The Chase race continues to heat up after Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was good to see Paul Menard, who got his start on the short tracks of Indiana, win the Brickyard 400. Menard is the fourth first time winner this season, joining Trevor Bayne, Regan Smith and David Ragan.

Menard’s victory also added more pressure to the Chase as he moved into one of the wild card spots along with Denny Hamlin, while Keselowski, Ragan and Smith need to pick up the pace and crack the top 20 to have a shot. With 6 races to go, we should expect even more great racing as teams battle to fight their way into the Chase.

1. Carl Edwards 1 Win                            Ahead of 11th:  + 95
2. Jimmie Johnson 1 Win                                                  + 84
3. Kevin Harvick 3 Wins                                                    + 83
4. Kyle Busch 3 Wins                                                        + 79
5. Matt Kenseth 2 Wins                                                     + 79
6. Kurt Busch 1 Win                                                          + 77
7. Jeff Gordon 2 Wins                                                       + 43
8. Ryan Newman 1 Win                                                    + 31
9. Tony Stewart                                                                +  22    
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.                                                      +  19
11. *Denny Hamlin 1 Win                        Behind 10th:      - 19
12. *Paul Menard 1 Win                                                    - 53

                   
                                             *Current Wild Card Drivers

Wild Card Battle:

16. David Ragan         1 Win                   Behind 10th:  - 27
21. Brad Keselowski   1 Win                    Behind 20th:  -16
26. Regan Smith         1 Win                    Behind 20th:  - 76

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