Local News

NASCAR's Elite Eight Move On

The Eliminator Round in the new Chase for the Sprint Cup championship begins this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, with the playoff field now trimmed to eight drivers.

 width=NASCAR revised the playoff format for its premier series this year by including a number of elimination rounds to determine its champion. The Chase began with 16 drivers in the field, and then it was cut to 12 following the last race in the Challenger Round, held last month at Dover International Speedway.

While Brad Keselowski remained alive in the Chase by winning this past Sunday's race at Talladega Superspeedway -- the final event in the Contender Round -- Hendrick Motorsports drivers Jimmie Johnson, the six-time Sprint Cup Series champion, Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR's most popular driver, and Kasey Kahne, as well as Kyle Busch from Joe Gibbs Racing have been eliminated from the playoffs.

Team Penske drivers Joey Logano and Keselowski and Stewart-Haas Racing's Kevin Harvick each won a race during the Contender Round to automatically advance into the Eliminator Round, which includes the events at Martinsville (Sunday), Texas Motor Speedway (Nov. 2) and Phoenix International Raceway (Nov. 9).

JGR teammates Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman from Richard Childress Racing, Carl Edwards, in his final season with Roush Fenway Racing, and Jeff Gordon, a Hendrick driver and four-time series champion, accumulated enough points during the Contender Round to move on in the Chase.

Townhall Top of the Hour News

Local Weather - Sponsored By:

CLINTON WEATHER

Local News

DeWittDN on Facebook