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NASCAR: Power Ranking The 2016 Chase Drivers Before Chicagoland

By Christopher Olmstead

Sep 10, 2016; Richmond, VA, USA; Sprint Cup Series drivers pose for a photo with the chase trophy after the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 10, 2016; Richmond, VA, USA; Sprint Cup Series drivers pose for a photo with the chase trophy after the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 12 – Tony Stewart

Tony Stewart winning this season was a pleasant surprise. Tony Stewart running well after his win and looking like the old Tony Stewart was an even more pleasant surprise.

While the highs have been great this season for Stewart and the No. 14 team, those have seem to have gone away as of late and been replaced by on-track stuff that Smoke Nation doesn’t want to deal with. After Stewart’s 34th-place finish in Pocono he went on a tear the likes that he fans haven’t seen since 2012. Over the next eight races Stewart had seven top-11 finishes, including his only win of the season. Over the last month, Stewart’s best finish is 21st at Michigan, the other three races resulted in runs of 30th or worse.

Stewart is coming into the Chase slumping and that is not where he wants to be. He is also coming into the Chase on a bit of an aggressive streak. Stewart has been in the news over the last few weeks for some wrecks that he has caused or been involved in on the track. Some of those issues were not caused by him but he made sure to end a couple of them, most recently Ryan Newman.

Stewart has 10 races left in his NASCAR career and his last run should be remembered as him vying for or winning a title and not any of the other stuff.

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