Driver will be eliminated at Talladega before race trims Chase field

Ray Slover

Driver will be eliminated at Talladega before race trims Chase field image

For the first time in the 2016 Chase for the Sprint Cup, there are more than 40 cars entered in a race. One driver will fail to make the field at Talladega.

Which is kind of fitting, considering this is a Chase elimination race.

MORE: Chase qualifying scenarios | Talladega schedule | Crashes

There were 42 cars entered for Sunday's Hellmann's 500, but by Saturday's qualifying one car had dropped out. The last time entries outnumbered the starting positions was Sept. 10 at Richmond, the final race before the Chase began.

Here's the explanation for why the field fell to 41.

After Talladega, the Chase field will be reduced to eight drivers for the next three-race segment. Jimmie Johnson at Charlotte and Kevin Harvick at Kansas advance to the Round of 8 because of their race victories. For 10 other drivers, points advancement is possible, if improbably. Several drivers must win at Talladega to advance.

Good luck with that.

After Talladega, the Chase goes to Martinsville, Texas and Phoenix. Four more drivers will be eliminated at that point, leaving four to compete for the Cup in the Chase championship race.

Here are the Talladega entries. Chase drivers are in bold.

No.     Driver/
Hometown
Brand/
Sponsor
1 Jamie McMurray
Fairfax, Iowa
Chevy
Cessna
2 Brad Keselowski
Rochester Hills, Mich.
Ford
Miller Lite
3 Austin Dillon
Welcome, N.C.
Chevy
American Ethanol
4 Kevin Harvick
Bakersfield, Calif.
Chevy
Jimmy John's Chevrolet SS
5 Kasey Kahne
Enumclaw, Wash.
Chevy
UniFirst
6 Trevor Bayne
Knoxville, Tenn.
Ford
Advocare Ford Fusion
7 Regan Smith
Cato, N.Y.
Chevy
Golden Corral Chevrolet
10 Danica Patrick
Roscoe, Ill.
Chevy
Nature's Bakery Chevrolet SS
11 Denny Hamlin
Chesterfield, Va.
Toyota
FedEx Ground
13 Casey Mears
Bakersfield, Calif.
Chevy
Geico
14 Tony Stewart
Columbus, Ind.
Chevy
Rush Truck Centers / Mobil 1Chevrolet SS
15 Clint Bowyer
Emporia, Kans.
Chevy
5-Hour Energy
16 Greg Biffle
Vancouver, Wash.
Ford
Cheez-It Ford Fusion
17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Olive Branch, Miss.
Ford
Zest Ford Fusion
18 Kyle Busch
Las Vegas, Nev.
Toyota
Snickers Halloween
19 Carl Edwards
Columbia, Mo.
Toyota
Subway
20 Matt Kenseth
Cambridge, Wis.
Toyota
DeWalt Flexvolt
21 Ryan Blaney
High Point, N.C.
Ford
Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
22 Joey Logano
Middletown, Conn.
Ford
Shell Pennzoil
23 David Ragan
Unadilla, Ga.
Toyota
Dr Pepper
24 Chase Elliott
Dawsonville, Ga.
Chevy
NAPA Auto Parts
27 Paul Menard
Eau Claire, Wis.
Chevy
Sylvania / Menards
31 Ryan Newman
South Bend, Ind.
Chevy
Caterpillar
32 Bobby Labonte
Corpus Christi, Texas
Ford
TBD
34 Chris Buescher
Prosper, Texas
Ford
Love’s Travel Stops
35 David Gilliland
Riverside, Calif.
Ford
Dockside Logistics
38 Landon Cassill
Fairfax, Iowa
Ford
FR8 Auctions
41 Kurt Busch
Las Vegas, Nev.
Chevy
Haas Automation / Monster Energy Chevrolet SS
42 Kyle Larson
Elk Grove, Calif.
Chevy
Energizer
43 Aric Almirola
Tampa, Fla.
Ford
Smithfield
44 Brian Scott
Boise, Idaho
Ford
Goody's Ford
46 Michael Annett
Des Moines, Iowa
Chevy
Pilot Flying J
47 AJ Allmendinger
Los Gatos, Calif.
Chevy
Kroger/Scott Products
48 Jimmie Johnson
El Cajon, Calif.
Chevy
Lowe's Pro Services
55 Reed Sorenson
Peachtree City, Ga.
Chevy
TBD
78 Martin Truex Jr.
Mayetta, N.J.
Ford
Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats
83 Jeffrey Earnhardt
Mooresville, N.C.
Toyota
Starter
88 Alex Bowman
Tucson, Ariz.
Chevy
Mountain Dew
93 Matt DiBenedetto
Grass Valley, Calif.
Toyota
Dustless Blasting
95 Michael McDowell
Glendale, Ariz.
Chevy
KLOVE Radio
99 Ryan Reed
Bakersfield, Calif.
Ford
Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association Ford Fusion

 

Ray Slover