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Qualifying For Cup's Final Spots Will Be A Sprint To Finish

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By TONY FABRIZIO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 7, 2008

Rarely does a battle for 12th place ever get this interesting.

Clint Bowyer, upstart David Ragan and Kasey Kahne are in a scramble for it in the Sprint Cup standings. The driver ranked ahead of the other two after today's rescheduled regular-season finale at Richmond probably will land the last berth in NASCAR's playoffs.

"Obviously, it's crunch time, and we have one more race to decide this," said Bowyer, who made the Chase last year in an upset and finished third in the final standings. "If there's anything that gives you a good feeling, it's knowing that we won at Richmond in the sprint, and it's a track that I typically run well at."

Said Ragan, who is trying to repeat Bowyer's feat of making the Chase in his second season: "The bottom line is, we've just got to go out and beat these guys. We can't count on the other teams having issues in the race."

Five drivers have clinched berths in the Chase for the Nextel Cup - Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton - and two more will clinch when they take the green flag: Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick.

Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin appear to be in good shape - although Hamlin needs to avoid a disaster.

That leaves Bowyer, Ragan and Kahne vying for the final spot in the 10-race title hunt that starts next weekend at New Hampshire. Bowyer holds a 17-point advantage over Ragan, and Ragan sits 31 points ahead of Kahne.

Kahne would be the biggest disappointment among the three if he doesn't get in. He has won two points races (Bowyer has won one and Ragan none) plus the All-Star race, and has the high-profile Budweiser sponsorship.

"We're 14th now, so ... it's a bit of a surprise to see that," Kahne said. "I think that we're better than that, but now it is what it is, and we'll see if we can make it."

Kahne was in a similar position entering the Richmond race in 2006, except he led the series with five victories at that time. He was 11th in the standings and needed to gain at least 30 points to get in.

He was third at Richmond, secured the final spot and knocked out Tony Stewart.

"We led laps that night, and we were one of the better cars throughout the entire night," Kahne said. "That's the only way we're going to make the Chase this time, to be up front and have a shot at winning."

Bowyer won a wild Richmond race on May 3 after Hamlin led 381 of the first 382 laps and suffered a flat tire and Kyle Busch took out Earnhardt while the two were racing for the lead.

The victory left Bowyer fourth in the standings and looking like a solid bet to make the Chase. But Bowyer had a mediocre summer - one top-five finish - and he'll have to fight to get in the Chase.

"We've struggled on tracks that are typically good tracks for us," Bowyer said. "It's a breath of fresh air going to a track that we had success at last time."

Ragan, who took over Roush Fenway Racing's famed No. 6 Ford in 2007 after Mark Martin left for a part-time ride, is trying to give the Roush organization a fourth entry in the Chase.

Edwards enters the Chase with six victories and figures as one of the three favorites with points leader Busch and two-time defending champion Johnson. Ragan's two other higher-ranking teammates, Biffle and Kenseth, have shown strength lately.

"The bottom line is, we just have to run as hard as we can," Ragan said.

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