By finishing 1-2 at Atlanta, Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth secured spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
As Kasey Kahne cemented his Chase for the Sprint Cup status by winning the Oral-B USA 500, others saw their playoff fortunes go in the opposite direction.
Kahne's ascension into the Chase knocked Clint Bowyer. Bowyer entered Atlanta Motor Speedway seemingly on the cusp of making the playoffs for a third straight season. Mechanical problems forced Bowyer to the garage early, and when he returned the No. 15 car was multiple laps down.
Without a victory this season, Bowyer is now 23 points behind Greg Biffle for the final Chase spot currently slotted for non-winners. Bowyer had been 31 points clear of the playoff cutline before finishing 38th Sunday. Biffle placed 10th for the third consecutive week.
To qualify for the Chase, Bowyer will need a strong finish, combined with a poor result for Biffle and no new winner to emerge in the regular season finale Saturday at Richmond International Raceway.
Like Bowyer, Kyle Larson's Chase hopes also took a hit with Kahne's win. NASCAR's top rookie, who finished eighth at Atlanta, was in position to capitalize on Bowyer's misfortune and move provisionally into the Chase had Kahne been victorious. But now, Larson essentially must win at Richmond to reach the postseason.
"Top 10 is not bad, but it doesn't really matter anymore because Kasey won," Larson said. "So happy for Kasey, but that pretty much ends our Chase hopes -- unless we win."
Although without a victory in 2014, Matt Kenseth clinched a Chase berth with a runner-up finish at Atlanta. Ryan Newman, another non-winner, just has to finish better than 18th to clinch at Richmond, or not lose more than 19 points to Biffle.
Biffle is Chase-bound if Richmond produces a repeat winner and another winless driver doesn't pass him in the standings.
"If (Kahne) wouldn't have won, we would have been close to getting locked in with the way all the points shook out," Biffle said. "I don't think we would have been able to lose two spots, but it is what it is. We've got to race as hard as we can. We know if one of those guys behind us wins next week it bumps us out, so we'll run as hard as we can."
Sprint Cup standings
| Rank | Driver | Points | Wins | Behind |
| 1 | Jeff Gordon | 872 | 3 | -- |
| 2 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 851 | 3 | -20 |
| 3 | Matt Kenseth | 794 | 0 | -77 |
| 4 | Joey Logano | 791 | 3 | -80 |
| 5 | Brad Keselowski | 782 | 3 | -89 |
| 6 | Jimmie Johnson | 766 | 3 | -105 |
| 7 | Carl Edwards | 755 | 2 | -116 |
| 8 | Kevin Harvick | 748 | 2 | -123 |
| 9 | Ryan Newman | 747 | 0 | -124 |
| 10 | Greg Biffle | 728 | 0 | -143 |
| 11 | Kasey Kahne | 708 | 1 | -163 |
| 12 | Clint Bowyer | 705 | 0 | -166 |
| 13 | Kyle Larson | 704 | 0 | -167 |
| 14 | Paul Menard | 675 | 0 | -196 |
| 15 | Austin Dillon | 674 | 0 | -197 |
| 16 | Jamie McMurray | 666 | 0 | -205 |
| 17 | Kyle Busch | 657 | 1 | -214 |
| 18 | Brian Vickers | 650 | 0 | -221 |
| 19 | Denny Hamlin | 636 | 1 | -235 |
| 20 | Marcos Ambrose | 628 | 0 | -243 |
| 21 | Kurt Busch | 614 | 1 | -257 |
| 22 | Aric Almirola | 594 | 1 | -277 |
| 23 | AJ Allmendinger | 590 | 1 | -281 |
| 24 | Casey Mears | 583 | 0 | -288 |
| 25 | Martin Truex Jr. | 561 | 0 | -310 |
| 26 | Tony Stewart | 540 | 0 | -331 |
| 27 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 538 | 0 | -333 |
| 28 | Danica Patrick | 500 | 0 | -371 |
| 29 | Justin Allgaier | 443 | 0 | -428 |
| 30 | Michael Annett | 393 | 0 | -478 |
from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/Y6qfZj
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