Twenty races have been run and six NASCAR Sprint Cup events remain until the Chase for the Sprint Cup field is set.
Sixteen drivers will advance to the Chase. Any driver with a victory, ranking in the top 30 in points and having started every race (unless granted a NASCAR waiver) will make the Chase. If there are more than 16 different winners, ties will be broken by number of wins and then points.
Kyle Busch remains outside the top 30 in points even after his win Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway - his fourth of the season. That leaves 10 winners in a Chase position and the final six spots for non-winners. Busch needs to average about a 24th-place finish in the remaining six races before the Chase to reach the projected total for 30th in the points and be Chase eligible.
Kurt Busch became the fourth driver to clinch a Chase spot (provided he starts the remaining six races).
Clint Bowyer passed Aric Almirola for the final Chase spot at this time. Jamie McMurray remains the winless driver with the most points with Jeff Gordon still second, but he saw his advantage on Ryan Newman, third among winless drivers in points, decline by 31 points.
Here’s who is Chase eligible at this point in the season (*clinched Chase spot):
1 - Jimmie Johnson (4 wins) ... 675 points*
2 - Kevin Harvick (2 wins) ... 777 points*
3 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2 wins) ... 677 points*
4 - Kurt Busch (2 wins) ... 612 points*
5 - Joey Logano (1 win) ... 708 points
6 - Martin Truex Jr. (1 win) ... 668 points
7 - Brad Keselowski (1 win) ... 638 points
8 - Matt Kenseth (1 win) ... 615 points
9 - Denny Hamlin (1 win) ... 591 points
10 - Carl Edwards (1 win) ... 519 points
11 - Jamie McMurray (0 wins) ... 602 points
12 - Jeff Gordon (0 wins) ... 575 points
13 - Ryan Newman (0 wins) ... 563 points
14 - Paul Menard (0 wins) ... 558 points
15 - Kasey Kahne (0 wins) ... 558 points
16 - Clint Bowyer (0 wins) ... 538 points
DRIVERS OUTSIDE A CHASE SPOT
17 - Aric Almirola (0 wins) ... 30 points behind 16th
18 - Greg Biffle (0 wins) ... 76 points behind 16th
19 - Austin Dillon (0 wins) ... 85 points behind 16th
20 - Kyle Larson (0 wins) ... 86 points behind 16th
21 - Casey Mears (0 wins) ... 87 points behind 16th
22 - Danica Patrick (0 wins) ... 105 points behind 16th
23 - AJ Allmendinger (0 wins) ... 115 points behind 16th
24 - David Ragan (o wins) ... 126 points behind 16th
25 - Sam Hornish Jr. (0 wins) ... 153 points behind 16th
26 - Tony Stewart (0 wins) ... 156 points behind 16th
27 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (0 wins) ... 158 points behind 16th
28 - Trevor Bayne (0 wins) ... 172 points behind 16th
29 - David Gilliland (0 wins) ... 218 points behind 16th
30 - Justin Allgaier (0 wins) ... 221 points behind 16th
WINNERS NOT IN TOP 30 IN POINTS
32 - Kyle Busch (4 wins) ... 23 points behind 30th
