buescher ran fifth and extended his series lead to 29 points over Ty Dillon, who finished 15th, and 35 over Elliott, who came home 24th, three laps down, after his engine soured late in the race.

Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Landon Cassill, Regan Smith and Ross Chastain completed the top 10.

NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200
Darlington Raceway
Darlington, South Carolina
Saturday, September 05, 2015

1. (1) Denny Hamlin(i), Toyota, 147, $53679.
2. (36) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 147, $32435.
3. (2) Daniel Suarez #, Toyota, 147, $32251.
4. (9) Kevin Harvick(i), Chevrolet, 147, $21878.
5. (10) Chris Buescher, Ford, 147, $28698.
6. (4) Joey Logano(i), Ford, 147, $18464.
7. (3) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 147, $17790.
8. (19) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 147, $23854.
9. (8) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 147, $23555.
10. (14) Ross Chastain #, Chevrolet, 147, $24227.
11. (24) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 147, $23099.
12. (12) Brian Scott, Chevrolet, 146, $23024.
13. (6) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 146, $22973.
14. (15) Darrell Wallace Jr. #, Ford, 146, $22922.
15. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 146, $23271.
16. (11) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 146, $22745.
17. (18) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 146, $22694.
18. (26) Dakoda Armstrong, Ford, 146, $22643.
19. (21) Cale Conley #, Toyota, 146, $22593.
20. (16) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 145, $23017.
21. (20) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 145, $22666.
22. (25) David Starr, Toyota, 145, $22410.
23. (17) Ryan Reed, Ford, 145, $22359.
24. (7) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 144, $23284.
25. (5) Paul Menard(i), Chevrolet, 144, $16156.
26. (23) John Wes Townley(i), Chevrolet, 144, $22157.
27. (22) Blake Koch, Toyota, 143, $22106.
28. (33) Eric McClure, Toyota, 142, $22031.
29. (28) Todd Bodine, Chevrolet, 141, $21995.
30. (32) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 141, $22254.
31. (31) BJ McLeod(i), Chevrolet, 138, $21899.
32. (30) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 134, $21854.
33. (35) Harrison Rhodes #, Chevrolet, Vibration, 83, $21828.
34. (38) Mike Harmon, Dodge, Suspension, 82, $21807.
35. (34) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Brakes, 34, $15550.
36. (27) TJ Bell(i), Toyota, Clutch, 23, $14039.
37. (37) Carlos Contreras, Chevrolet, Accident, 10, $19245.
38. (29) Jeff Green, Toyota, Suspension, 6, $12039.
39. (39) Carl Long, Dodge, Suspension, 4, $11039.
40. (40) Ryan Ellis(i), Ford, Suspension, 1, $10039.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 141.355 mph.
Time of Race: 01 Hrs, 25 Mins, 14 Secs. Margin of Victory: 2.058 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 2 for 8 laps.
Lead Changes: 7 among 3 drivers.
Lap Leaders: D. Hamlin(i) 1-29; K. Harvick(i) 30-34; D. Hamlin(i) 35-48; K. Harvick(i) 49-50; D. Hamlin(i) 51-121; K. Harvick(i) 122-130; D. Suarez # 131-144; D. Hamlin(i) 145-147.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): D. Hamlin(i) 4 times for 117 laps; K. Harvick(i) 3 times for 16 laps; D. Suarez # 1 time for 14 laps.
Top 10 in Points: C. Buescher – 874; T. Dillon – 845; C. Elliott – 839; R. Smith – 820; E. Sadler – 783; D. Wallace Jr. # – 766; D. Suarez # – 759; B. Scott – 755; B. Gaughan – 736; R. Reed – 652.

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NASCAR Race Weekend Guide

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Race: Bojangles’ Southern 500
Track: Darlington Raceway
Date and Time: Sunday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. ET
Tune-in: NBC, MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90
Distance: 501.3 miles (367 laps)
What to Watch For: Jeff Gordon – NASCAR’s active wins leader at Darlington with seven victories – makes his final start at the South Carolina track. … 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick tries to defend his 2014 victory at Darlington. … Chase Elliott makes his fifth and final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start of 2015 as he prepares to take over for Jeff Gordon in the No. 24 car next year. … Winless drivers have only two more chances to visit Victory Lane to earn an automatic berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. … Drivers will sport retro paint schemes on their cars as part of Darlington’s “throwback” weekend.

NASCAR XFINITY Series
Race: VFW Sports Clips Help a Hero 200
Track: Darlington Raceway
Date and Time: Saturday, Sept. 5 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Tune-in: NBC, MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90
Distance: 200.8 miles (147 laps)
What to Watch For: Ty Dillon, Brian Scott, Chase Elliott and Daniel Suarez will compete for the $100,000 bonus in the final round of the NASCAR XFINITY Series Dash 4 Cash. … Chase Elliott tries to defend his 2014 Darlington win. … Chris Buescher (standings leader), Chase Elliott (-16 points) and Ty Dillon (-19 points) continue their race to the NASCAR XFINITY Series championship.