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during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 12, 2015 in Richmond, Virginia.

Sept. 12, 2015

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

RICHMOND, Va. – Joe Gibbs Racing brought guns to a knife fight on Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.

But JGR’s Matt Kenseth did his teammates one better — he brought a howitzer.

Leading 352 of 400 laps in a race he owned from the outset, Kenseth pulled away from Kyle Busch after a restart with 18 laps left and won the Federated Auto Parts 400 by .951 seconds over his teammate.

Kenseth’s fourth victory of the season, tying him for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series lead with Jimmie Johnson and JGR teammate Kyle Busch, meant the 16 drivers who started the race in playoff-eligible positions stayed there. Jamie McMurray (13th-place finisher), Jeff Gordon (seventh), Ryan Newman (20th), Clint Bowyer (10th) and Paul Menard (26th) all earned berths in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup based on position in the standings — without a victory between them.

Joey Logano ran third, followed by Aric Almirola, whose gallant bid to crack the Chase grid fell 17 points short of the final position claimed by Menard. Dale Earnhardt Jr. came home fifth.

The victory was Kenseth’s second at Richmond and the 35th of his career. Joe Gibbs Racing has won seven of the last nine NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, with Logano the only other driver to score a win during that stretch.

Emblematic of JGR’s dominance at Richmond was a restart on Lap 126. Hamlin surged from fourth to first on the restart lap, pulling his three teammates with him. The four Gibbs cars quickly separated from fifth-place Kyle Larson, establishing a gap of two seconds back to the No. 42.

It was akin to watching Prototypes streak away from GT Class cars at the Rolex 24 Hours sports car race at Daytona.

Kenseth overtook Hamlin for the top spot on Lap 139, but for 60 straight laps the JGR teammates ran 1-2-3-4, until McMurray (who had qualified for the Chase simply by taking the green flag to start the race) passed Carl Edwards for the fourth position on Lap 186.

The only suspense during that stretch came when Kenseth and Edwards rubbed fenders while fighting for position early in the run.

Logano was the only non-JGR driver who could stay within hailing distance of Kenseth, but the ultimate third-place finisher stayed out on old tires for that restart on Lap 126 and did a creditable job holding the 10th spot before the fourth caution on Lap 209 gave him a chance to pit for fresh rubber.

Notes: Roush Fenway Racing failed to place a car in the Chase for the first time in the organization’s history… McMurray and Menard earned Chase positions for the first time in their careers… Newman made the Chase without a victory for the second straight year… In his final season as a full-time Sprint Cup driver, Gordon qualified for his 11th Chase in 12 tries.

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RICHMOND, Va. – How confident is Denny Hamlin that he’ll advance to the Championship 4 Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at Homestead-Miami Speedway?

So much so that he hasn’t even contemplated the prospect of surgery to his injured right knee, if he’s eliminated in one of the earlier rounds of the Chase.

“Actually, had not even thought about being eliminated—that’s how confident I am right now that we’re not going to (be). If we do, I don’t know. You want to finish the year strong and I think the way the points all work out you still can move up to fifth or something like that.

“I think, either way, off-season is going to be the best option (for surgery) as long as I can make it that long.”

Hamlin tore the ACL in his right knee playing basketball on Tuesday night. It’s not the first time his ardent pursuit of hoops has interfered with his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career. In the spring of 2010, Hamlin tore the ACL in his left knee and had surgery during an off week but didn’t miss a race.

This time it’s the right knee, which faces less stress with the gas pedal than the left leg does with the brake. With the Chase looming, Hamlin has chosen to postpone surgery and put up with the discomfort outside the car. He showed up in the media center at Richmond International Raceway on Friday as he prepared for Saturday’s Federated Auto Parts 400 (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN), aided by a single crutch.

In a league basketball game, Hamlin hit a driving layup at the end of regulation play to send the contest into overtime. He tore the ACL in the extra period. But the mishap hasn’t quelled his optimism about his chances for a championship, a confidence that extends to the entire Joe Gibbs Racing roster, which also includes Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and last week’s Darlington winner, Carl Edwards.

“I think our cars are obviously very good right now,” Hamlin said. “And, yeah, there’s no reason why… we all said in January that our goal is to have four cars at Homestead with a chance to win, and I don’t see — except for bad luck — anything that can keep that from happening.”

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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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Generated by IJG JPEG Library

1 3 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet
2 5 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet
3 9 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet
4 11 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford
5 1 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet
6 19 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota
7 14 1 Jamie McMurray Cessna Chevrolet
8 15 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet
9 10 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Crispy Toyota
10 8 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota
11 20 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nationwide Chevrolet
12 27 16 Greg Biffle Ortho Ford
13 12 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Chevrolet
14 4 24 Jeff Gordon Axalta/Penn State Chevrolet
15 2 19 Carl Edwards ARRIS Toyota
16 18 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet
17 7 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford
18 29 33 Ty Dillon(i) Yuengling Chevrolet
19 6 3 Austin Dillon Dow Chevrolet
20 30 51 Justin Allgaier SEM Chevrolet
21 28 14 Tony Stewart Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet
22 23 15 Clint Bowyer Jack Link’s/Big Machine Records Toyota
23 21 55 David Ragan Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota
24 33 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford
25 32 40 Landon Cassill(i) Interstate Moving Services Chevrolet
26 34 7 Alex Bowman Accell Construction Chevrolet
27 35 38 David Gilliland MDS Ford
28 39 35 Cole Whitt Ford
29 38 98 Josh Wise Ford
30 36 34 Brett Moffitt # Dockside Logistics Ford
31 16 27 Paul Menard Schrock/Menards Chevrolet
32 41 83 Matt DiBenedetto # Burger King Toyota
33 40 26 Jeb Burton # Maxim Fantasy Sports Toyota
34 31 46 Michael Annett Sherwin Williams Chevrolet
35 42 32 Travis Kvapil(i) Visone RV Parts Ford
36 37 23 JJ Yeley(i) Dr Pepper/Heinz Toyota
37 22 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet
38 26 47 AJ Allmendinger Clorox Chevrolet
39 13 31 Ryan Newman Grainger Chevrolet
40 43 62 Brendan Gaughan(i) Chevrolet
41 24 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Medallion Bank Ford
42 17 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Zest Ford
43 25 43 Aric Almirola Nathan’s Famous Ford

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Kyle Busch to Remain Eligible for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship
Driver Granted Waiver from Having to Compete in All Championship Events

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 13, 2015) – NASCAR announced today that Kyle Busch will remain eligible to compete for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. Busch will qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup by meeting all requirements of eligibility excluding Rule 17.6.2.1.a, which requires a driver to start all Championship Events of the current season. Continue reading “Kyle Busch Can Make The Chase With a Win, Top 30 in points”