OxfordPress.com

Chase on for final spots

ATLANTA — The battle for berths in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup has boiled down to a contest between nine drivers for the remaining seven spots. It wraps up at Richmond International Raceway for Saturday's Chevy Rock and Roll 400, the final race before the Chase.

The tightest battle is at the bottom between 12th-place Clint Bowyer and his two challengers, David Ragan and Kasey Kahne.

The top seeds are already set. Defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson secured his spot in the season-ending 10-race, 12-driver race within a race that will determine the series championship with a dominating victory in Sunday's Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway in California. Joining him after Sunday were Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton. Already in were series points leader Kyle Busch, who also leads the circuit with eight wins, and second-place Carl Edwards, who has six victories.

Here's a look at how the rest of the race to the Chase is shaping up.

CLOSING IN

With his runner-up finish in California, Greg Biffle all but assured himself of a spot in the Chase. Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth also had top-five finishes in the Pepsi 500, and all are at least 109 points ahead of 13th-place Ragan. The most one driver can gain on another in a single race, assuming both compete, is 161 points. Tony Stewart finished a lackluster 22nd at California but is a relatively safe 138 points ahead of Ragan.

VULNERABLE

Jeff Gordon in 10th place, along with Denny Hamlin in 11th and Bowyer in 12th, are in the elite 12 heading to Richmond, but a mediocre finish could cost them a spot in the Chase. Gordon is a somewhat safe 102 points ahead of Ragan, but Bowyer is just 17 points — roughly five finishing positions at Richmond — ahead of Ragan. Bowyer has reason to be optimistic. He won at Richmond in May, his only Cup victory this season. Hamlin is good at Richmond, too, with three top-six finishes in five starts at his home track. Gordon has two wins there and has top-10 finishes in the past three races.

ON THE VERGE

Ragan, the sophomore driver from Unadilla, Ga., couldn't pick a better track to make his final bid for a Chase berth. He finished third at Richmond last fall, still his career-best run. The same is true for Kahne, who is 14th, 48 points out of the top 12. His first Cup victory came at Richmond in 2005 and he has four other top-10 finishes there. Brian Vickers, in 15th place, is 190 points behind Bowyer, and could only get in the Chase if he wins at Richmond and leads the most laps and Bowyer does not enter the race. The rest of the field has been eliminated from Chase contention.

Rick Minter writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.