NASCAR Sylvania 300 2015: Preview and prediction
Who’s Not?
Kevin Harvick
Everyone’s favorite heading into “The Chase” is suddenly looking like he’s about to be one and done. It’s a shame really as Harvick’s looming elimination came as a result of rubbing cars with Jimmie Johnson at Chicagoland. Whether it’s Jimmie’s fault or not, this is not the way anyone wants to see Kevin Harvick potentially go out.
He can still advance to the next round if he can pick up a win in the next two races and he has the team to do it. Harvick when he’s angry, puts together some of the best performances on the track and will put together top finishes likely in the next two races.
Unfortunately, unless one of those finishes is a win, Harvick’s season is ending over and so are his aspirations of beginning a dynasty on the track.
Clint Bowyer
Clint Bowyer as one of the bottom seeds, already had a long road to advancing into the second round of “The Chase.” After racing with an illegal track bar at Chicago, Bowyer is about to join Harvick in potentially going home early. Bowyer was docked 25 points as a result of the infraction and now sits at the bottom of the standings.
He needs a win in the next two races to advance. Never say never, but for Clint Bowyer, he hasn’t done anything this season to lead anyone to believe that he is going to pull out a win this season. He got into the postseason and that’s an accomplishment in itself.
Still, after the infractions on him and his team, Bowyer will leave the 2015 season with a bad taste in his mouth.
Paul Menard
Another one of the lower seeds that got in on points. Menard has to do something incredible to advance to the next round. At Chicagoland, Menard finished 17th and did nothing to propel his chances of moving into the next round. It’s certainly possible he could advance if another top driver crashes and drops to the bottom of the standings, but that’s not something he should bank on.
He has to win or put two top-5 finishes together to set himself up with a chance to win. However at this point, it’s looking likely that he could be part of that first four drivers that have their season end early. “The Chase” is one of the hardest postseasons to advance through, and Menard should be happy he made.
It would be disappointing to get eliminated early, but Menard can take a lot from this run going forward as he and his team can continue building toward being a championship team.
Jamie McMurray
Like Paul Menard, Jamie McMiurray didn’t have a top finish at Chicagoland, and now he too has put himself in danger of being one of the first four drivers eliminated from “The Chase.” With Kevin Harvick pushing his way into the bottom four, that means one driver that was in the bottom four will advance so long as Harvick doesn’t win in the next two races.
McMurray wasn’t in the bottom four when “The Chase” began, but his performance last week puts him in danger of being a bottom four elimination. He has to put a top-5 run together at the Sylvania 300, or he faces a long road headed into Dover.
This is the first time he’s in the postseason with the new format and the whole season in itself has been a success for him, but McMurray would certainly like to extend his postseason run.
Next: Prediction