[media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”212″][/media-credit]The 2012 Chase for the Sprint Cup begins next weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. Here is a look at one of the deepest chase fields in history.

1. Denny Hamlin – 2012 has been a bounce back year for Denny. A series leading 4 wins has Hamlin sitting in the top spot as the chase begins. Darian Grubb has been a big factor in the 11 team’s resurgence.

Outlook: Denny should be a factor all the way to Homestead. New Hampshire,Martinsville, and Phoenix are tracks that Denny should contend for wins at. Very strong on the 1.5 mile tracks as well.

2. Jimmie Johnson – Ole 5 Time is preparing for another run at a championship. 3 wins, 12 Top 5’s, and 17 Top 10’s has JJ primed for a 6th championship. Also has led 1033 laps this season.

Outlook: The chase sets up perfectly for Johnson. Very strong on the 1.5 mile tracks where he has the most career wins all time. Also a brilliant track record at Phoenix and Martinsville. Only concern for the 48 team could be Talladega.

3. Brad Keselowski – 3 wins in the 2012 season and very consistent across all the tracks in the chase. Brad should show to be a major contender all the way to Homestead.

Outlook: Brad will need to come up big on the 1.5 mile tracks where he has scored 2 wins in his career also will need to have great showings at Loudon and Martinsville.

4. Tony Stewart – The defending champion rolls into the chase with 3 wins. But inconsistent finishes left Smoke scrambling to protect his bonus points heading into the chase.

Outlook: Can Smoke put together another magical run like he did in 2011? Time will tell but the first three races will be the deciding factor on whether Smoke is a contender all the way to Homestead.

5. Greg Biffle – The Biff is back in 2012. 2 race wins and has led the points for a good portion of 2012. Biffle looks primed to become NASCAR’s first triple crown winner.

Outlook: Biffle will be strong on the 1.5 mile tracks as well as Talladega. The short tracks will determine Biffle’s chase fate. Top 10’s at Martinsville and Phoenix could be big for Biffle’s title hopes.

6. Clint Bowyer – One of the chase’s best stories in 2012. 2 wins and several strong finishes have the 15 team primed to make some noise in the chase.

Outlook: The short tracks will play to Bowyer’s strength. New Hampshire and Phoenix figure to be great races for Clint. Also been solid on the 1.5 mile tracks and is a great plate racer. Looking for a championship dark horse look no further than Clint Bowyer.

7. Matt Kenseth – Another year, the same old rock solid Matt Kenseth. 1 win and in the Top 5 in points basically all of 2012. Can Matt show the same rock solid consistency that led him to the 2003 title.

Outlook: Terrific on the 1.5 mile race tracks as well as Talladega. Martinsville and New Hampshire will be big for the #17 team and their cup hopes.

8. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – The sport’s most popular driver has given Junior Nation a ton to cheer about this year. 1 win and in the Top 5 in points all of 2012. Junior is showing the consistency that could lead him to his first cup series title.

Outlook: Junior is proving to be consistent and has run great at every track in the chase. Needs to pick up a couple of wins and keep that consistency in order to remain a contender.

9. Kasey Kahne – After a rough start to the 2012 season, Kahne has finally found his stride in that #5 HMS Chevrolet. Picked up 2 wins at New Hampshire and Charlotte.

Outlook: Kasey’s strength is the 1.5 mile race tracks. Will need to improve on his short track program to remain a contender. Talladega also proves to be a critical race for Kahne.

10. Kevin Harvick – Hasn’t been the most consistent of seasons for Harvick but did enough when it mattered to make the chase field. Showed strength at Atlanta leading the most laps and finishing 5th.

Outlook: Could Harvick be this year’s Tony Stewart? The answer remains to be seen but has won at 6 of the 10 chase tracks and is very strong on the short tracks and at Talladega.

11. Martin Truex Jr. – Another feel good story for Michael Waltrip Racing. Has flexed his muscles on the 1.5 mile race tracks this season and almost scored victories at Kansas and Atlanta.

Outlook: The 1.5 mile tracks are great opportunities for Truex to stay in contention. Will need to improve on the short tracks to be a threat. But a couple of Top 10’s on the short tracks could lead to him being a Cinderella story at Homestead.

12. Jeff Gordon – The 4 time champion has battled against all odds and extremely bad luck to make this chase field in 2012. Picked up a win at Pocono and rode a string of Top 5 finishes to put himself in the chase.

Outlook: Jeff doesn’t have a weak track in the chase. Has won at every track in the chase with the exception of Homestead. Needs a good start as well as a couple of wins to keep pace with Johnson,Hamlin, and others.

Prediction: It is hard to ignore Jimmie Johnson as the odds on favorite to win this championship. 5 consecutive titles as well as making the chase every year of its existence are key factors for the 48 team. But this chase field is extremely deep and in my opinion the best in the 9 year history of the chase. Anyone of these 12 drivers can win this championship. You have proven champions such as Johnson,Stewart,Kenseth, and Gordon. Hungry drivers such as Hamlin,Keselowski, Bowyer,Kahne, and Biffle. Drivers like Truex and Harvick who have flown under the radar most of the year. Then you have the crowd favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. who is seeking his first championship. This chase field is stacked from top to bottom. Whoever walks away with the championship after Homestead will have truly earned it but we have to start at Chicago on Sunday to see who will be there at the end. This should be an incredible 10 weeks for NASCAR and its fans.

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”221″][/media-credit]The four-time champion is gearing up for another run at the championship. His fight for the championship this year will be very difficult. Gordon made the Chase as a wild card. Wild card drivers also do not get to use their victory bonus points coming into the Chase. That places Gordon last in the Chase points. Gordon hasn’t had a great season, he has multiple issues, bad luck and has been involved in many wrecks. Gordon became a serious Chase contender when he won at Pocono in August when the race was called due to rain. That allowed Gordon to have a chance to make the Chase field after Richmond.

Gordon put himself in the perfect position going into Richmond. He needed Kyle Busch to have a bad run, which he did and for himself to run well.  He did with a second place finish. Gordon is coming off a few great races and momentum going into the Chase.

The first race in the Chase is at the Chicagoland Speedway. Gordon has one victory at the track back in 2006. Since 2006, Gordon’s best finish at the track was second in 2009. Gordon has shown strength at the mile and a half’s this year and Chicago is a classic mile and a half track. Gordon should have a good run here and move up the point’s ladder.

The New Hampshire Motor Speedway is the next track they will race on in the Chase. Gordon has three victories at the track but he hasn’t won there since 1998. Gordon’s last two races at New Hampshire have produced top ten’s. Gordon isn’t the best at New Hampshire but he’ll be consistent and run close to the front.

The Monster Mile shows up next on the schedule and Gordon has four victories at the track. But Gordon hasn’t won at Dover since 2001. Gordon hasn’t scored a top ten finish at the track since 2009. Dover isn’t the easiest track to race on and Gordon has shown some struggle at the track in the past. He’ll need to have a good car that day if he wants to have some success at the track.

The wild card race of the Chase is next. Talladega. Talladega is an unpredictable race. Anything could happen and anyone could have issues. Gordon hasn’t won at the track since he swept the 2007 races but Gordon always has a fast car at Talladega.

The last few races for Gordon at the Charlotte Motor Speedway have shown some mixed results. He finished 7^th in this year’s Coca Cola 600 but that was his first top ten in a race at the track in five races. Gordon has won at the track but not since 2007. Gordon could do well here but he could also have issues. Gordon will find a way to have success at any track but when your team is located five miles down the road, you want to race well and I expect Gordon to.

Another potential wild card is Kansas. The track was repaved since the spring race this season. Gordon could find success at the track because when the track first open and had new pavement, Gordon won. As the pavement began to age, Gordon’s performance at the track took a hit. Gordon’s last two finishes at the track haven’t been great but Gordon could capitalize with the new pavement at the track.

Martinsville has had a long relationship with Gordon. He has been beaten out at the track by tenths of seconds and he has also been involved in late race accidents. In the spring race at the track, Gordon was having a great run until things went wrong with a caution then Gordon was involved in a late wreck. Gordon always performs well at Martinsville and he should later in the Chase.

The Texas Motor Speedway was one of the tracks Gordon couldn’t win on until he took home his first victory at the track back in 2009. Gordon would struggle every time he went to Texas until he won. Gordon finished sixth in the spring and he should be running up front and contending for the win when we go to Texas.

A key race in the Chase is Phoenix and Jeff Gordon has had success at the track on the old surface but this spring Gordon began to figure out the new surface. Gordon finished 32^nd in the first race on the new surface and he finished eighth in the second race. By the time we go to the track for the third time Gordon should have figured out the track and be running up front.

The season finale at the Homestead-Miami is one race Gordon has never won. Gordon has had a best finish of third but he has never been to victory lane. How Gordon performs in this race will be based on how the Chase goes. If Gordon is in need of a good run for a shot at the championship, he will be up front. If needs to maintain a position for the championship he will be running mid-pack. If this race doesn’t matter to Gordon because he doesn’t have a shot at the championship he will be looking for his first win at the track.

Jeff Gordon is going after his fifth Sprint Cup Championship. He is looking to tie his teammate Jimmie Johnson for winning the most championships at Hendrick Motorsports. Gordon is bringing experience into this year’s Chase and he is looking to become the top driver in NASCAR once again.

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Jeff Gordon drove the No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet to a second place finish on Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway and placed himself into the chase for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

“It was amazing. I still can’t believe we actually did it. I know how proud Rick is to have all four teams into this Chase. That was a big goal of ours. Pretty amazing to know we accomplished that.” Gordon said.

It was not easy for Gordon though. Gordon started the race second and took the lead briefly from polesitter and teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. briefly before dropping back in the pack and then later losing a lap.

“We just flat out missed the setup at the beginning. Luckily Alan and the engineers got together and found the tools that we could utilize to make the car better. The biggest thing is that rear bar, we just had to get rid of it. We did that. We cut the chain. Our car really started coming to us right then. We finally got some drive off.” Gordon said.

Thanks to Mother Nature prevailing again, Gordon got his lap back after another red flag for rain. Gordon restarted the race in last place of the cars on the lead lap, but quickly made his presence known. With fresh tires and pure determination, Gordon worked himself all the way back up into second place and earned the final position in the chase, 12th.

“All the things that have gone for us this year, everything went right for us tonight. We had some guys stay out there on tires on basically that last caution that really cost them good finishing positions. We came in and got tires at that time. We were able to drive up through there. Had a good racecar.” Gordon said.

Gordon delivered a message to the competition on Saturday night. During the final ten races, Gordon is not planning on making this championship easy for any one else.

“To me, after you have that kind of effort, fall back, then come up there and finish second, almost win the race, make it in by one point, man, I don’t see any reason why we can’t go over these next 10 races and be a real threat for the championship.” Gordon said.

Also all three Hendrick Motorsports teammates also earned their place in the chase. Jimmie Johnson will start second and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start 7th.

“We’ve been consistent all year long. We just hope we can keep that up. I think it’s going to take a couple wins to win a championship outright.” Earnhardt Jr. said of his chances of making the chase.

Kasey Kahne will start the chase in 11th position.

“I’m just really, really happy and excited to be able to do that. Hendrick Motorsports, Mr. Hendrick, gives us great opportunity to win races and run up front, the way the season started, to fight back, make it into the Chase.” Kahne said.