Teams have the next two weeks to secure a position in the top 35 in owner's points standings to be assured a starting position. Until then, last year's final top 35 still applies. While a sudden surge by some "underlings" could thrust them forward, teams not in this chart either are not racing the complete schedule or are playing the "start and park" game. Likewise, there are teams in the top 29 who could face absolute disasters in the next two weeks who could fall on hard times, but the teams identified below show which teams are hanging in there by a slim margin and which teams have a realistic chance to move ahead.
We've noted the difficulty the #26 team which inherited owner points from the Jack Roush 2009 team. Unless immediate results are forthcoming, that team is in big trouble given their qualifying efforts have been worse than dreadful. The #39 team (32nd) and #47 team (33rd) are both teams with tremenous upsides and should, barring DNF's, continue to move up the standings. Bobby Labonte has past champion's provisionals to fall back on for up to six starts. The team's performance has been markedly inconsistent. Last year, Yates disbanded the #28 team and Earnhardt-Ganassi parked the #8 ride after failing to make the to 35.
We can only hope that none of the teams fighting to get in the top 35 are eliminated for failure to qualify in favor of park and ride teams that have no regard for making the field.
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