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Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s absence could mean 2 different champions at Homestead
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s absence in the Sprint Cup Series could set up a race for dueling championships at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.
How so? Well, if he doesn’t qualify for the Chase himself, the No. 88 car could still be part of the Chase for the owner’s championship. And if that scenario happens, the No. 88 could be racing for the owner’s title at Homestead against three other cars while four different drivers battle for the driver’s title, similar to scenarios we’ve seen in recent years in the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series when teams have celebrated owner’s titles as drivers from different organizations have won drivers titles.
The possibility, of course, of this happening is very low. And given the scary nature of concussions, a driver’s brain health is of the utmost concern. But the limited chance of this Sprint Cup oddity happening is worth the explanation.
• As of now, Earnhardt Jr. is in position to make the Chase by being 13th in the points standings. The No. 88 is also 13th in the owner’s points standings and would qualify for the 16-member Chase. Remember, all drivers and cars with wins (in the top 30 in either sets of the points standings) make the Chase and the rest of the spots are filled via points. Right now, Earnhardt Jr. occupies one of those spots on points.
• Junior is 32 points ahead of Trevor Bayne, the first driver on the outside of the Chase. If – IF – Junior doesn’t win a race upon his return and Bayne jumps him in the standings (along with Austin Dillon and Jamie McMurray), Junior would miss out on the Chase.
• The No. 88 will still be scoring owner’s points in Junior’s absence (maybe with Jeff Gordon behind the wheel). If Junior drops below other drivers and out of the Chase, the No. 88 could maintain its No. 13 points position and qualify for the Chase on points (provided it doesn’t visit victory lane). The owner’s points title is given to the car that scores the most points in the Chase format.
• If the No. 88 makes the owner’s Chase, the car of the final driver’s Chase participant won’t make the owner’s Chase. Meaning a driver like Bayne could be in the Chase himself, but the No. 6 car he drives wouldn’t be eligible for the owner’s title like the No. 88 is.
• Here’s where it gets fun. And where this scenario gets even more unlikely. If whoever is driving the No. 88 car is one of the 12-best scoring Chase drivers in the first round, in the top 8 in the second round and in the top 4 in the third round, the No. 88 would be able to race for the owner’s title at Homestead.
• And if the No. 88 is the highest-finishing car of those eligible four at Homestead, Hendrick Motorsports wins the owner’s title while another driver celebrates being the 2016 champion.
If that wasn’t crazy enough, it could get crazier. And even less likely. If Bayne (or the driver whose car is left out of the owner’s Chase in bullet 4) were to be eligible for the title and win it at Homestead, he could be celebrating the 2016 championship while his team was no higher than 17th in the owner’s standings because it didn’t qualify for the owner’s Chase.
Again; this is all hypothetical. Ideally, Junior is feeling healthy and gets the all-clear to return to the car in short order. But this is NASCAR; unpredictable things seem to happen frequently. And these scenarios are certainly that.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
