The Chase Is Set

The chase for the Sprint Cup championship is set after Kevin Harvick won the Wonderful Pistachios 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night. The win was Harvick's fourth of the year and put him in a tie with Kyle Bush for most wins this year. There were several drivers on the bubble for making the chase including Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart. Both guys made the chase after Earnhardt finished 16th and Stewart finished seventh. The field for the chase looks like this: 1) Kevin Harvick 2) Kyle Busch 3) Jeff Gordon 4) Matt Kenseth 5) Carl Edwards 6) Ryan Newman 7) Kurt Busch 8) Jimmie Johnson 9) Dale Earnhardt Jr. 10) Tony Stewart 11) Denny Hamlin 12) Brad Keselowski. The first of ten races will begin next Sunday with the GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Early favorites to the win the championship are Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards, but don't count out Jimmie Johnson who has won the last 5 Sprint Cup championships.

Atlanta Race Was A Washout

Sunday night's race at Atlanta was a washout. Just when NASCAR got the track dried out and was getting ready to start the race, the rain came again. It takes about two hours to dry the track; this would have put the start of the race at 11:00 p.m. with more rain on the way, NASCAR decided to postpone the race until 10 a.m. Tuesday. Two races remain before the complete 12-driver Chase field is set. Six drivers have clinched a spot in the race (Kyle Bush, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, and Jeff Gordon). Tuesday's race should be a good one with seven drivers trying to get into the Chase.

Fan Hopes to be a Millionaire

Kyle Bush could make a NASCAR fan a millionaire at the Atlanta race. Dana Hardie was randomly selected to participate in the Summer Showdown. She is one out of five fans who has a chance to win a million dollars. Hardie has been out of work since January and has been picking up cans and scrape metal to make ends meet. Dana Hardie got the call from NASCAR that she had been paired with Kyle Bush. If Kyle Bush wins he will receive a million dollars for himself, a million dollars for his favorite charity, and Dana Hardie will receive a million dollars. These are more reasons to tune into this race on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2011.

Advocare 500

The Nascar Sprint Cup series heads to Atlanta this weekend for the Advocare 500. The early favorites to win the race are Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth. The race will get underway on Sunday night at 6:30 P.M. In other related news, Dale Earnhardt Jr. just signed a contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports that will keep him with the team until 2017. As far as the championship chase is concerned, Ryan Newman and Kyle Busch can clinch spots in the chase if they finish at least 20th and 7th. Dale Earnhardt Jr. can clinch by averaging a 15th place or better finish over the next two races. If Kyle Busch, Marcos Ambrose, Brad Keselowski or Paul Menard win this Sunday, a fan will win $1,000,000 thanks to the Sprint Summer Showdown contest that concludes after this race.

Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol

The Nascar Sprint Cup series held the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motorspeedway on Saturday night. Ryan Newman started the race from the pole position but it was Brad Keselowski that took home the trophy. Keselowski won the race and picked up his third victory of the season holding off Martin Truex Jr. and Jeff Gordon for the win. Gordon led the most laps of the race with 206. The win moved Keselowski up to the eleventh position in the points standings. Keselowski also won the race with a broken ankle. He suffered the injury while on a practice session at another race track. Next week the sprint cuppers will be racing at Atlanta motorspeedway for the Advocare 500. Be sure to check the blog for the results.