NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Erik Jones knew the reality of his situation heading into the NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway.Jones came into the weekend 18th in the standings, 44 points behind 16th-place Austin Cindric for the final spot in The Chase that determines the series champion. The 350-lap race Sunday was the first of the final four races of the regular season, and Jones was running out of time.“One more bad week where we lose any ground, and it’s going to be pretty insurmountable,” Jones said.Then Jones, who started 10th, got taken out four laps in when Tyler Reddick’s car slid into him, sending both cars into the wall and ending the day for both drivers.Reddick knew the damage he had done.“If I’m going to take myself out, that’s one thing,” Reddick said. “But I took out a (Toyota) teammate who needed a good day.”Such is life in the closing stretch of the regular season, where one bad finish or one good finish can change fortunes.
Denny Hamlin leads the standings with 923 points, 103 points ahead of Ty Gibbs, who won Sunday’s race just ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell.Only four drivers have wrapped up Chase spots: Hamlin, Gibbs, Ryan Blaney (813) and Reddick (803).
