Michigan Results - Gordon Locks Piston in the Chase - Piston Takes Over the Lead!!!

Lots of movement at the top of the standings this week... Logano was strong all race, but Gordon was fast all week and prevailed.  One team gets locked in, we have a new leader... they happen to be the same team. A new team joins the top 7 while another team pitfalls out of the top 7.  10 teams now locked in.  3 not locked in teams occupy top 7 spots... 4 teams remain desperate.  Lets get to it...

TOP PICKS:

1st Place Jeff Gordon - Picked by Piston.  Team Piston gets that 3rd win and locks in to the Chase!  They jump up 2 spots into the lead and are looking like a top contender for the Crown.  They still have plenty of top drivers left... look out for this team during the Chase!  Well done guys!

2nd Place Kevin Harvick - Picked by A-Game.  Harvick gave it the ol college try, but A-Game needed a win here...

3rd Place Joey Logano - Picked by Rusty.  Logano was the dominant car, but Rusty needed him to close the deal.  Rusty could still qualify on points, but needs to get that 3rd win to be sure.

4th Place Paul Menard - Picked by Ideal, Shepard, Asleep and Beef.  Ideal moves up one and is still looking strong.  Shepard gets a little more breathing room (5th) and 28 points clear of 8th.  Asleep grabs the 7th spot and is 18 points clear of 8th.  Beef logs another solid points day, but will need a miracle to grab a qualifying spot.

10th Place Greg Biffle - Picked by Kiss, Dust, Penguin and Rasta.  Kiss stays in 6th, but moves from 51 points out of 1st to 31 points out of 1st.  Dust jumps up a spot but is 18 points out of 7th.  Penguin and Rasta are still in a lot of trouble...

Eh:

22nd Place Austin Dillon - Picked by Empty.  Good strategy by locked in Chaser Empty.

23rd Place Carl Edwards - Picked by Pursuit and Rowdy.  Both teams are locked in and looking like they will be starting the Chase with 1000 points.

DOOTW:

39th Place Kyle Busch - Picked by Graziano.  Graziano drops out of the top spot but is still in 2nd and only 9 points out.  Look for Graziano to bounce out of the oven next race.

BSOTW:

43rd Place Kyle Larson - Picked by Chonk and Skid.  He's still my favorite Rookie of the the Year pick, but what a brutal day that ended in a fiery crash into the wall for Chonk and Skid.  Chonk drops 2 spots down to 4th while Skid is on the outside looking in.  Skidmarks is now 9th and 21 points away from the 7th place spot.

Other Ramblings:

3 Races to go before the Chase!

Bristol on Saturday.

We now have 10 teams locked into the Chase and now 3 teams with less than 3 wins occupy a top 7 qualifying spot.  Things to keep an eye on over the next 6 races:

• Battle for 1st between Graziano and Chonk continues  We have a new leader and it's Piston.
• Battle for 3rd through 7th positions - 8th place too... 33 points separate the teams and valuable points are up for grabs.  All of the top 7 spots are up for grabs now!!!
• Strategies for the 3+ win teams as we near the Chase - 3 3+win teams occupy positions 8-10... will they get into the top 7? We have a few teams outside the top 7 by several points... will they coast into the Chase or try their best to crack the top 7 over the next 3 races???
• Strategies for the 2 win teams in the top 7 - Shepard moves to the 5th spot and 28 points away from 8th.
• Strategies for the 1 win teams in the top 7
• Will the not-locked in teams make a move, or will we see some eliminations before the 3 races are completed???... Piston joins the Haves and is out of the scenarios discussion below.

So here are the scenarios I have in my small brain right now for those of us not locked into the Chase:

• Graziano drops to 2nd but is still looking strong to make it in on qualifying alone... 49 points ahead of 8th, he can probably recover from a DOOTW or a BSOTW  CHASE HEALTH
• Ideal has another solid and is now 41 points away from 8th (17 points away from 1st).  He still needs to continue this run over the next 3 races or grab 2 more wins, but he is now able to breathe a little easier. CHASE HEALTH
• Shepard has another good week and jumps up 2 spots to 5th.  He still needs to continue the trend or grab 1 more win (GREEN).  Now 28 points clear of 8th (YELLOW).  CHASE HEALTH
• Rusty is still 45 points away (Red) from a qualifying spot, but only 1 win away (YELLOW) from making the Chase.   CHASE HEALTH
• Penguin needs 2 more wins in the last 3 races (RED).  CHASE HEALTH
• Rasta is now dormy and will need to win 3 races of 3 to make the Chase.  CHASE HEALTH
• A-Game will need 2 more wins in the last 3 races. CHASE HEALTH

Cheers!