Two more drivers have been eliminated from Chase contention after a weather-affected trip to New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Videos by FanBuzz
Ross Chastain, a championship runner-up in 2022, and Erik Jones have both fallen too far below the cutline with only one race remaining in the regular season.
Chastain is 81 points back of Shane van Gisbergen, the final driver currently in the Chase. Jones is 96 points back. They will not be able to make up the deficits during next Saturday's race at Daytona International Speedway.
Both of these drivers fell out of contention due to mechanical issues, albeit at different stages of the race.
Chastain only completed 41 laps before smoke began pouring out of his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. He first headed to pit road under caution, so his team could pop the hood. He then took the car to the DVP area.
They could not fix the issue, so Chastain ended the day in 36th place with a mere one point to his name.
"There was an issue internally in the engine," Chastain said after exiting the race. "There was oil coming out of the exhaust pipe. I felt the No. 1 Kubota Chevy losing power and just rode it out during the caution, but unfortunately, we couldn't continue.
"It's just an unfortunate end to our run towards the Chase. The speed has gotten better, so we'll hopefully keep moving forward on that. That's the important part. With the things in our control, we were able to make them better through the summer. I've learned that's really tough to do in the NASCAR Cup Series. We did get better, but we've got a ways to go."
Jones, for comparison, completed 251 laps at the 1-mile track before he suddenly fell off the pace in Turn 2. He limped his No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota around the apron of the track before using the road course section to return to the garage area.
Jones ended his day 33rd in the running order. He left New Hampshire Motor Speedway with four points.
This Chase format has changed the unpredictability of Daytona International Speedway. Under the old format, both of these drivers could still head to the regular-season finale and lock up a spot in the playoffs with a win. Now, that is no longer possible.
The top 16 drivers in points will lock up spots in the Chase, and there will not be 81 or more points available on Saturday, Aug. 29.
