The NASCAR Sprint Cup regular season finished with quite a bang over the weekend, as Clint Bowyer pulled off a controversial spinout at Richmond, knocking Ryan Newman out of the Chase, but after a review by officials, he was moved into the standings over Martin Truex Jr.
Newman is now one of the wild cards in the Chase and it comes after he publicly complained about how the spin out by Bowyer ended up changing the outcome of the race, which Newman was leading when it happened. According to ESPN.com, Newman was moved into the Chase over Martin Truex and NASCAR also levied points violations on Bowyer, Brian Vickers and Truex and also fined Michael Waltrip Racing $300,000 for what happened.
Newman praised NASCAR for levying the fines and making the switch with the Chase and in a statement the organization said they wanted to ensure the integrity of the sport and made the penalties serious to ensure that no one else would try it again. While Bowyer said that he didn't do it intentionally, Newman didn't buy that and it also came as the driver completed a new deal to move to Richard Childress Racing next year.
Newman now moves into one of the wild card spots in the chase with Kasey Kahne, while Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are in the 10th and ninth place spots. Clint Bowyer is in the eighth spot behind Greg Biffle, while Joey Logano and Carl Edwards are ahead in sixth and fifth place. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth are the top four spots in descending order and now the Chase will begin on Sunday with the Geico 400 at Chicago, which will be held at Chicagoland Speedway.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase Standings:
1 Matt Kenseth 2015
2 Jimmie Johnson 2012
3 Kyle Busch 2012
4 Kevin Harvick 2006
5 Carl Edwards 2006
6 Joey Logano 2003
7 Greg Biffle 2003
8 Clint Bowyer 2000
9 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2000
10 Kurt Busch 2000
11 Kasey Kahne 2000
12 Ryan Newman 2000