Sprint Cup - Mighty Chase Field Gives Championship Wide Open Feel

Daytona, Sept. 13, 2011: Five past champions will vie for the title. So will young guns who assuredly will one day fall under the “champion” umbrella. All are multi-time winners, and each have conquered at least two of the 10 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup tracks.

A rundown of the 12 drivers looking to reach the pinnacle of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing…

Kyle Busch: The top seed with 2,012 points (he owns the tiebreaker over Kevin Harvick via his two runner-ups vs. Harvick’s zero), Busch has six career wins at the upcoming 10 tracks. He scored the third-most points in the Race to the Chase – the 10 races preceding the Chase.

Kevin Harvick: Boasts momentum with his Richmond win, and Chase know-how thanks to his near-championship Chase last season. Has eight wins and a Driver Rating of 86.6 at the next 10 tracks.

Jeff Gordon: Has 31 wins at the next 10 tracks, more than any other driver. His Driver Rating of 97.7 at the next 10 ranks second, and he scored 392 points over the last 10 races, more than any other driver.

Matt Kenseth: A champion in 2003, Kenseth has seven wins and a Driver Rating of 91.9 at the next 10 tracks.

Carl Edwards: A whiz at intermediate tracks, so figure on a solid showing (five tracks in the Chase are 1.5 miles in length). He has seven wins at the upcoming 10 tracks.

Jimmie Johnson: Won the deal five consecutive times. Need we say more? Yes, and we do below.

Kurt Busch: Won the first ever Chase in 2004. It was also the closest (eight points), a nod to his championship mettle. He has eight wins at the remaining 10 tracks.

Ryan Newman: Newman has sneaky momentum. Scored six top 10s in the Race to the Chase. Newman also has 10 wins at the upcoming 10 tracks, which ranks tied for fourth-most among Chase drivers.

Tony Stewart: Only driver to win the championship in both the Chase era (2005) and pre-Chase era (2002). Stewart has 16 wins over the next 10 tracks, and a third-best Driver Rating of 97.7.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: The reigning eight-time Most Popular Driver had only one top 10 in the Race to the Chase. But his 10 wins over the next 10 tracks rank tied for fourth among Chase drivers.

Brad Keselowski: Scored the second-most points in the Race to the Chase (362), and scored six top 10s in the last seven races.

Denny Hamlin: Was last year’s championship runner-up, and held the lead going into the season finale at Homestead. Rolls into the Chase with three consecutive top 10s.