Parks Pit Report: Challenger Round, Race 2-Sylvania 300

Making the Chase is an honor that was bestowed upon 16 drivers this season.  They are easy to spot since their cars have a yellow front fascia down at the splitter, a yellow name plate on the windshield, and a yellow number on the roof.

But every now and then, sometimes being in the Chase can garner the unwanted attention, or the unwanted occurrences.

That seemed to be the case at the second Chase race on Sunday in New Hampshire.  It was as if being in the Chase for the most part was a curse and drew a lot of unwanted attention.  It all started with Denny Hamlin, as his crew had trouble fueling the car.  It turned out something in the fuel system at the filler neck was not engaging and was not letting fuel down to the fuel cell.  It started a snowball effect as he got caught laps down, and eventually caught up in a late accident that put him behind the wall for even longer.

Then there’s Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon, who each experienced flat tires that hurt their finishes.  Move onto Brad Keselowski, who did spin out but somehow recovered for a top-10 finish.  Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne had their own run-in on the track that was not originally of their doing, but caused them the most damage.

Finally there was Matt Kenseth who seemed to be beaten every which way and finally got caught up in a spin that put him in the outside wall.

That’s seven of 16 Chase drivers that were involved in on-track incidents.  Nearly 50 percent of the field that made it to the title hunt had some missteps in Sunday’s action.

It is a miracle in a way that a Chase driver did end up winning, that being Joey Logano.  And based on this year’s Chase rules, a win by a Chase driver in any round advances them to the next.

So with one Chase race left in the Challenger round, two of the 12 spots in the next round are secured.  At the end of next week’s race at Dover, the Chase field will be down to just 12 drivers, and the seeding will be reset for the next three races.  Winning doesn’t just matter now, it is the only guarantee to move into the next round of the title hunt.  Let the quest continue.

RESULTS:  1-Logano  2-Larson  3-Harvick  4-McMurray  5-Johnson  6-Almirola  7-Keselowski  8-Kyle Busch  9-Earnhardt Jr.  10-Vickers

NOTABLE FINISHES:  13-Allmendinger  16-Biffle  17-Edwards  18-Newman  21-Kenseth  23-Kahne  26-Gordon  36-Kurt Busch  37-Hamlin

CAUTIONS:  15 for 63 laps.  Lap 37-40 (Competition), 106-112 (Debris-T2), 171-177 (Debris-T3), 181-186 (#26, 78, 11, 34 Accident-T2), 189-192 (#5, 18, 31, 20, 1 Accident-BS), 195-197 (#2, 20 Accident-T2), 202-205 (#17, 88 Accident-T4), 212-215 (Debris-BS), 223-225 (#41 Accident-T3), 247-250 (Debris-BS), 258-260 (#77 Spin-T2), 265-268 (#17 Accident-T1), 271-273 (#20, 27 Accident-T4), 293-296 (#24 Accident-T1), 299-301 (#14, 38 Accident-T4).

LEAD CHANGES:  10 among 6 drivers.  Keselowski 1-37, Gilliland 38, Hamlin 39-70, Harvick 71-106, Logano 107, Logano 171-212, Vickers 213-227, Keselowski 228-268, Harvick 269-273, Logano 274-303.

TIME OF RACE:  3 Hrs, 14 Mins, 53 Secs.

AVERAGE SPEED:  98.697 MPH

MARGIN OF VICTORY:  1.15 Seconds

2014 CHASE FOR THE SPRINT UP:  1. Keselowski, 2097 points*; 2. Logano, -1*; 3. Harvick, -7; 4. Johnson, -17; 5. Kyle Busch, -20; 6. Earnhardt Jr, -20; 7. Gordon, -27; 8. Kenseth, -40; 9. Edwards, -40; 10. Allmendinger, -41; 11. Kahne, -42; 12. Newman, -42; 13. Hamlin, -48; 14. Biffle, -48; 15. Kurt Busch, -50; 16. Almirola, -52.

*Advanced to Contender Round