2014 NASCAR standings: Winless Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman solidify Chase positions

For some drivers winning isn’t a necessary requirement to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

When conceptualized at the beginning of the year the new qualifying formula for the Chase for the Sprint Cup was supposed to reduce, if not eliminate, the practice of points racing. However, with five regular season races remaining it is becoming increasingly obvious some drivers will gain entry into the Chase not by winning but via their points position.

On the year 11 different drivers have earned a win, which as it stands now would give allow five drivers to qualify based solely points. Sitting fourth and fifth in the standings, respectively, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman are most assuredly playoff bound even if a couple of new winners emerge in the next five weeks.

Among the 13 drivers caught up in a multi-car wreck, Kenseth finished 38th in the GoBowling.com 400 Sunday at Pocono Raceway. Nonetheless, he remains 79 points ahead of the Chase cutoff. Newman placed 11th and is 53 points to the good.

Less assured is Clint Bowyer, Kyle Larson and Greg Biffle, all of whom could be passed in the standings or unseated if a new winner emerges. Biffle was the biggest benefactor Sunday. By finishing fifth he jumped three spots from 16th to 13th, one point ahead of Kasey Kahne and two in front of Austin Dillon.

"We had a 20th-place car and got track position and drove our butt off," Biffle said. "We did everything we could. We had a good strategy there and we might have been able to sneak one out."

Sprint Cup standings

Rank	Driver	Points	Wins	Behind
1	Jeff Gordon	757	2
2	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	740	3	-17
3	Brad Keselowski	687	3	-70
4	Matt Kenseth	668	0	-89
5	Ryan Newman	642	0	-115
6	Jimmie Johnson	633	3	-124
7	Joey Logano	633	2	-124
8	Carl Edwards	618	2	-139
9	Clint Bowyer	617	0	-140
10	Kyle Busch	611	1	-146
11	Kevin Harvick	608	2	-149
12	Kyle Larson	595	0	-162
13	Greg Biffle	590	0	-167
14	Kasey Kahne	589	0	-168
15	Austin Dillon	588	0	-169
16	Paul Menard	562	0	-195
17	Marcos Ambrose	541	0	-216
18	Brian Vickers	539	0	-218
19	Tony Stewart	537	0	-220
20	Jamie McMurray	536	0	-221
21	Denny Hamlin	532	1	-225
22	Aric Almirola	506	1	-251
23	Kurt Busch	488	1	-269
24	Casey Mears	487	0	-270
25	AJ Allmendinger	477	0	-280
26	Martin Truex Jr.	477	0	-280
27	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	423	0	-334
28	Danica Patrick	396	0	-361
29	Justin Allgaier	371	0	-386
30	Michael Annett	347	0	-410

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