This Weekend in NASCAR – Charlotte Motor Speedway

NASCAR’s top two national series are on track this weekend with Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway; the Camping World Truck Series is off until October 24 at Talladega Superspeedway. Weekend storylines follow…

Enter Sandman: Harvick Lives Up To “Closer” Billing

Even Mariano Rivera and Kyra Sedgwick would be impressed with Kevin Harvick’s closing ability.

Harvick proved why he’s called “The Closer” by visiting Victory Lane in a win-or-go-home situation at Dover for his third consecutive checkered flag in a Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup cutoff race.

The No. 4 Chevrolet driver led a whopping 355-of-400 laps and posted a 149.7 driver rating in his first win at the Monster Mile.

The defending champion’s next stop – Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 500 (7 p.m. on NBC ) – the only Chase night race.

Harvick won last season’s fall race at Charlotte, which was a huge help on his title quest because he didn’t have to worry about “The Big One” in the Talladega cutoff race. He ranks second among drivers still in the Chase with three wins at Charlotte. Jeff Gordon’s five are the most.

Harvick also may quickly be picking up another nickname “Prime Time.” His four victories and 19 top 10s in 26 night races since 2013 are the most among the Contender 12. His 14 top fives are second to Joey Logano’s 15. (See how the Contender 12 field stacks up in night race, here.)

Chase Moves on to Contender Round

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series kicks off the Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with Saturday’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Jimmie Johnson, Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard and Clint Bowyer were all eliminated from the Chase following Sunday’s race at Dover.

The 12 drivers still in the Chase are: Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kevin Harvick.

The remaining Chasers’ points totals have all been reset to 3,000. A win in the Contender Round by one of those 12 drivers automatically advances a driver to the Eliminator 8 Round.

Following Charlotte, the NSCS heads to Kansas, then Talladega to close out the Contender Round.

Most drivers feel a win at Charlotte or Kansas is of utmost importance so they do not have to worry about Talladega which tends to be a wild card track.

“You look at the way the Chase falls together, and again I feel like a worn out record, you try to control what you can control,” Brad Keselowski said. “None of the tracks that we go to can you completely control your own destiny. But certainly, you can make a bigger difference at Kansas and Charlotte than you can at Talladega. So from that standpoint, that puts a lot of emphasis on those two races. I think that’s reflected upon the field.”

Edwards Goes For Season Sweep Of Charlotte

Carl Edwards will go for the season sweep of Charlotte Motor Speedway when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits the 1.5-mile track for Saturday’s Bank of America 500.

At Charlotte in May, Edwards picked up his first of two wins this season, using a fuel mileage strategy to find Victory Lane. The checkered flag was his first with Joe Gibbs Racing, as well as his first in the Queen City.

All four JGR drivers advanced to the Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin via win, along with Edwards and Kyle Busch through points.

Busch made the Contender Round by finishing one point in front of the cutoff line, showing how important regular season wins are. The No. 18 Toyota driver earned 12 bonus points for the first round of the Chase from his four wins this year (three points for each victory). With one less regular season win, Busch would’ve been knocked out of the Chase.

JGR has won 10 of the last 14 NSCS races. The organization as a whole can sweep this season’s NSCS events at Charlotte. Hamlin won the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race there prior to Edwards’ Coca-Cola 600 victory a week later.

Regular Season Win Bonus Points Mean Everything To Dale Jr.

Regular season wins made all the difference in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s advancement to the Contender Round in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

The No. 88 driver was able to get around Jamie McMurray on the final restart of Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway, finishing third, while McMurray finished fourth. Earnhardt and McMurray were tied for the final Contender Round transfer spot, but Earnhardt advanced because his third-place finish was the highest by either in the Challenger Round of the Chase.

Without his two regular season wins, Earnhardt would‘ve been knockout of the Chase, while McMurray would be the one still standing. Earnhardt had six bonus points (three for each regular season win) that made all the difference. McMurray had no regular season wins and could’ve been saved by having just one.

Team Penske Duo Makes Contender Round For Second Straight Season

Both Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski have made the Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup for the second straight season.

Logano posted the second-best average finish in the Challenger round 6.3 – the same total as his Chase-leading average finish in 2014. He enters Saturday’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway with four top fives and seven top 10s in 13 starts at the 1.5-mile track.

Keselowski snapped his streak of 10 straight top-10 finishes with a 12th-place showing at New Hampshire, but still worked his way into the Contender Round. In 12 Charlotte starts, he owns one win, two top fives and four top 10s.

Johnson, Kahne Can Play Spoiler At Charlotte

Just because a driver is not part of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field doesn’t mean he/she can’t win a race.

Drivers not in the Chase can play spoiler by winning and blocking one of the automatic qualifying spots from a Chase driver. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Martinsville) and Jimmie Johnson (Texas) both did this last year.

Two of the best bets to spoil this weekend’s race at Charlotte are Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne. Johnson owns a track-record seven victories, while Kahne ranks fourth among active drivers with four. Johnson ranks first all-time with a 109.6 driver rating at Charlotte. Kahne is third with a 100.1 driver rating.

Staying with the Hendrick Motorsports theme, the organization boasts a track-record 18 Charlotte victories. The next-closest owner to Rick Hendrick is Richard Petty with eight wins.

Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are the only HMS drivers remaining in the Chase field. Gordon comes in second among active drivers with five victories in the Queen City. Earnhardt’s 31 starts at Charlotte are the most among active drivers without a win at the 1.5-mile track.

JR Motorsports On the Move: Team Scores Most Points Over Last Half

JR Motorsports drivers Regan Smith and Chase Elliott have been quite impressive over the last 14 races, posting more points than any other drivers (Top Three: Regan Smith 516; Chase Elliott 509; Chris Buescher 490).

Smith and Elliott have combined to win three of the last eight races and now both are within striking distance of standings leader Chris Buescher in the points. Chase Elliott is currently second in the standings, 24 points behind Buescher, and Regan Smith is third, 36 points back.

Just five races remain left on the schedule for the JRM duo to catch Roush Fenway Racing’s Chris Buescher. On the same five tracks last season to close out the season, both Elliott (8.8) and Smith (12.0) had better average finishes than current points leader Chris Buescher (12.8).

This weekend at Charlotte, expect Smith and Elliott to contend. Smith has made 10 series starts at CMS, posting an average finish of 16.2. He finished fourth at the 1.5-mile track earlier this season. Elliott has made three series starts at Charlotte, posting an average finish of 17.7, with an eighth-place finish at CMS in each of his last two starts.

Also, if momentum is any indication, expect Regan Smith to keep the heat on Chris Buescher in the last five races of the season. Smith has the best average finish (Smith 5.6; Buescher 7.4 and Elliott 10.0) among the top three contenders.

Buescher In Command For 19 Straight Races

Chris Buscher has led the points for 19 consecutive races – and needs to do it for just five more to bring home the title.

Buescher is currently 24 points ahead of second-place Chase Elliott in the series standings. In 28 starts this season he has two wins (tied with Regan Smith for most among championship contenders), and 11 top fives (tied with Chase Elliott for the most among championship contenders).

Buescher has made four starts at Charlotte posting an average finish of 16.0. He finished 11th in the NXS race at Charlotte earlier this season.

This season Roush Fenway Racing is competing for their fifth NASCAR XFINITY Series driver championship. The previous four champions were Greg Biffle (2002), Carl Edwards (2007) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2011 and 2012).

RFR Teammates Sadler And Wallace Jr. Battle For Fifth In Points

Just one point separates Roush Fenway Racing teammates Elliott Sadler (fifth in points) and Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate and Driver for Diversity graduate Darrell Wallace Jr. (sixth in points) with just five races left in 2015.

Time is of the essence for veteran Sadler to hold off the young up-and-coming Wallace from the coveted top five points position, a spot that gets honored during the NASCAR XFINITY Series Awards at season’s end.

The first of the five remaining tracks on the schedule is Charlotte Motor Speedway. Sadler has made 17 series starts at CMS posting four top fives, seven top 10s and an average finish of 16.8. He finished ninth at Charlotte earlier this season.

Wallace made his series debut at Charlotte back in May and put on an exceptional performance; starting second and finishing fifth (his second best-finish of the season). Keep an eye for more from Wallace at CMS; he also has the NASCAR XFINITY Series’ second best pre-race Driver Rating (119.9) at the 1.5-mile track.

Sunoco Rookie Update: Suarez Close To Capturing ROY Honors

Drive for Diversity alum, Daniel Suarez can see his next biggest accomplishment in his racing career just ahead. With five races left on the schedule Suarez has the opportunity to hold off second-place Darrell Wallace Jr. (-25 points) and take home the NASCAR XFINITY Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors for 2015.

If Suarez can maintain his points lead and win the rookie title it would be well deserved. In 28 starts this season, the 23 year-old Suarez has posted three Coors Light poles, six top fives and 13 top 10s. His average finish in 2015 is 12.7.

Suarez returns to Charlotte this weekend after making his series debut at the track, starting 19th and powering his way to a sixth-place finish at the 1.5-mile facility, earlier this season.

Joe Gibbs Racing Running Out Of Time To Catch Team Penske

With five races remaining in the 2015 season, overcoming a 61-point NASCAR XFINITY Series car owner points lead might seeme farfetched but if any team can do it, Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 Toyota team might be the one. In the last three races, the No. 54 Toyota team for Joe Gibbs has sliced 21 points off of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford’s lead.

In the last 10 races, the JGR No. 54 Toyota team has posted a series best average finish of 4.4 and in the last five races they have finished even better than that with an average finish of 3.7.

If Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford team can hold on to their points, it would give Roger Penske his third NASCAR XFINITY Series car owner title in as many years. But if Gibbs were to surpass Penske in the closing five races it would give Gibbs his fourth title and he would then hold the record for all-time series owner championships.

NASCAR XFINITY Series Etc.:

Kyle Busch Foundation Hosting ‘Champions’ at CMS: As part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Kyle Busch Foundation (KBF) will host active North Carolina breast cancer patients from the Pretty In Pink Foundation during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, Oct. 10. Additionally, the Kyle Busch Foundation is donating $57,000 to cover the medical expenses of the 22 “Champions” who are currently going through treatments for breast cancer. …

Big Name Sprint Cup Drivers Entered In The NXS Race: This weekend, four drivers will be pulling double duty, racing both Friday and Saturday night: Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon and Brad Keselowski. Dillon won the NXS race at Charlotte earlier this season. …

Off Week? What Off Week?: Not surprisingly, a couple of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver will use the open weekend to race in the NASCAR XFINITY Series at Charlotte. Expect to see last weekend’s NCWTS winner John Wes Townley behind the wheel of the No. 25 Chevrolet. Also Joe Gibbs Racing’s rising star Erik Jones will be in the No. 20 Toyota this weekend. …

NXS In North Carolina: The NASCAR XFINITY Series has hosted 186 races among seven tracks in the state of North Carolina (Charlotte Motor Speedway 67, Rockingham Speedway 42, Hickory Speedway 42, Orange County Speedway 27, North Wilkesboro Speedway 4, Caraway Speedway 3, and Asheville Speedway 1). The first NXS race held in North Carolina was in 1982 at Hickory Speedway and the event was won by Jack Ingram (Pontiac, 04/10/1982). The first race at Charlotte Motor Speedway was in 1982 and was won by Harry Gant (Pontiac, 05/29/1982). …

North Carolina Drivers In The NXS: 436 drivers that have competed in at least one NASCAR national series race have their home state recorded as North Carolina. Of the 436 North Carolina native drivers only 109 (25%) have competed in at least one race in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Of the 109 that have competed in the NXS, 21 have won, led by Jack Ingram with 31 series victories. This weekend five active North Carolina drivers will attempt to compete at Charlotte: Harrison Rhodes (High Point), Ty Dillon (Welcome), Austin Dillon (Welcome), Morgan Shepherd (Ferguson) and Carl Long (Roxboro).