Kenny Bruce: Jamie McMurray, Mark Martin face long odds trying to catch Clint Bowyer for final Chase spot
Mark Martin must leap ahead of Jamie McMurray and Clint Bowyer to make the Chase. // LaDon George, NASCAR Illustrated
Mark Martin and Jeremy Mayfield did it. So did Kasey Kahne. Matt Kenseth? The Roush Fenway Racing driver did it not once, but twice.
All four current or former Sprint Cup Series drivers raced their way into the Chase after being on the outside with two races remaining.
Since the debut of the Chase format in 2004, however, no driver has overcome a triple-digit deficit to earn a spot in the 10-race field. The biggest points move was made in 2006, when Kahne erased a 90-point deficit to clinch a spot, thanks to a victory at Auto Club Speedway (race No. 25 at the time) and a third-place finish at Richmond.
That’s the task facing Martin and fellow Cup driver Jamie McMurray with races at Atlanta and Richmond remaining before the 12-team field is set.
McMurray, 13th in points, trails 12th-place Clint Bowyer by 100 points. Given the way the Earnhardt Ganassi team has performed of late, erasing that deficit would seem certainly possible.
Six races ago, McMurray was 19th in points, running well one week only to seemingly disappear the next. But since a 39th-place finish at Daytona in July, he has picked up a win at Indianapolis, a pair of top-five finishes (Chicago and Bristol) and finished sixth at Watkins Glen.
The 34-year-old has never qualified for the Chase, missing by just 15 points in 2004. He led the points after the first week of the season, thanks to a win in the Daytona 500, and was fourth a week later despite a 17th-place finish at California. But a 34th-place finish the following week at Las Vegas dropped him out of the top 12, where he’s remained.
If McMurray and the No. 1 team are able to race their way into the Chase, it might be one of the most impressive comebacks since the arrival of the Chase format.
Trailing McMurray by just a single point, Martin’s in practically the same situation. But not quite. Not only must he hope to catch and pass Bowyer, but he also has to overtake McMurray as well.
A five-time winner in 2009, Martin’s been anything but dominant this season. He’s led laps in only half as many races and after five finishes of sixth or better in his first nine starts, Martin’s Hendrick Motorsports team has managed just one top-10 in its previous 11 starts.
But he’s battled back before. Six races ago, Martin was 14th in points, trailing Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 22 points and Bowyer by 37. Three races later, he had moved up to 12th, with a 10-point cushion.
Martin’s made the Chase four times, including 2004 when he rallied from a 35-point deficit with two races remaining, but qualifying for a fifth time won’t be easy. At a time when those around him seem to be peaking, Martin finds himself trying to keep from falling any further behind.
Do either McMurray or Martin have enough gas left in the tank to unseat Bowyer? Or will the Richard Childress Racing driver, looking to make the Chase for the third time in five years, be able to hold them off and give the RCR organization three teams in the Chase?
Bowyer needs to finish seventh or better at Atlanta and Richmond to eliminate his competition, regardless of how they fare. That’s something he’s managed to do eight times this year.
The question is, can he do it for two more races?
