NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Ty Gibbs won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway, but the scramble for Chase spots intensified in the first of the final four races of the regular season. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Erik Jones came into the weekend 18th in the standings, 44 points behind 16th-place Austin Cindric for the final spot in The Chase. He started 10th, but on lap four, Tyler Reddick's car slid into him, sending both cars into the wall and ending the day for both drivers.
"If I'm going to take myself out, that's one thing," Reddick said. "But I took out a (Toyota) teammate who needed a good day."
Jones had said earlier: "One more bad week where we lose any ground, and it's going to be pretty insurmountable."
With four races left in the regular season, one bad finish or one good finish can change fortunes. Denny Hamlin leads the standings with 923 points, 103 points ahead of Ty Gibbs. Gibbs won Sunday's race just ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell.
Only four drivers have wrapped up Chase spots: Hamlin, Gibbs, Ryan Blaney (813) and Reddick (803). Cindric has 526 points. Ryan Preece is the first driver below the cutline at 497 points. Ross Chastain jumped three spots after his seventh-place finish at Iowa, moving into 18th place at 479 points. Brad Keselowski is one point behind Chastain.
Other than maybe the last one or two spots, the biggest scramble now in this final month could be for seeding. Points for the top 16 drivers will reset after the Aug. 29 regular-season finale at Daytona. The regular-season champion will be the top seed and start The Chase with 2,100 points.